Online Advertising Hidden Secrets - What You Don't Know Could Save You Money

I feel this particular blog is important to share, because I know that so many people struggle with how to advertise their businesses online. As you search for Online Advertising methods, you typically only see specific types of advertising options. Those who are successful with their online advertising typically only repeat what you already find online. I find that particularly frustrating when you consider many of those advertising methods either take a long time or are saturated with many other people trying to do the same thing.

Some of the common things you hear are - Use Free/Low Cost Natural Techniques which include: Optimize your website with good content, use solid Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques, build good backlinks, optimize your web page with meta tags, etc. Although I believe all should do these things, time is the most significant factor for many. Often people start their web adventures with a need to see a return on their investment quickly. Natural SEO often takes an extended amount of time. And Honestly everyone doesn't have 6 months to a year to wait for their website to become popular.

I believe you must approach your advertising from more than one direction. Never put all your eggs in one basket. What if your website is ranked number one and suddenly gets banned or dropped to the last place? Don't think it can happen? Do a search and see the cries of those who have experienced this first hand.

Social network marketing is fast becoming a highly desired method of advertising. This means advertising in places like Forums, Blogs, MySpace and Facebook. There are more and more online ad networks that feature advertising in these spaces. I have also seen several articles about how social networkers are starting to become immune to the advertising barrage.

Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, Adbrite, and other Pay Per Click networks also are comon places for advertisers to flock in search of success. This is a good option for many who want to obtain results fairly quickly, but the trial and error process can be expensive. There are many consultants available that will help with PPC campaigns. I consider these ads much like TV commercials. You pay to advertise to thousands of viewers at a time with only a small % actually purchasing your product.

Before moving on, there are several Definitions I'd like to give you so that you really understand what you get when you use Pay Per Click services.

PPC - Pay Per Click (also known as Cost Per Click) - You pay a price for each person who clicks on your advertisement. Google Adwords is one of the most popular PPC programs today. PPC means that your ad can be exposed to thousands of people, but you only pay for people who click thru to your website. This does not guarantee any sale. You must also be careful of click-fraud.

Click Fraud - This is where competitors or Publishers (the websites where the ads are displayed) click on your ads repeatedly to either run up your costs and make you stop the ads, or in the case of the Publisher make himself more money at your expense. Google and the other ad networks do what they can to fight click fraud, but it still exists.

CPM - Cost Per Thousand - This simply means that you pay some price for every 1000 people that see you ad. It doesn't matter how many people actually click your ad. It only matters how many people are exposed to your ad. So if you advertise on a website with 4000 viewers per day, and you pay $1 per Thousand, you would be $4 for 4000 exposures to your ad. Exposure doesn't mean they actually pay any attention to your ad. It just means your ad was on the page when they visited.

CPV - Cost Per Visit - This is the price for delivery of a targeted visitor to your website. There are networks that features full page CPV ads. If you're interested, do a search and you should find several that offer CPV ads.

CPC - Cost Per Conversion - The actual cost of acquiring a customer. Its the cost of your ad campaign divided by the number of conversion to your website. This number can be surprising and can add up quickly when you consider how many people click or are exposed to your ad before someone buys.

CPA - Cost Per Action - I consider this to be a hidden gem. No one really talks about it, but you can find it if you know its out there. This form of online advertising is unique in that the ad network and the publishers take the risk and expense of advertising your website. You only pay for conversions.

Think of the benefits to you as an advertiser. You only pay when the visitor to your website takes the action you specify. That action could be an actual sale, completion of a sign up form, or other action that you want visitors to take on your site. What's extraordinary is that often with this advertising, the ad network will design your ad at no upfront cost to you. You pay when they make a sale for you. Often you will find you don't pay anything up front at all. In return, when you do make a sale, you cost is typically much higher than the cost you pay per click. But in the end, that cost may actually be lower than paying up front for thousands of ad impressions and clicks that produce no sale.

In CPA advertising, because the ad company/network assumes the risk they are very motivated to see you obtain the results you want. Many CPA networks are based on affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is where other website owners promote your website or service in exchange for a referral fee. In this case however, rather than going out and advertising for affiliates yourself, the ad networks already have website owners who are willing and able to participate. Saving you time and energy.

CPA advertising is a rarely discussed but valuable secret of Online Advertising. Why haven't you really heard it before? Possibly because of the additional risk of expense to the ad network/agency, most don't want to assume the risk.

Whatever advertising methodology you choose be sure to also include natural search engine optimization as part of your strategy. Diversity is the key to long term success in any business. Never put your eggs all in one basket. But if you are looking for the best way to get your website sales up in the shortest amount possible, online advertising, and in particular CPA advertising might be just what you are looking for.

Happy Advertising,

The Website Design Store

Blog Versus Website - What's the difference?

Recently I saw this question posted, and I answered it. But I thought it might be good to post the answer here as well.

The original question was: What is a Blog, What is a Website and how do you use them both.

