Picking the Right Paid Advertising Strategy
Posted on 05/18/2022 at 10:00 AM
Have you spent time honing your SEO strategy and social media presence but still not getting the results you want? It may be time to consider adding paid advertising to your digital marketing strategy. There are countless options for advertising online. But what’s the best advertising strategy for your business?
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Types of Paid Advertising
When it comes to paid ads, the options can be overwhelming. There’s a wide range of paid search ads across Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. Streaming ads, native ads, social media ads, and so much more are all viable options. For beginners looking for the most cost-effective, efficient online advertising options, there are two clear frontrunners.
Social Media Advertising
Virtually every social media platform offers different advertising options. With the ability to target your audience by the social platform you use as well as advanced targeting features, it can be a great option. A paid social media marketing campaign also tends to be faster and easier than running a search marketing campaign. With so many social platforms to advertise on, we’ll focus on two of the easiest and most popular, Facebook and Instagram.
Facebook Ads and Instagram Ads
Facebook and Instagram ads offer plenty of flexibility to create and share your ad across the platforms. As Meta platforms, ads for both can be created in Ads Manager and shared across one or both of the platforms from there.
There are great features for targeting your audiences such as interest and location-based. You are also able to set goals for a post based on what you are hoping to achieve with your ad campaign. Do you want more calls? More website visits? Budget options are extremely flexible and affordable with the ability to run ads for as low as $1 a day.
Instagram and Facebook ads are great for A/B testing since they are so flexible and affordable. It’s fast and easy to create one ad with its own image, headline, and audience targeting and another with entirely different information. Additionally, you could run one on Facebook and the other on Instagram to compare outcomes. After some time, comparing the results to see which ad was more effective can yield valuable insights. Note: remember, ad reach is great, but engagement/link clicks are a better indicator of a successful ad!
Facebook Boosted Posts and Instagram Boosted Posts
While boosted social posts are still technically ads, they differ from traditional social media ads in a few ways. Boosted posts are posts from your account that you pay to reach a wider audience. Boosted posts are created from the post itself, and not in Ad Manager like traditional ads. Other differences between boosted posts and ads include:
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Limitations: Boosted posts have less opportunity for customization than ads. Choices for demographic targeting, placement, goals, etc. are more limited. However, this does mean that boosted posts are faster and easier to create than ads.
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Goals: The goals behind boosted posts and ads differ as well. Social media ads are aimed at conversions, while boosted posts are aimed at brand awareness. With an ad, you want to drive traffic to your website, get more sales, etc. With a boosted post, you want to increase brand awareness and get more likes/views/shares on your post.
Google Ads
When it comes to paid search marketing, Google (unsurprisingly) is king. According to Statista, Google had a market share of 88.55% of search engines in 2021. Google Ads have a lot more nuance to them than social ads, and as a result, can be a bit more complex. There are plenty of options for keyword bidding strategies, types of ads, etc.
Your set budget and keyword bidding strategies heavily depend on your industry and how much you are willing to spend. High volume keywords such as “law firm”, “pediatrician”, etc. can cost you quite a bit to get on the first page. However, there is a lot of flexibility in the type of ad you make and your ability to make continual adjustments.
Responsive Search Ads
Responsive Google Ads are a great ad type for any industry. You are able to enter a variety of headlines and descriptions in a single ad. Pros include:
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Google’s machine learning model optimizes your ads by displaying the optimal combination of the assets you entered based on performance history
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You can easily remove and replace underperforming headlines and descriptions while keeping well-performing ones running in the ad
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Plenty of opportunities to add keyword variations and related keywords
Dynamic Search Ads
Dynamic search ads are ideal for larger, well-organized websites. Google automatically generates headlines and landing pages by pulling content directly from your website. Pros include:
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Fast and easy since Google does most of the work
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When a user searches a term related to your product or service, an ad is dynamically generated with a clear headline for the most relevant page on your site
Note: don’t use dynamic search ads if your website is constantly changing or is not well optimized
Display Ads
True to their name, Google display ads are photo or video display ads that are shown on websites that partner with Google to provide ad space (the Google Display Network). Image/video ads can range in appearance regarding size, location, etc. Pros include:
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Google shows these ads on websites relevant to your target audience
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An image/video can better convey a message than words for certain industries (a picture of pasta is much more appealing than words describing your pasta!)
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Images can be static or interactive
Shopping Ads
Shopping ads can be geared toward a specific product (with an image, price, and details) or for a range of products. Pros include:
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More results can show up under Google shopping, images, and more than one of your products can pop up for the same search query
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More convenient shopping and purchasing experience for customers
Call Ads
Call ads still feature descriptions and headlines, but prompt users to call instead of shop or visit your website. Pros include:
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Getting users on the phone with your business to encourage more active engagement
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Call ads can be set to run at all times or during set hours to ensure your business is open when they call
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Specific and custom data can be gathered from a user that may lack in other ads as the user is actively engaging with a team member at your business
There are even more types of Google Ads and more complexities that go into each type. Identifying which ad type is best for your business and goals is the first place to start in the paid search advertising process.
Which Type of Paid Advertising is the Best?
No single paid advertising method is guaranteed better than another method. What type of advertising you choose, or if you choose to do any at all, depends on your specific situation. Before delving into a specific type of advertising campaign, ask yourself a few questions.
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Have I dedicated enough focus to organic efforts?
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Search engine optimization (SEO) is a vital part of every digital marketing strategy
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What are my goals?
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Brand awareness, increasing web traffic, getting the word out about a specific event, promoting a new service, etc.
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What is my budget?
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If your desired keywords are popular/expensive, can you pay enough to get your ads on the first page and keep them running
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Do I have time to dedicate to monitoring and adjusting ads to ensure they are performing well?
Regardless of what type of advertising you choose, there are a number of things to keep in mind:
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Do keyword and audience research (know what terms to use, where to place your ad, and what specific products or services would be best to advertise)
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Don’t neglect other digital marketing efforts (social media, SEO work, etc.)
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Don’t be afraid to make adjustments (changing budget, keywords, ad type, etc.)
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Pay close attention to insights, performance results should inform adjustments in not only advertising strategy but your website and social strategy as well
Get Your Own Personal Advertising Expert
Global Reach offers a wide range of digital marketing services, including certified Google Ads specialists. We can help with everything from advertising consulting to setting up your ads to ongoing maintenance!
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Categories: Search Engine Marketing, Social Media, Content Marketing and Sales