In the world of Internet advertising, there is a lot to be said for sticking with what you know to be “tried and true.” Because there is always a new fad, trend, or tool that you could burn time and money on, it pays to devote the bulk of your attention to the parts of your business you can be sure will yield solid results.
We suspect that’s why so many business owners swear by the same Google Ads text offers they’ve been using for years. If they’re still producing healthy click-through rates and the occasional conversion, why mess with them? And if they aren’t producing the way they used to, then it must make sense to pause those ads and move on to something else altogether… right?
In this case, neither notion is correct. Although it’s still a good idea to keep your profitable campaigns running, testing, tweaking, and refinement are all part of the process. In addition, there have been a few important changes to PPC in the last few years that smaller businesses can use to dramatically improve their results if only they would be willing to give them a shot.
To give you a better idea of why taking on new tactics is important, and how you can help your bottom line in the process, here are three new internet advertising tools that too many small business owners are ignoring…
#1 Retargeting
Some smaller advertisers think retargeting is the best thing that ever happened to their sales figures, and it’s not hard to understand why. Given that most of today’s buyers don’t follow a straight line from their initial search to a finished sale, it’s important for marketers to give them second and third chances to complete a purchase or take the next step.
Stop and think about the last time you looked for something on the Internet that wasn’t a simple product. Perhaps you researched options for a family vacation, or a B2B professional service (like web design and Internet marketing). You didn’t probably find a service who caught your eye. Or if you did, it wasn’t right away. Instead, you looked at a few resources, checked out some online reviews, and maybe even took a break to come back later.
That’s where retargeting comes in. Because a lot of people won’t remember what they’ve seen off the top of their heads, and won’t take the time to bookmark pages, retargeting ads are displayed for a fixed period of time after a searcher has initially visited your site. You can have them see the same ads again, or new ones that encourage them to learn more. Either way, you’re likely to see a lot more completed leads or sales if you give buyers an opportunity to come back to whatever it was that grabbed their attention in the first place.
#2 Social Advertising
Small business owners love social media marketing because it’s free, at least in the sense that it costs time instead of money. But, what many of them should be taking better advantage of are internet advertising tools in social advertising– and in particular, Facebook’s demographic-based system for image ads and boosted posts.
Facebook’s internet advertising tools are almost a polar opposite of the one you encounter on Google. Rather than trying to target keywords so you can find searchers at the right moment, you instead focus your efforts on a well-defined group of people who identify themselves as prospects because of their age, gender, location, occupation, personal interests, or other factors. That lets you zero in on the exact type of person you want to see your ad.
Another advantage of Facebook advertising is that the competition isn’t as intense as it is on Google and the other search engines. Because a lot of smaller marketers don’t understand Facebook ads, they shy away from using them. For that reason, it’s not unusual for savvy business owners to get thousands of impressions for less than they spend on their morning coffee. If you know exactly what kind of buyers are perfect for your product or service, Facebook’s internet advertising tools could be the most cost-effective way to reach them.
#3 Image Ads
If there’s one thing we have learned from social media in the past few years, it’s that almost everything is easier to notice, share, and understand when it’s presented in pictures.
Believe it or not, there is a scientific basis for this. Because the human mind evolved to pick out both threats and prey in the wild, it’s estimated that the human brain can disseminate and understand visuals 700% faster than text on a screen or page. Moreover, images connect with the parts of our minds that are emotionally engaged. These also happen to be the pieces of our brain where we make buying decisions. It’s only later that we justify our actions with logic and numbers.
Not every product or service is easy to advertise with a picture, of course. Some things (like foods, resorts, or pet products) lend themselves naturally to this type of medium. Still, you can incorporate faces, drawings, or even colorful pictures of nature into your image ads and use them on Google, Facebook, and elsewhere. By doing so, you may find that you can double or triple response rates without raising costs at all.
Need Help With PPC Optimization?
The key to making these three internet advertising tools work is getting your campaigns set up for maximum efficiency from the start. Reach out to our experienced ppc optimization team today. We’ll take the time to learn about your business and devise a strategy that makes sense for your situation. Then, you may find you can accomplish a lot more than you thought for your monthly pay-per-click budget.
Get in touch today to schedule a free consultation so we can get started!