We’re often asked the question: “Where should I advertise online?” And it’s a good question… since there are (literally) thousands of online advertising options!

From paid search, to ad networks, to online directories, to websites, to social media… and the list grows longer all the time. Maybe all these options make sense for your advertising dollars, but then again, maybe not.

No worries, as our job is to help you get on your feet and moving in the right direction with online advertising… and hopefully keep you from taking too many wrong (and expensive) turns.

Now back to the question: “Where should I advertise online?” The answer depends on the following:

1. What’s your monthly online ad budget? There’s a big difference between relying on “word of mouth” and having lots of money to throw around. Not sure what you should be spending? Do the marketing math and find out.

2.  Who is the target audience you want to reach? The more you understand about your prospective customers… the better you’ll be able to reach and influence them with your marketing message. Who are you targeting with your online advertising?

3.  Are your customers local or everywhere? On the Internet, it’s easy to waste marketing dollars finding prospects who can’t buy from you. Yes, even online you need to think geographically. Getting started with your local online advertising?

4.  How will you know if your advertising was successful? What results are you looking for… orders, leads, sign-ups, phone calls? Figure this out in advance so you can measure the performance of your ad campaigns. And remember: without web analytics your website is flying blind.

With these questions in mind, here are some guidelines to help you figure out where to advertise online:

If your monthly online ad budget is less than $1,000, then consider:

• Paid Search: Google is the most popular but you should also test Yahoo/Bing. Keep in mind there are lots of other search-oriented sites that you can try such as Facebook, Business.com, LinkedIn, and (even) Amazon.com.

• Directories: These include the Internet yellow pages such as Superpages.com, Yellowpages.com, and DexKnows. Many of these providers will also create your very own web page if you don’t need a fancy website.

• City Guides: Yelp, Yahoo!Local, and Citysearch offer advertising options that can be really effective if most of your customers live nearby. And if you have a local store then make sure and put it on Google Maps.

• Social Media: It’s time to get your business on Facebook and Twitter. Why not since it’s free to set up an account and get started building your audience! Ready to grow your business with social media?

If your monthly online ad budget is $1,000 to $10,000, then consider:

• Paid Search, Directories, City Guides, Social Media (as described above)

• Small Blogs and Websites: This is where knowing all about your target audience pays off… since you want to advertise on sites that your prospects frequent. Expect to spend between $100 to $1,500 per month. Need help? Find out where to advertise online.

If your monthly online ad budget is $10,000 or more (lucky you!), then consider:

• Paid Search and Social Media (as described above)

• Blogs and Websites: Focus on sites that reach your target audience. The better the match the better your advertising results will be. Keep in mind that many popular consumer-oriented websites require a minimum order of $5,000.

• Ad Networks: There are hundreds of ad networks to choose from. Select those that best reach your target audience. For example, vertical ad networks specifically target many consumer categories such as autos, travel, health, women, and even eco-friendly consumers! And like with popular websites, most ad networks want you to spend at least $5,000.

Remember these are just guidelines. So, yes there are ad networks you can try even on a smaller budget; and sure there are popular websites which sell affordable text links. But when in doubt, stick to the guidelines until you feel comfortable with your online advertising efforts… or you risk taking one of those wrong turns we talked about.

Don’t spend your whole adverting budget on one option (i.e., Google). Instead, test different alternatives to see what works best for you… based on how you measure success. And make testing your online advertising a standard practice!

With all that said… are you ready for your online advertising roadmap?

Thanks and let us know how it goes!

Or reach out as we can help too… just give us a call at 888.330.3236.

(Btw, this was an update to our December 2008 post)

One of our favorite places to visit this time of year is Los Angeles. Why? Because it’s got that perfect combination of beaches, movies stars, and Disneyland (for the kids of course!)

L.A. is also one of the biggest metropolitan markets in the country… with almost 18 million consumers ready to spend on your products and services.

Wondering how best to reach them with your online marketing message? Then check out our list of the 21 best websites for advertising to L.A. consumers.

For example, this “best of” list features websites for major print and television news outlets including the Los Angeles Times and KTTV Fox 11, sites geared towards specific regions or neighborhoods, such as Yo! Venice, Daily Breeze and Blogdowntown, along with lifestyle and event sites including LAist, Green LA Girl, and LA Moms Blog.

The complete list of the Best Websites for Advertising to L.A. Consumers can be found on our Leadtail blog – Best Online Advertising Stuff.

Have a great L.A. website that you’d like to nominate for next time? Just let us know…

We’ll see you at the beach this summer!

There was a time when all you had to do was get an ad in the Yellow Pages, hand out some flyers, and your local marketing was good to go. Not anymore. These days, you also need to promote your business on the Internet. And boy is that confusing… where do you begin?

Well at the beginning of course. And I don’t mean just having a website. I mean getting your business listed with the local search engines and online directories. Why? Because this is how today’s consumers search the Internet to find local businesses like yours.

