Online advertising has revolutionised the advertising industry in many ways. Before online adverts became a thing, traditional advert methods like billboards, television, newspapers, etc., were used. Now, online advert methods like social media ads, paid search ads, etc., have replaced them.
With this revolutionisation, small business owners can now compete in the same field as big companies, as long as they can play it right.
Online advertising coupled with effective SEO strategies by professionals is important for businesses these days, and it’s the first place to start when advertising in these modern times. Before diving into the intricacies of online advertising, let’s define it explicitly.
What Is Online Advertising, And Why Does Your Business Need It?
Online advertising is a type of paid marketing that uses internet-based platforms for advertising products/services to users.
This advertising strategy has become increasingly popular. Two out of three small businesses now use it to generate more leads and get more customers.
It is estimated that spending on online advertising will hit $646 billion by 2024. As of 2020, online advertising spending was estimated to be about $378 billion in 2020.
One key advantage of online advertising is that there are metrics you can keep track of. Unlike traditional advertising methods, online advertising methods allow you to keep track of your ads through the different channels where they’re advertised. This gives you access to beneficial data that helps monitor your spending and keep track of ROI. This data also serves as a guide to know better ad campaigns that work, keep track of the better-performing ads, etc.
Aside from keeping track of metrics, online advertising is also cost-effective. Small businesses can get new customers/prospects while spending way less than what you’d spend for a billboard ad.
Online advertising has become the order of the day, especially now that many of the world’s population own a mobile device, thus having access to the internet. As a small business owner, it is a chance to maximise it. Advertising your product and services online gives you a chance to increase your business’s visibility and boost sales.
Types Of Online Advertising
Social media ads
Social media ads have become a huge market for adverts, especially since over half of the world’s population are users of different social media platforms.
About $153 billion is spent on social media adverts annually, though it might grow to $252.6 billion in 2026.
Examples of social media platforms include Facebook (Meta), LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Social media ads are done at a cost, depending on the platform used.
It is advisable to run adverts on social media due to its wide audience that promotes brand awareness when your brand is displayed. Other advantages of social media advertising are cost-effectiveness and crazy targeting reach.
Paid search ads
Paid search ads target searchers who come to different search engines to search for products/services.
They are usually at the top of SERPs and offer a wide targeting reach. Currently, Google has the market with an 85% global market share, though other search engines also offer paid search ad services.
Paid search ads are fantastic because they have a huge reach that guarantees fast traffic and immediate results. However, they can be quite expensive and highly competitive.
Display ads
They’re also a common form of online ads, and these come in many forms; in-content ads, side-bar ads, pop-up ads, etc. Different companies offer these services, e.g., Google and Taboola. Display ads are quite cheap; however, they usually have a low CTR.
How To Create Effective Online Ads
Regardless of the brand or services offered, running ads online usually has a similar process. However, the intent is the same; to boost brand awareness and sales. These tips guide you on what to do when running an online ad.
Set your ad goals
Setting goals helps you have an idea of what you want from your online marketing campaign. They’re also important because they help you keep track of progress and know when something is wrong and how to rectify it.
Besides wanting to make sales, other goals include getting brand awareness, growing social media audience, etc., depending on what you want as a business owner. Ad goals should be realistic and specific. E.g., instead of saying you want to boost sales, you can say you want to boost sales by 10%. This helps you have a clear view of how to achieve the goal through your online ads.
Know your target audience
After setting your goals, knowing your target audience is the next important thing. An advantage of online advertising is that you target your specific audience instead of just advertising to everyone. This reduces the amount spent on targeting audiences that are not yours and helps you focus on your target audience.
Budgeting
Budgeting is essential because it helps you determine how much is right to spend on your ads. There are usually some considerations to make when budgeting for your ads. Some of them include;
– Overall marketing budget
– Prices of products/services
– Goals
– Previous results
– Duration of the ads
It is essential to budget accurately because depending on the results obtained from the current one, you might have to increase the budget a bit to get more from it.
Pick a channel
After ascertaining the above factors, picking out your online ad channel is the next thing to do. This might be a bit tricky, seeing as so many platforms offer ad services out there.
You might already have one in mind, but you need to know if it’s the right pick. You can’t be advertising on Twitter if most of your audience is on Instagram. Another thing is that the platform you’re choosing has to be budget-friendly, depending on your budget.
Overall, stick to one channel for your first online ad campaign. Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, you can branch out.
Set up your ads and start the campaign
Depending on the method used, whether display or text-format ads, most work happens here to ensure the best ad experience. Writing a compelling ad copy is essential if you’re using a written format. If using display format, then using a high-resolution image is essential.
The bottom line is that your ads have to be of high quality to appeal to people and increase their interest in your brand.
Make your campaign optimised
Creating your ad campaigns gives you insight and a load of data, which you can optimise to your advantage.
Reviewing your ads every day is ideal for keeping track of changes or ways to improve them. You can also know if the ads didn’t work, change the campaign, or find another suitable ads channel.
Conclusion
Running ads is essential for every business, and online advertising has made things easier for everyone.
Keep in mind that your ads should be top-notch because when it’s not done well, it leads to a waste of resources which is detrimental to your business.
It is also important to take note of the channel used, monitor progress and make changes where necessary to get the best out of your ads.
Online adverts have become the lifeblood of every business that wishes to be more visible to their target audience, thus knowing how to manipulate it is best for you as a business owner because it encourages scaling, visibility and more sales.
