Follow this Paid Ads Guide to Maximize your Google & Facebook Ads
Internet advertising has grown in popularity in recent years, and it has become a necessity for companies that wish to target a specific audience.
Long gone are the days when you would place an ad in the newspaper and hope the right person would see it, and instead, businesses can now create marketing campaigns designed to reach their target audience directly.
In this Paid Ads Guide we will go over the important of paid ads, how to prepare your paid ads, how to choose your advertising goals, and which channels to advertise on.
The Importance of Paid Advertising
Increasing your company’s visibility on the internet is not something that can be done overnight, and while learning about SEO to boost your Google rankings is an important step in your marketing strategy, the options for paid internet advertising have made things a lot easier. You can advertise through search engines, social media, and more, and have your company and products reach those who are the most likely to make a purchase.
Paid advertising sounds easy, but there are a few things you should be aware of before you dive in head-first. Getting started with paid internet advertising can give your business a boost, but it could also turn into an enormous waste of money. You need to know how to properly set up your ad campaigns, to make sure it reaches the right people.
It is no secret that a modern company needs a strong internet presence and that the best way to be seen in the society of today is by staying on top of your social media and online marketing game. With this in mind, you need to consider your goals with internet advertising as well as your budget and follow your marketing strategy for ultimate success.
LMR Paid Ads Guide: A Quick Guide to Preparing for Paid Internet Advertising
Proper preparation is the key to business success, and this applies also to your marketing strategy and making use of internet advertising. You want these ads to do the hard work of bringing in customers for you, but you likely won’t see good results unless you are willing to put in the work ahead of getting those ads up.
Determine the Target Audience for Your Internet Ads
Depending on the demographic of your target audience (the people group that is the most likely to purchase your product or service), the ideal platform for your internet ads will differ. Some groups may be more likely to use Instagram rather than Facebook, while other demographics stick mostly to platforms like TikTok. If you don’t know your target audience, you could end up wasting money on adverts placed in the wrong place.
Regardless of how incredible your product is, it’s not going to be an ideal fit for everyone. To get the most out of paid internet advertising, you need to start by deciding who it is you are trying to reach with your marketing efforts.
Choosing the Right Type of Paid Ad
Paid internet ads don’t all look or work the same, and there are many different varieties that you should familiarize yourself with before deciding what is best for your business. Depending on your advertising goal, some of these ad types may work better than others.
Below are some of the types you should look into before posting a paid ad on the internet.
- Social Media Ads
- PPC Display Ads
- Instream Ads
- Sponsored Gmail Ads
- Remarketing Ads (PPC)
- Google Ads
- Local Ads
- PPC Search Ads
Setting Up an Advertising Budget
Placing ads on the internet costs money, but it is you who needs to set a budget for how much you are willing to spend on your online marketing. It is important to stick to this budget and not get carried away and to only increase your budget after you have analyzed the outcome of previous internet marketing campaigns.
When you first start out, experts often recommend that you stick to a low cost per lead. When you start out this way, you get a very clear view of the returns generated by your investment, and you can then make necessary adjustments based on this knowledge.
What are Your Advertising Goals?
Just like when you create a business strategy, an advertising strategy needs a clear goal. Setting a goal for your marketing efforts on the internet will make sure you and your team know where you are going, which can help reduce the risk of spending extra money. Let’s clarify this with a simple example.
If you are setting out to visit a friend but you don’t know where this friend lives, chances are you’re going to end up driving around while wasting gas money, and time. However, if you know where your friend lives and if you bring a map, your trip will be a lot faster and more convenient, and you’ll only spend the necessary amount on gas. The same is true for online advertising—you need a clear goal.
Reach Your Goals with the Right Strategy
Goals are great when you place ads on the internet, but you also need to develop a reasonable plan for how to get where you want to go—a strategy. Everything we have covered so far in this article should be taken into consideration when you create your strategy. You need to think about the budget you set for your internet advertising, the ideal goal of where you hope your advertising will take the company, and much more.
Pick a Platform That Works for You
Wherever your target audience tends to “hang out,” that’s where you want to place your internet ads. A younger audience is more likely to be on TikTok while those over a certain age might spend most of their internet time on Facebook, and this is something you need to consider before paying for internet advertising.
Below are a couple of the options you have:
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Facebook
When you advertise on Facebook, you are presented with numerous options that give you the opportunity to target specific demographics. Pay for sponsored posts to have your offer pop up on people’s newsfeeds, or consider advertising with a banner.
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Instagram
It is no secret that Instagram tends to attract a young following from all around the world, which makes it easy to place ads that target those who are likely to buy your services or the product you are offering. Ads can pop up in either people’s newsfeeds or stories, and tend to look more like a regular post than a paid ad, which can be an advantage.
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TikTok
On TikTok, you have the opportunity to promote one of your videos (reels) and help it reach a wider audience. This can be direct advertising with a video containing the promotion of a product or service, or you can use paid TikTok advertising to gain more followers and boost your social media presence.
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Twitter
Twitter is a platform that has an unbelievable reach, and as a company owner, it is one you should definitely consider signing up for if you don’t Tweet regularly already. By promoting one of your company’s Tweets, you get the opportunity to reach a whole new audience! Twitter is also great for strengthening your brand’s social media presence. Small actions like replying to other Tweets and retweeting can help boost your visibility, along with paid advertising.
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Pinterest
If you’ve never been on Pinterest before, it’s about time you sign up! This is a platform that is quite different compared to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc, but once you get a hang of it, placing a paid ad can be the ultimate way to generate leads for your website.
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Google
The biggest search engine in the world offers some excellent marketing opportunities for those looking to place paid ads on the internet. Not only can you use the search results to place your PPC ads for instant exposure, but you can also choose to advertise directly on websites related to what you are trying to market or sell (by using the Google Display Network).
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LinkedIn
LinkedIn is an excellent platform for someone who runs a B2B type business, and ideal if your target audience is made up of professionals in a specific area. It is a platform that is often forgotten when it comes to placing internet advertisements, and you wouldn’t want to miss out on some great leads.
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Bing
The web traffic you can get from a search engine like Bing might not compare to the traffic Google could generate, but it can still generate important leads and especially if your target audience utilizes Bing rather than Google. This tends to depend on the geographical location of your intended buyers.
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Amazon
Use the search results on Amazon to reach more customers when you have a shop on the platform, as this will have your products pop up before other similar items when a potential customer performs a search.
Final Words
As we wrap up our Paid Ads Guide, we want to talk a bit about keywords. Keyword research is also important when you advertise on the internet, but one of the most essential things in online advertising is having patience. Unless you get extremely lucky, you likely won’t reach the goals you set for yourself in a day or two. It’ll take time, and that is where you need to be patient while still keeping a close eye on your advertising campaigns to see if any adjustments are needed.
Paid internet advertising can be incredibly lucrative, but you need to make sure to advertise wisely with a set goal and strategy in mind.
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