So Many Digital Advertising Options, So Little Time

Digital advertising is an incredibly cost-effective way to promote your business online. Through platforms such as Google AdWords and Facebook, you have the ability to reach more potential customers while staying in control of your own budget. These platforms also allow you to track your campaign performance and easily measure your return on investment.

If you’re interested in exploring your digital advertising options but aren’t sure where to start, here are some basics to keep in mind:

Search Advertising |

Using search ads on Google AdWords, you can reach potential customers when they are actively searching for your products or services online. Search ads are the sponsored listings that appear at the top and bottom of search engine results pages. Through AdWords, you have the opportunity to appear within the specific search results that are most relevant to your business and goals.

• Pros of Search Advertising:
  • You have the ability to target the specific “high-intent” keywords that potential customers use when they are ready to buy your products or services.
  • Through your ad copy and ad extensions, you can create ads that highlight the things that make your business unique. For example, you can use call extensions to encourage potential customers to call your business directly from your ad.
  • It’s easy to track your ad performance and see what results you are getting from your campaigns. You can even see which specific keywords are generating the most leads and adjust your bids to prioritize those keywords.
• Cons of Search Advertising:
  • In order to get the best results from your search advertising campaigns, you need to have a high-quality website with content that supports your ad creative. As an alternative, you can create custom landing pages to use for your search ads.
  • You will need to set aside time to monitor and maintain your campaigns, and make adjustments based on performance. Actively managing your campaigns will typically help you achieve better performance at a lower cost.
  • Depending on your industry and the amount of competition from other advertisers, you may need to be willing to pay quite a bit per click on your top-performing keywords.
• Key Takeaways: If you offer products or services that customers tend to need in a timely manner and are likely to search for online, search advertising is a very cost-effective way to generate leads.

Social Media Advertising |

Social media platforms, such as Facebook, offer advertisers a wide array of different advertising objectives, ad creative formats, and audience-targeting options, allowing a broad range of advertisers to create successful campaigns on the platform. Unlike search advertising, where you are targeting based on high-intent keywords, Facebook’s “people-based” targeting allows you to reach your ideal customer as they browse the platform.

• Pros of Social Media Advertising:
  • The powerful targeting capabilities of social media advertising make them a great option for advertisers who have a defined target audience. You can easily target people based on their location, age, relationship status, job role, interests, behaviors, and more.
  • On platforms such as Facebook, advertisers have the ability to experiment with a wide array of creative advertising formats. You can use videos, carousel images, and more to capture your audience’s attention.
  • You can create social media ad campaigns based on a fairly wide array of different objectives, depending on your specific goals. Use campaigns to drive traffic to your website, generate leads, build brand awareness, and more.
• Cons of Social Media Advertising:
  • While social media advertising makes it possible to reach a wide audience of potential customers, targeting too broad of an audience can cost you. Campaigns that target a broad audience are likely to burn through your budget without generating as many results. Be sure to keep your targeting as focused as possible to avoid wasting budget.
  • Social media advertising allows you to target your ideal customer, but it’s not always the best option for every business. If you offer products or services that are widely used and serve an immediate need, such as home repair services, you will probably find search advertising to be far more effective.
• Key Takeaways: If your products or services are highly visual, or you have a very well-defined target audience, social media advertising can be a great way to connect with more potential customers.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for digital advertising, so it’s important to choose a platform and plan your campaigns based on your business goals, target audience, and your budget. To learn more about creating effective digital advertising campaigns, check out some of our other blogs about this topic:

4 Tips for Improving Your Social Media Ads -
3 Ways to Increase Your AdWords ROI -
3 Tips for Choosing the Right Digital Advertising Strategy -
How to Successfully Advertise on Social Media With A Small Budget -

For more guidance on building a stronger digital presence for your business, contact us for a free Digital Marketing Plan!