Improve Your Placements

Simple steps for more effective online ads

Recent studies show that consumers spend an average of four hours online every day, which accounts for 32.5% of their daily media intake. Your business can harness the interest of Internet-savvy consumers by placing advertisements on third-party websites they're already visiting. For example, if you own a pharmaceutical business, your customers are probably visiting medical or wellness websites. Tapping into these websites can help you reach thousands of new customers. Follow these helpful tips to get the most out of your online advertising:

• Advertise in context. Put yourself in your customers' shoes: which websites would you visit in your industry? For example, if you own an outdoors store, search for websites that offer camping, hunting, and fishing equipment. Better yet, focus on high-quality websites with significant traffic, and then check their media kits for online advertising rates.
• Stay local. If you're looking to attract local business through online advertisements, check out the website for your local daily newspaper. A newspaper's website usually features sections similar to what you'd find in the print publication, such as business, sports, and travel. Consider advertising in the section aligned with your industry. If you target the right audience, you're more likely to get readers interested in your business.
• Don't worry about clicks. Most Internet users who see your ad won't actually click on it. In fact, 84% of advertising click-throughs can be traced back to only 8% of Internet users. Focus your attention on page views because it will tell you how your ad is working over time. When you see a bump in potential customers visiting your website, you'll know your target advertising techniques are working.