Get started by making sure your business is listed with the following:

• Major Search Engines: I’m talking about  Google, Yahoo, and Bing local search. Each lets you submit your business information so that you show up in their local search results. And you’ll also show up in online maps (e.g., Google Maps and MapQuest).

• Online Yellow Pages: Yes, it’s the online version of the tried and true Yellow Pages. These online directories generate millions of visitors every day looking for local businesses. Check out YellowPages.com, Yellowbook, and SuperPages.

• Local Search Engines: These search engines include Local.com, LocalPages, and GenieKnows. Each focuses on generating search results and user reviews of local services and products.

• Local Directories. There are a number of local directories that focus on helping businesses get more exposure on the Internet. How about MerchantCircle, InsiderPages, and Best of the Web Local? Definitely worth considering.

• City Guides: These websites are more about “what’s great” and “what to do” in your local area, and user reviews and popularity are important factors in determining which businesses get the most attention. Yelp and Citysearch are good examples.

It’s easy and (mostly) free to get your business listed. Just click on the “List Your Business”, “Add Your Business”, or a similar link to get the process started when visiting one of these sites. Of course, there are quite a few local search and online directories to list with. So you may instead want to use services such as Universal Business Listing, iBegin.com, and Localeze. They’ll do the submitting for you at little or no cost… plus save you a ton of time!

When submitting your business information, don’t forget to include the same descriptive keywords and compelling copy that you use on your website. For example, what you do and where you do it… such as “accountant, San Francisco”. This will improve the chances of your business showing up in the right search results and sending qualified prospects to your website.

What if you don’t have a website? Then start with the Online Yellow Pages, Local Directories, and City Guides. They’ll create a business listing for you that’ll include the name and description of your business, phone number, and street address. And if you’re willing to pay ($25 to $50 per month), you can also add photos, special offers, and more!

So what are you waiting for? Let’s get the phones ringing!

Your website is up and ready to go. Not to mention you’re chomping at the bit to make some serious money online. But don’t kid yourself. It’s going to take awhile to generate enough traffic to create a profitable business. And this assumes you have something unique to sell which will get prospects coming back… plus telling everyone they know about your website. How long will it take? Think twelve months at least… and most likely longer (sorry!).

But don’t worry. You just need to be patient and willing to work hard to spread the word about your fledgling website. Having some advertising budget helps too… like with any other business.  And since I’ll be the first to admit that the world of online advertising is confusing, complex, and cluttered… we’ve put together a roadmap to help you navigate:

• Search engine optimization. Make it easy as possible for your website to show up in the first page of Google search results. How to do that? Follow SEO best practices. Better yet, make them a way of life. Otherwise, your website becomes a tiny needle in a really big haystack… and prospects will never find you on their own. Not sure where to start? Check out the book: “The Truth About Search Engine Optimization” by Rebecca Lieb, on Amazon.com… and take the time to read it.

• Press releases. Get in the habit of doing press releases (at least one per month). In today’s web world, press releases can and should be an important part of your strategy to get the word out about your business… even if you’re a one person start-up working from your kitchen table. There are free and very affordable services ($25 per release) such as Free Press Release and 1888 PressRelease. So don’t hesitate to start making some news!

• Web Directories. Millions of people search web directories every day to find a business like yours. So definitely submit your website to online directories. Good ones include: Dmoz.org, Yahoo! Directory, Best of the Web, and JoeAnt. There are also web directories that specialize in blogs (e.g., BlogCatalog), local markets (e.g., Local.com), and industries (e.g., Business.com). Many are free but some do charge an annual fee (i.e., $20 to $300)… and you can also pay to advertise and get a more prominent listing.

• Internet Yellow Pages. Yes, it’s the online version of the tried and true yellow pages. Simple enough to understand right? For example, check out YellowPages.com, SuperPages, and Yellowbook. Each of these offers a free listing for your business and you can also pay for a more prominent listing… again, just like the regular yellow pages. A must for local online businesses!

• City Guides. These websites are more about “what’s great” and “what to do” in your local area, and user reviews and popularity are important factors in determining which businesses get the most attention. Citysearch and Yelp are good examples. And like the web directories and Internet yellow pages, you can get a business listing and pay to promote it in search results. Another must for local business owners.

• Paid Search. Of course, you can always pay Google, Yahoo!, and other search engines to show up in their search results as a “sponsored” listing. For example, if you’re a dentist located in Chicago, it may make sense to buy a paid search ad for the keywords “dentists, Chicago” to drive local prospects to your website. The good news is you only pay when someone clicks on your advertisement. But setting up, testing, and managing paid search programs can be very time consuming and complicated… so you may want to turn to firms like Yodle or ReachLocal to help out.

• Display Advertising. There are thousands of quality websites and blogs you can “display” your ads on. The key is to find sites that reach your target audience and make sense given your marketing budget. For example, try out Leadtail (our service) to find out where you should advertise online. Keep in mind that display advertising helps generate awareness for your business but not necessarily lots of visitors to your website. But awareness matters, since we tend to buy from companies we’re already familiar with. 

