How Can I Promote My Business Online?
When it comes to online advertising, the options are vast. Picking the right form of digital advertising for your business comes down to a few factors; your industry, the size of your business, your advertising budget, and your organization’s goals being among the most important.
The Advanté-BCS team is experienced in many of the leading paid digital advertising strategies, and our work with a diverse range of clients over the years has gifted us with the insight to know what will work best for your business.
Here’s an overview of paid digital advertising solutions that we manage for clients.
Paid Digital Advertising Options:
- Retargeting
- Search Ads
- Social Media Ads
- Social Media Boosts
- Banner Ads
- Display Ads
- Custom Intent
- Video Ads
- Hiring Ads and Managed Job Posting
- Google Shopping Ads
- Local Services
Not sure which ads are right for you? We’ve broken these down to the basics. Learn more about the different types of digital advertising:
Retargeting
Retargeting ads are a great way to stay top-of-mind with prospects after they visit your website. These ads work by displaying banners and text ads to users who have visited your site on other websites that are part of an advertising network, such as Google’s Display Network. There are a diverse range of websites that display Retargeting ads, from news outlets to lifestyle blogs, medical and educational websites, and even some apps.
Two leading services for Retargeting are Google’s Remarketing program and Facebook Retargeting.
Google Remarketing
Google Remarketing ads are highly customizable and have the capability to display on a network of millions of websites. This presents a fantastic opportunity for business owners to make an impression on some of the most highly-trafficked websites nationwide, as well as on popular local sites in your area. In addition, Google Remarketing uses a pay-per-click model that allows ads to make a large number of impressions at no charge unless someone clicks the ad. This is especially appealing for allowing established small businesses, which may not have a significant advertising budget, to stand out from their competition.
Facebook Retargeting
Facebook’s Retargeting program allows businesses to advertise to audiences who have visited their website and interacted with their Facebook and Instagram pages. These ads primarily display in users’ newsfeeds on Facebook and Instagram but can also appear on websites that are partnered with Facebook’s advertising network. These ads can take advantage of the interactive nature of social media by going beyond delivering sales messaging to provide positive engagement and entertainment value to prospects.
Search Ads
Have you ever wondered how some businesses manage to show up above the search results on websites like Google and Bing? The answer is Search Ads! These text-only digital ads use a pay-per-click (PPC) model to showcase your website or landing page to users who are using search engines with an intent to make a purchase. For example, Search Ads will display high up on the page when users search terms like “car wash near me” or “pest control in central Virginia.”
Search Ads are generally the biggest driver of both sales leads and direct sales online because of their ability to conveniently showcase your business’s offerings to users who are looking to make a purchase.
Google has the largest share of search ads on the internet and is the best choice for most advertisers. Still, other search engines like Bing and Yahoo offer the service as well and can be useful in some industries to tap into a niche market of prospects. Regardless of the platform used, Search Ads are a fantastic choice for businesses looking to increase their sales leads.
Social Media Boosts
If you’re looking to test the waters of Social Media advertising, or you want to run a promotion but don’t have the resources for a full-fledged campaign, then Social Media Boosts are a great start.
Boosts are a one-time promotion that can be used to promote individual posts to specific audiences on social media platforms. Many platforms will encourage you to boost posts that are performing exceptionally well, though almost any post can be boosted regardless of popularity.
Social Media Boosts are most popular on Facebook and Instagram but are also available on some other sites like Twitter and Linkedin. The best website to boost on largely depends on your target audience and your industry, but the strategies behind this type of advertising are primarily the same. With a relatively small budget and an idea of your target audience, you can easily bring awareness to your brand or grow your following with a Social Media Boost.
Banner Ads
One of the most traditional forms of online advertising, Banner Ads are likely what you think of when you hear the term “Digital Advertisement.” This type of advertising has been around since the early days of the internet and has been popular with all kinds of businesses over time.
Banner Ads are a form of native advertising, which means that they are placed directly on websites. In the past, ad space had to be purchased directly from the website’s owner, but more businesses have gained the ability to place banner ads using Google’s Display Network through the years. There are benefits to both methods – Google’s Display Network tends to be a more affordable option, a good fit for smaller businesses, while purchasing ad space directly with a website allows advertisers much more control over where their ads appear.
If you’re looking for a highly customizable Digital Advertising experience, then Banner Ads are a wise choice. You can do a lot with what’s displayed on the ad, customizing them pretty entirely within the guidelines of the advertising provider. There may also be opportunities to allocate where your ads display on a website, both in their location on a page and on what pages they actually show up on.
Display Ads
Display Ads are a close relative to Banner Ads, another very traditional form of Digital Advertising that has become more accessible over time. They also function primarily the same as Banner Ads because they are commonly displayed as banners on websites. However, they can also take the form of text that appears in advertisement slots on websites.
These ads function with a pay-per-click (PPC) model, which allows you to get lots of exposure for a relatively low cost. They are just as customizable as Banner Ads, another benefit to using them.
Display ads boast an additional benefit of variety in audience targeting. They can be displayed to more general audiences but can also be used for Remarketing and even for Custom Intent, a type of advertising that allows businesses to target users that visit competitors’ websites. As a result, these affordable, customizable ads are an excellent fit for many businesses of all sizes.
