Media Buying Series (Where to Place Your Ads) – Part 3
Choosing the right ad network, or location to place your ads can be just as tricky as deciding what type of ads to run. Based on the examples I gave in Part 2, I want to discuss the best route(s) for placing your media buy.
These days, some of the larger networks are geared towards running multiple ad types; working with a variety of budgets. Take a look at a network I’ve used a number of times: AdBrite.com.
When setting up a campaign at AdBrite, you have the option of choosing three ad formats: banner ads, text ads and full page ads (interstitial). Depending on the network size and scalability, some give you the option of viewing the number of available impressions – in this case AdBrite has 103 million possible impressions / day. Of course, if you’re goal is to display your ad 103 million times…you’d be running a highly un-targeted campaign. With this said, to run the most focused and targeted campaign as possible, you have the following options:
Location of Users
Recently, some online marketing authorities have suggested foreign traffic being more cost effective than domestic…again, you might be paying a lower CPC or CPM, but success will depend largely on what product you’re selling. Specifically on AdBrite, you can target your ads geographically; nailing down a specific US city. The same goes for Google Adwords and other large search engines. If your website is geared towards Fort Smith, AK..than choosing the geo-targeting feature is the wisest decision.
Site Category
It’s time for another question…what are you promoting? Just like the Black & Decker drill example, make sure you’re picking a focused category related to your product. In our example, you have the option of showing your ad in “All Categories” or picking a specific section such as: Arts & Entertainment, Automotive, People & Social Networking…etc. There is no limit of how many / or few categories you can choose.
Keywords
Depending on if you’re running a display ad or text campaign, you can choose to opt out of keyword targeting. When publishers sign up with the network, they pick what keywords their site should be listed under. Should you wish to display text ads under a given keyword…your best bet would be to run paid search engine ads…since the user’s search is based on, you guessed it…a keyword…i.e, Google, Yahoo, MSN..etc.
Gender & Age
Larger networks give you the option of targeting with select demographics…such as gender and age group. Sticking with our example of AdBrite, sometimes sites will release demographic data to help you choose the best fit.
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I’m sure by now you get the basic idea of what a network like AdBrite offers. Should you wish to go the standard route of text ads, lets take a look at Google Adwords…(Google offers a wide variety of media buy options..excluding text ads.)
With Google commanding 68% of the search stratosphere, if you’re thinking about running a paid text ad campaign…this is a good place to start. Depending on your budget level, Google requires a minimum start up cost of $5.00. You have the option of loading in one keyword / or a million keywords…the options are endless. Sine we’ll be talking about the Execution of your campaigns later on, I’m not going to dwell too much about the specifics of setting up an Adwords campaign.
Site Sponsorship & Direct Advertisement
In the last segment I gave the example of “Providing” a service and being the sole sponsor behind a website. If you want to forget about the networks, and say goodbye to the Adbrites & Adwords…you have the option of doing so. Re-visiting the Black & Decker example: let’s say you have a site promoting drills and the ad networks don’t seem to work. I won’t ask why, but there has to be a network for you somewhere. Sticking with your decision, you make the choice to go it alone. In this case, the search engines are your best friend. Using the Adwords keyword tool start with a basic phrase like “Black & Decker drills.” Then, expand your selection based on the results. Make sure you select, “use synonyms.” Black and Decker Drills has now expanded into: black and decker cordless drills, black and decker electric drills…black and decker 18v cordless drill..etc. These keywords widen your options when choosing sites to advertise on.
One advantage of using direct advertisements is the ability negotiate media costs. Should the website be struggling to place advertisers…a spot normally costing $799 / month – could possibly be purchased for $599 / month. Unlike using a network, it’s all between you and the publisher! However, even though you find a SWEET deal and you think it’s a good fit…be sure to check out the integrity of the website and what other visitors are saying. Run a search on the BBB and other scam watch related websites. Don’t sacrifice the clout of your site for the sake of getting a good deal. Even though the publisher gives a limited amount of details on their “Advertisers” page…be sure to request direct contact with the person in charge of all media buys. Always request a media kit..as well as site demographic data (besides the preliminary research you’ve done.)
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Alright, we’ve covered Why You Should Use Media Buying, What Type of Ads to Run…and, where to place your ads. Sit tight, and get ready for Execution! That’s what it’s all about.