• Ad Networks. You’ll probably hear about ad networks (if you haven’t already). They make it easy to run your ad on thousands of websites and blogs… depending on the consumers you’re trying to reach. For those on an extra limited budget (aren’t we all?), take a look at BuySellAds.com, Performancing Ads, and BidVertiser where you only have to spend a couple hundred bucks a month to advertise your online business.

• Email List Rental. You can rent email lists and buy ad space in email newsletters that cater to your target audience. Just make sure the lists are “opt-in” as you definitely don’t want to “spam” anyone. And don’t forget to start building your own email list right away by offering your website visitors the opportunity to sign up to receive something from you (e.g., your email newsletter).

• Social Media Marketing. There sure is a lot of buzz about Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn… to name a few social media sites. And whether or not you understand what these sites are all about… your business needs to participate. It really does. So invest the time to learn how social media marketing can help get people talking (or tweeting!) about your website.

• Affiliate Marketing. Why not have other websites (i.e., affiliates) market your products for you? And when these affiliates send prospects to your site that purchase your products… you pay them a percentage of the proceeds (i.e., commissions). Makes sense right? There are lots of companies that’ll help you find the right affiliates for your business. Check out AffiliateTips.com to learn more. This is a must for online retailers!
  

• Article Marketing. Your prospects like to read articles related to your products, services, or industry. So go ahead and write lots of relevant articles and post them to article directory sites such as EzineArticles, ArticlesBase, GoArticles.com, and Buzzle.com. And with each article you submit, you get to add your bio and a link to your website. This means you’ll be establishing yourself as a thought leader with your prospects… while also increasing your site traffic!

This online advertising roadmap has plenty to get you started… so use it like a checklist. And when you’re ready to learn more, just do a Google search using the above bullet point titles as your search terms (e.g., “display advertising”). Of course, you still have to decide what makes the most sense given your particular business, target market, and budget.

Now take a deep breath… and get going in building your online business. You can do it!

Are you ready to market your local business on the Internet? Well then, the first thing you need to do is spend a lot of money creating a website… not! As a matter of fact, you don’t even need a website to start. So put away that checkbook (for now) and let’s instead take a look at your online advertising options…

Internet Yellow Pages. Yes, it’s the online version of the tried and true yellow page directory. Simple enough to understand right? For example, check out YellowPages.com, SuperPages.com, and Yellowbook.com. Each of these offers a free listing for your business and you can also pay for a more prominent listing… again, just like the regular yellow pages.

Online Directories. These sites make it easy for Internet users to search for a local business like yours. Yahoo! Local, Local.com, and InsiderPages are local directories you should consider. There may also be directories that just focus on your type of business. For example, if you own a restaurant then you probably want to be listed in UrbanSpoon. Many directories offer free business listings… and if you’re willing to pay, your business can show up higher in search results!

City Guides. These websites are more about “what’s great” and “what to do” in your local area… and user reviews and popularity are important factors in determining which businesses get the most attention. Citysearch and Yelp are good examples. And like the Internet yellow pages and online directories, you can get a business listing and promote your business in search results.

Paid Search. Of course you can always pay Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft to show up in their local search results. For example, if you’re a dentist located in Chicago, it may make sense to buy a paid search ad for the keywords “dentists, Chicago” to drive local prospects to your website. Keep in mind that setting up, testing, and managing your paid search programs can be time consuming and complicated… so you may want to turn to firms like Yodle or ReachLocal to help out.

Online Newspapers. Don’t forget your local newspaper! It attracts lots of online readers from your neighborhood. And just like the print version, you can buy ads in different sections like the news, sports, and entertainment pages of their site. But this may be a better option if you have your own website and a bit more of a marketing budget.

Local Websites. There are many other websites that cater specifically to your local market. For example, your city magazine probably has an online version. Plus there are local blogs that focus on community news, real estate, parenting, sports, and even nightlife. And some may be looking for advertisers just like you. The key is to find local websites that do a great job of reaching your target audience.

All good and helpful information right? But where do you start? Well… that depends.

What if you have no website or budget? At least get your free business listings with the Internet Yellow Pages, Online Directories, and City Guides. A business listing is like a one-page website showing your company name, address, phone number… and maybe more. That way the millions of people searching these sites can now find your business! And if you have some budget to spend then consider upgrading to a paid and more prominent listing (about $50 per month). You should also start testing some of the advertising programs these sites offer ($100 to $400 per month) to see what works best… to get the phones ringing!

What if you have a great website and $500 or more per month to spend marketing your business? Then, in addition to advertising in the Internet Yellow Pages, Online Directories, and City Guides, you should also be running local paid search ads. And if you’re looking to spend over $1,500 monthly on advertising your local website (lucky you!)… definitely consider adding your online newspaper and local websites to the mix.

Btw… right now someone in your neighborhood is searching the Internet for a business like yours. Hurry up and get started… to make it easy for them to find you!