Benefits of advertising online
Online advertising can reach people all over the world, so it’s important to plan it well. Google and Meta offer tools that make advertising online easy and cheap, helping you spread your business beyond its physical boundaries.
Using Google Ads
Google Ads is one of the most commonly used types of advertising.
Some of the benefits of using Google Ads include:
- reaching both Google and YouTube users
- flexible budget
- pay per click
- easy access to stats
- targeting audiences
- scalable model.
Types of Google Ads
Search ads
Search ads appear at the top of Google search results, before the standard search results. This is the quickest way to connect with customers, because they’re already searching for what you offer.
The ads show your contact details and price range, targeting shoppers looking for specific products and services.
Google Display ads
Google Display ads can be text, image, or video banners. They appear when someone browses the internet, uses an app, or watches a video.
These ads help you get someone's attention early in the buying process, before they specifically search for options. The Google Display Network reaches 90% of internet users.
Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile is a free tool that helps attract customers who use Google Search or Google Maps.
You can set up a Business Profile in Google that lets you post photos and offers, update your business details, and respond to reviews. You can use Google Business Profile even if you don’t have a physical shop.
Google Shopping
Google Shopping is Google’s dedicated shopping platform. It displays photos of products and gives customers a filter to narrow their search.
To use Google Shopping:
- upload your information on Google Merchant Centre
- use it to sync products and images on your website
- promote your ads and find ways to improve your campaign.
YouTube ads
YouTube gives you a great chance to engage with potential customers in a visual and entertaining way.
Using Meta ads
Advertising on Facebook and Instagram through Meta has benefits such as:
- engaging with a user base that spends more time on Facebook and Instagram than other social media
- targeting customers based on demographics, interests, and behaviours
- generating brand awareness by posting from your business’s Facebook or Instagram page
- Meta ads are cheaper and easier to manage than traditional media ads.
Meta’s advertising tools
Meta offers tools to help you analyse your ads and campaign, to help you figure out what is and isn’t working.
Meta Business Suite
This is where your Meta ad account and other advertising tools live.
Meta Business Suite includes:
- Ads Manager – to specify an objective for your campaign
- ad sets – to choose your audience, budget, schedule, and whether your ad appears on Facebook, Instagram, or both
- audiences – to grow your customer base.
Meta pixel
This is a tracking code that links your Meta ads to your website, showing what Facebook and Instagram users do when they visit your website. Set goals based on what you want customers to do. Meta pixel gives more detail on which ads work and which audiences respond.
Calculating ad costs
It’s important to know how much you’re spending on ads. To calculate how much it costs you to get one customer, divide what you’re spending on advertising by your total number of customers.
To decide how much you want to spend to get one new customer:
- look at how much you’re earning from each customer now
- divide your yearly revenue by the total number of your customers.
Understanding your customers better can help you target your advertising more effectively and reduce the amount you spend per customer.
Once you’re comfortable with how much you’re spending on ads, you can start making the most of them. You can do this with campaigns. A campaign is an advertising goal for one or more groups of ads. Use a campaign for each business goal – for example, a goal can be more sales or newsletter subscribers.
Affiliate marketing
If you have a bigger marketing budget, you can pay someone commission to sell on your behalf. This is called affiliate marketing. This strategy can help you reach more customers.
Things to consider when setting up an affiliate programme include:
- picking the right platform
- deciding how you’ll pay commission
- deciding how to select affiliate partners who suit your audience, brand and values
- drawing up rules – for example, consider what promotional methods are acceptable, which products affiliates will sell, and when you pay them
- developing marketing material
- tracking performance.
Learn more about