Skip to content
Google AdWords is one of the top tools to use for businesses looking to advertise and increase their search engine rankings. Google is known as the industry standard—everyone loves Google, and so a lot of entrepreneurs think that love translates into the idea that they should always be using AdWords for their business.
For some businesses this could very well be true, but when talking about AdWords in general, one size does not fit all. Before choosing AdWords, think about the specific needs of your business. Below are some things to consider before choosing Google as your advertising platform:
- Many large companies use AdWords, resulting in BIG competition for a small business/startup.
- You have to pay both in time and money. AdWords isn’t cheap, sometimes costing up to $5 per click, and you have to invest a lot of time to make sure you’re using it correctly. Sometimes (oftentimes) money is lost in that experimenting phase.
- AdWords might not be the best way to reach your target audience. Consider who your audience is and what platform might be best to reach them. Just because Google is biggest doesn’t necessarily mean it’s best.
Again, Google is a great company and AdWords has a great deal of benefits, it just might not be the best first option for small businesses and startups. As a PPC marketing agency, we always tell our clients: Don’t feel pressured to use and master AdWords before trying out other potential advertising platforms. In fact, if the list above speaks to you, save yourself some time (and money) and consider these alternative online advertising options for your business:
Tons of startups are using Facebook and it’s incredible popularity to advertise their business to very specific audiences. Their ads work like typical pay per click advertising, but they offer more options for business owners, such as: “segmentation based on age, gender, location, etc.” They require an image (or video) to go with all text, and this coupled with the targeting and a captivating headline has the potential to return a very high CTR. Just make sure you know the demographics that make up your audience and that they are the ones you’re trying to reach.
Niche Advertising
Niche sites are generally less expensive for advertisers and they also drive more targeted traffic than their traditional counterpoints. The conversion rates are generally much higher as well since you’re advertising to a very specific, targeted group instead of a broad audience. Just make sure you’re reaching out to the right group!
Search for blogs, forums, and websites that cater towards your specific product. You should also consider contacting people in your target audience and figure out where online they choose to hang out. InfluAds and BuySellAds are two good niche advertising options. InfluAds only allows image ads, but they work well with small budgets and offer advertisers additional traffic for free. BuySellAds is also image-only, cheap ($10-20 a month) and is available on a monthly or by-impression basis.
StumbleUpon Ads
This social tool is relatively new to the advertising world, but it’s easy to use. All you have to do to get started is set up a profile and the site will start showing you new websites that match your interests. Their advertising platform is called “Paid Discovery”, and it costs between .05 and .25 cents for every person who ends up “stumbling” to your website, and the cost increases depending on how targeted you want your ads to be. You also choose the websites that you want your ads to be associated with. They also offer paid placement ads for someone looking for a more traditional advertising route.
Reddit’s slogan is “the front page to the Internet.” It’s an appropriate catch phrase seeing as how the site allows users with similar interests to find each other and discuss content. By this point I hope “targeted advertising” bells are going off in your head- what better place to reach out to consumers who might be interested in your product than a website that focuses on people’s unique interests? Reddit’s advertising is a little different, however. They require business owners to bid a certain amount of money each day, the funds get combined with everyone else’s, and then the impressions you receive are based on a percentage of the money you contributed. They’re easy to create (you just need two visible components) and they have the potential to go viral for very little cost. This article lists more helpful ways you can use Reddit to grow your business.
LinkedIn advertising is ideal for startups and small businesses because they offer some very cost-effective ways to get the word out about your product. You can choose between sponsored updates and text ads and both will direct people to your website, but in different ways. Read here for more information on the difference between the two and how to get started using them. The cost of advertising on LinkedIn is a little higher than say, Facebook and Twitter, but as long as you monitor your analytics your conversions should be worth your budget. LinkedIn lets you choose your target audience as well as your budget; you can pick between CPC and CPM. Just keep in mind that LinkedIn targets a professional audience, so if that’s not the best fit for your product you might want to consider one of the other platforms on the list.
Hopefully by now you’ve been convinced that you don’t have to spend all your free time and your entire advertising budget competing with huge companies via Google AdWords if you’re a startup. There are plenty of other affordable online advertising options out there, you just need to do your homework to figure out which one(s) are the best fit for your company and product.
Still not sure about how to best market your product online? Check out this article on Entrepreneur.com that lists several helpful digital marketing tips for startup business owners. Any advice or questions? Let us know in the comment section below.