Custom Intent Ads
Have you ever wondered how you can outperform your competition using Digital Advertising? If so, Custom Intent Ads may be a good choice for you.
These ads, which use a pay-per-click (PPC) model similar to other media like Display and Retargeting Ads, allow you to target users based on their shopping intent and interests. This means that you can get a leg up on your competition, who may also be advertising online. In fact, some Custom Intent Ads can even be triggered to display for users who have visited your competitors’ websites!
With mobile use increasing, Custom Intent Ads have also expanded to the category of apps and can be triggered to display to prospects who use apps that are relevant to your business and interests surrounding it.
Once you’ve mastered the Digital Advertising basics, Custom Intent Ads are a great next step for getting granular with your targeting and ensuring you reach the most relevant audience possible.
Video Ads
Video has become one of the most popular forms of online advertising and online content in general. Today’s userbase cannot get enough video content, and more audiences have started to prefer video over all other forms of advertising.
The reason behind the popularity of video is similar to the reason why movies and television captivated generations before the internet – videos are extraordinarily engaging and allow you to communicate far more with audiences. Even a short five-to-ten second video ad is often able to give users more information than they could glean through other forms of advertising – a comforting fact considering how often video ads are skippable after the five-second mark.
The engaging nature of video is the reason why video-sharing site YouTube has become the second-largest search engine in the world, ranking only behind Google. Users on many social media platforms, as well as those browsing the internet for both informational and entertainment purposes, are also turning more to video for their content fix.
Taking the leap with Video Ads means that you can do much more than sell your products and services – you can tell a story and provide real value to your audience across the web.
Hiring Ads and Managed Job Posting
The days of hiring with ad spots in the newspaper or yellow pages are coming to an end. With websites and even social media becoming popular outlets for hiring, it’s important for your business to keep up with the times and branch out to using the internet to find quality candidates.
Hiring Ads on websites like Indeed and Facebook Jobs are a highly effective way to reach candidates, and are also a great resource for filtering applicants to find those who are the best match for your business. Online hiring platforms are highly customizable, allowing you to explore nearly endless possibilities for how to market your job listings and make hiring decisions. Granular targeting through the use of pre-made or custom screening questionnaires can help filter candidates without overwhelming your HR team.
They are also cost-effective, being available at much lower costs than traditional media like newspaper classifieds. You can reach up to hundreds of candidates for a fraction of the cost of a traditional print ad.
If you need to hire and have not explored the options that Hiring Ads have available, we strongly encourage you to learn more. You may be surprised how well online recruitment platforms can meet your needs, regardless of your industry.
Google Shopping Ads
If you’ve ever shopped online, chances are you’ve seen Google Shopping ads. These are the ads that appear above search results when users search for certain keywords that are related to retail products.
These ads are great for businesses that operate e-commerce sites, as they can display at-a-glance information about your products and link users directly to your online store. Google Shopping Ads can also display certain advantages of your products, like ongoing sales or free shipping.
With this feature, users can shop, compare prices, and view products all from the front page of Google’s search results. If you own an e-commerce business, then Google Search Ads are a great choice.
Local Service Ads
If you operate a business in specific industries, you may be eligible for Google’s Local Service Ads program. These ads are similar to yellow pages ads and appear directly on the first page of Google’s search results when users in an area search certain terms and keywords.
Operating on a pay-per-lead model, these Ads allow users to access quick information about your services and compare your business to others in your local service area.
Local Service Ads are a relatively new service from Google, and at this time, they are only available for some industries in specific service areas. Nevertheless, getting a head start on these if they are available in your area can be a great way to stand out from your local competitors. We recommend that service providers learn more about the options available to them.
How Do I Know Which Paid Digital Ads Are Right For My Business?
This is a very comprehensive list of tools that we have, but most clients aren’t going to utilize all of these. As an example, Google Shopping ads are only used for e-commerce websites. Similarly, Local Service ads are only available for certain types of businesses.
We encourage you to connect with our team to learn more about which paid digital ads are right for your business. Don’t hesitate to keep a list of ads that sound interesting or beneficial to you – with some exceptions, most of these ads can be used as a part of a successful campaign for any business.
Social Media Ads
Engage and delight your target audience while they spend leisure time on their favorite social platforms with Social Media Ads. Paid ads are available on pretty much any social media platform, with some popular advertising platforms being Facebook and Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
Social Media Ads allow you to introduce your products and services to your prospects in a natural way while they browse. In fact, some of the most popular Social Ads don’t even look like advertisements at all but rather blend in with the style of content that is typical for organic posts on a platform.
These ads display in targeted users’ social feeds as they use the platform. Social Media Ads can take on several different forms, including still images, videos, slideshows, and carousels. The specifics for post styles, and the dimensions and quality of graphics used, vary between websites, though photos and videos are typically the standard.
Social Media Ads operate on the advertiser’s choice of either a pay-per-click (PPC) or cost per thousand (CPM) model. This flexibility allows you to really optimize your ads and ensure that they’re getting the best return on investment possible. Their highly granular targeting options, with the ability to target ads based on demographics like age, gender, location, occupation, and interests, allow you to optimize ads further, making sure they only reach a consumer base that is relevant to your business.
Learn more about Social Media Ads