Paid Marketing – 5 Tips to Understand the Concepts

 

Paid media is a powerful marketing tool, but it’s also one of the most misunderstood. While it may seem like an arduous and expensive process to go through to advertise with the big boys in the industry, paid advertising can produce great results for small businesses looking to reach their target audience. Many people believe that advertising costs hundreds of dollars per day, or even thousands of dollars for a television or newspaper ad. That’s simply not true. Many small business owners don’t have a lot of money to spend on marketing their business, so they turn to advertising as a way to reach their target market with little expense. It can be done cheaply and without affecting your bottom line too much.

What is Paid Advertising?

Paid media is any advertising that is purchased by a business in order to place it in front of a large audience. These may include ads that appear on websites, podcasts, social media, or television. The term may also be used to refer to advertisements that are printed on paper and delivered to customers, who are often referred to as “purchasers.”

How Does Paid Advertising Work?

Most paid advertising platforms take a percentage of the ad revenue the business generates, either as a flat rate or as a percentage of the total ad impressions served. Many advertising platforms require that the ads be created by the business itself, and most advertising providers will only work with businesses that are willing to work with the ad platform’s requirements. Some platforms also allow you to set up shop as an affiliate and earn a commission on every purchase made by a customer who clicks your ad.

The Pros and Cons of Paid Advertising

There are a few things to consider before deciding which type of marketing strategy is right for your business. Some of the main advantages of paid advertising are: Paid media can yield greater results than free media. While it’s great to spend a few extra bucks for a poorly targeted ad that may or may not get seen, paid media can often yield a higher total dollar value for your business as compared to free media. Paid media has a much wider audience base to reach. If you have a small business that requires more targeted marketing, you may be better served using free methods of marketing such as newspaper and radio ads. However, if you’re running a large sales operation that requires in-depth targeting, paid advertising is the way to go. Paid methods are less intrusive. You won’t be giving up your personal information in exchange for a few hundred or thousands of impressions. Plus, you won’t be shown up for being in business with a few hundred or thousands of others.

5 Ways to Understand Paid Media

There are a few ways to approach paid advertising. Understanding your target audience and the value you provide can help you decide which approach is best for your business.

PPC (Pay Per Click) Advertising

This is a type of paid advertising in which the business pays for each click that a person makes on their ad. Pay-per-click advertising can be used to boost the ad’s visibility on Google, Facebook, and other major search engines. This type of advertising requires the business to purchase direct ad space on Google, and they’re only allowed to do so once per month. Google also blocks ads that are deemed to be “misleading or false” or that are “purposely intended to deceive.” If you buy a PPC ad and the ad leads to a page that includes one of these ads, Google will ban you from the platform the next day.

Banners and Links in Google Advertisements

Google doesn’t allow you to target your audience through links and banners on Google’s own search results page (SERP). You can only click on the “Search” or “mobile-friendly” results, and only if those options are visible and prominently displayed on the page. Google also blocks advertisements that are deemed to be “misleading or false” or that are “purposely intended to deceive.” If you buy a Google ad and the ad includes a link or a banner that leads to a site that includes one of these ads, Google will ban you from the platform the next day.

Conclusion

Paid media can be a great way to attract new customers, grow existing customers, or increase brand awareness. It’s important to understand how it’s done so you can maximize your results. Knowing how to use paid media effectively starts with understanding what it is and what it isn’t. Paid media isn’t expensive, and it can yield a ton of benefit for your business.