The best way to describe a blog is a online journal, but a blog is still a type of website. You can discuss any subject you want in a blog. Some people use blogs to express their opinions on subjects, some use blogs to discuss trends or technology. Some use blogs to promote their business by providing tutorials and helpful information. Most blogs are often expression of some thought no matter if its emotional, personal, professional or just plain fun.

You can also monetize (make money with) a blog by adding google adwords, yahoo sponsored search other advertising sponsorships throughout your blog. If you are interested in the opinions of others, you can allow others to post comments on your blog which you can review before allowing them to be added to your site. You can also add what's called an RSS feed to your blog. An RSS feed is like news distribution. The content is made available in a specific format so people may essentially export your blog info in a format that can be used on other websites (giving your blog broader reach). Blogger.com makes this type of feed available automaticaly. People can then subscribe to your blog and get updates as soon as you post new information.

There are different types of blog software, wordpress being a very popular choice. You can also go to blogger.com and setup a free blog very easily and be online in just minutes without a lot of technical knowledge. Some people actually use a blog template on their blog to make it a more functional website. They do this by creating a menu on their blog and adding other useful information. Typically posts from users are not allowed on this other pages.

A website ont he other hand is typically created in the business world to provide information, sell a product or service, share marketing material, use as an online store, or to allow the use of a web based application like subscription based membership logins. People use personal websites for online photo albumns, family history and communication, or for just plain old fun like gamer websites.

Monetizing a website is also possible using ad sponsorships as well. Choosing between a blog and a website really comes down to what you want to accomplish online. We always suggest thinking about what you really want to accomplish, and then outline what you need to make that happen.

Begin with the end in mind. If you want to start off simple and easy, try blogger.com. There are also many website builders available that you can experiment with at very low cost until you get a really good understanding of what you want.

The Website Design Store offers small business class website builders at an offerdable rate if you are interested: https://thewebsitedesignstore.com/Websit...

If you aren't sure what you want, or want professional assistance with your project, drop us a line here on our contact page and we'll be happy to help you out.

Why A Website Is More Than Just A Website To A Small Business Owner

Many times when speaking with small business owners, the first thing they say to me when they find we are a website design company, often without any solicitation on my part, is "I already have a website" or "I will start a website when I get my business off the ground, or when my sales improve". I belive many of these business owners do themselves an injustice when they give this response without any real thought to what they are saying.

Does this sound like you? "I already have a website." My response is, Are You Getting The Results You want from your website? The answer is most often a resounding No!

What you may have failed to realize is that when you start a website, it should be started with a goal. Is your website your online business card? Do you want to increase sales? Maybe you want to share marketing material online to increase leads. Maybe you need a secure way to share and collaborate with your clients. And although these are often your goals, you may not have created your website with the end result in mind.

When you started your website, you may have started it for a completely different reason; or maybe you started it with no other reason than you figure you needed one. After all, just about everybody has a website these days. What you got as a result is a website that has disappointed you. So you meet someone like me and you blurt out "I already have a website." Websites are effective tools when implemented and used properly.

When you take a step back and look at your business needs, you find the true purpose behind what your website goals should be. If your goal is to create leads for your business, or to increase sales, creating a simple website that says I sell widgets, and I am located in this city USA, doesn't meet that goal. You need to re-design your website with your business goals in mind. Your website is an extension of your business. It shouldn't be an afterthought. Integrate your website into your overall business sales & marketing strategy, and you will find, that you have a website that is more effective and meeting your needs.

The thing I admire about the "I already have a website" crowd is that they at least knew they needed something and they took a step to do something about it. The other group I'd like to address in this blog are the "I'll create a website when I get my business off the ground and increase my sales" group. We all know that starting a business is tough. Money is often tight, and you need to be conservative with every dollar you spend. However, I submit that if you do not allocate some money in your budget for a website, that you are making a mistake. A good basic website doesn't have to be expensive. I submit that it costs you more by not having a website. A website is your business face to the world 24 hours a day. It works when you don't or can't.

With a little planning, your website will be one of the tools that you use to actually increase your sales. A website is not a simple expense. It is an asset to your business when when used properly. If you sell a product, you can add a shopping cart on your website. You open your business to entire new markets that you can't reach locally. You can even use your website to locally target the customer base you desire, and its a lot less expense and more effective than yellow page advertising, and your website can grow and adjust along with your business.

So you say this is fine and good, but realistically your budget can't handle expensive web design services. That is the beauty of technology today. If you invest a little time in planning your website properly, you can build a simple, effective website affordably and you don't need a technical degree to do it. At TheWebsiteDesignStore.Com you will find website builder wizards that you can use to build your website and be online in as little as 5 or 10 minutes, and with the cost as low as $20 per month, the expense is low enough to fit into almost any budget.

I think improving your business is worth the investment, don't you? Take the time to make the change.

After all, "You can't get different results, by doing the same old thing."