Internet advertising has grown at an overwhelming pace in recent years, making it one of the most rapidly expanding online services. The result: online advertising cost has become increasingly competitive, requiring clients to make informed decisions before choosing marketing services and providers.
Advantages of Online Advertising
Accessible to billions of people all over the world, the Internet has huge advertising potential. Each day, more companies realize this and invest in online advertising for their marketing needs. Even when compared to TV, online advertising is the most efficient and cost-effective method to let people know about your products and services.
But what edge does online advertising have over other forms of marketing? Online advertising cost is well worth the investment for a number of reasons. The first can be summarized in two words: extensive coverage.
If you advertise using television commercials, newspaper ads, and radio plugs, you usually pay thousands of dollars to advertise in a limited area. Online advertising cost covers a much wider scope, including every individual, home, office or organization which has Internet access. Therefore, online advertising cost is worth every dime spent, since it eliminates the restrictions imposed by traditional methods of advertising. Best of all, some online advertising costs (like SEO) are almost entirely upfront, removing costly long-term expenditures.
Measuring Online Advertising
Unlike other forms of marketing, Internet advertising has a high degree of measurability. The online advertising cost you pay normally includes a solution to accurately measure ad performance. Most services, provide a way to see exactly how many people have acted upon your advertisement.
So what does it cost? Unfortunately, there is no one way or exact figure for determining online advertising cost. This is because there are a wide array of advertising methods and rates which fluctuate depending upon the service provider. That said, the following list contains the most common factors which can affect online advertising cost:
1. Type of Online Advertising
Many advertisers opt for featured display ads which are paid for on a monthly or even a weekly basis. If you go for this type, online advertising cost can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per week. Banners, in particular, are popular these days with larger companies. They offer effective placements such that they draw attention immediately. Expect Websites with a high traffic and visitor count to charge more.
Email marketing is another popular online advertising method. It is quite effective at communicating a message to the general public. However, with the increase in anti-spam measures provided by email hosts, it can sometimes be difficult to get your message into a person’s inbox. Online advertising cost for email can range anywhere from $100 or more for every thousand emails sent.
One of the best ways to advertise online is to capitalize on search engine traffic. Services like pay per click (PPC) ads and search engine optimization (SEO) have a moderate online advertising cost and can provide excellent returns. With PPC, you place a bid on keywords related to your advertisement. These bids usually range between $.10 and $5.00. When a user searches for your keyword, your ad is displayed in the search engine. If the user clicks on it to visit your site, you are charged the bid amount.
SEO is similar in how it uses search engines to funnel visitors to your site. However, instead of charging per click, you pay a service fee to have your site optimized for keywords, enabling it to naturally rank higher in search engines. Normally, basic SEO has a moderate upfront cost of around $1000, with a low quarterly fee to keep your site ranking well.
2. Exposure to the Public
There are also a number of online advertising options to choose from depending upon your target exposure. For PPC, online advertising costs usually vary according to how many people visit the advertiser's website. Commonly used by banner ads, cost per thousand impressions (CPM) charges by how many visitors are exposed to the advertiser’s message. On the other hand, cost per action involves advertisers paying only if the user completes a transaction, which can either be in the form of a sale or a sign-up.
With all of these options, advertisers typically do not have to pay an online advertising cost simply for listing an ad. CPMs are usually priced from $24 to $40 per thousand views, while PPC costs can be as low as pennies per click. Depending upon how many visitors a Web site attracts, online advertising cost can vary.
Lastly, online advertising cost can change according to your target market. The more narrowed or popular your target audience, the more you will often have to pay. Compared to traditional advertising, these costs are offset due to the higher chance of success and return on investment.
3. Technology
There are other forms of online advertising besides the ubiquitous banner ad. These involve the use of animated images or even video clips programmed through advanced software to grab attention. However, you will need to pay more for these effective methods.
Online advertising such as this is usually sold as a session campaign which means it is sold in monthly blocks. Online advertising cost involving video ads can cost advertisers anywhere from $25,000 to $75,000 for every session. Though, this might equate to about 375,000 impressions. Online advertising cost for streaming video is more cost effective at several hundred dollars per week . Of course, all of these costs are dependant upon the Web site being targeted with the ads. More popular sites command a premium to the tune of thousands of dollars or more.
4. Ad Size, Placement and Position
Normally, the price advertisers pay for an ad will also depend on the ad’s size and placement. Of course, as you can probably imagine, the larger the ad, the higher the online advertising cost. Ads placed higher on a particular Web page tend to gain more exposure than those placed on the bottom and, therefore, cost more. A banner 120 pixels by 180 pixels can cost two to three times as much when compared to those with the dimensions 120 pixels by 60 pixels. Again, the more visitors the Web site has, the more online advertising cost you will need to pay.
Final Thoughts on Online Advertising Cost
Some have argued that online advertising cost may be a waste of money. However, when comparing online advertising to traditional methods, the choice is clear. Online advertising has a strong, if not superior, return on investment.
Advertising through the Internet leads to two beneficial outcomes. First, you will receive clicks immediately which will lead users to your Web site. When they go to your site, they can read about your product or service and consider purchasing it. Second, online advertising, like that done on TV, can be effective at branding. Though your ads may not lead to an immediate sale, they can gradually increase the popularity of your merchandise as a brand. Even if you do not see a rise in click throughs, your message will still be reaching people who may buy down the road. As with any form of advertising, have positive, reasonable expectations.
Keystroke Marketing is a full-service online advertising and Internet marketing firm, specializing in SEO, PPC, and Web design. For a quote on your online advertising campaign, please fill out our
free quote form or call Keystroke Marketing at: 1-888-449-3239.
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