Have you thought about how you will advertise your online business or if you have already been in business for a while, what advertising methods are you currently using? How are they working for you? Whether they're working or not working or if you haven't gotten to that part, it pays to diversify. You don't want to spend your entire advertising budget on just one avenue. You definitely don't want to pass up the many opportunities for free advertising that can be found all over the Internet.
Split Testing
You'll find that an Internet marketing technique commonly referred to as "split testing" will come in handy when you are trying to figure out which advertising method or methods to use. Split testing will let you see how and where you are getting your customers so you can benefit from the method that is working better. For example, you can put up the exact same salespage on two or more different sites and then track where your site visitors are coming from. You can also post messages in different forums with links back to your website in your signature line and then track which links your visitors clicked on to find you.
Mix up your advertising efforts as well as your advertising dollars in order to discover which methods work best for you. Many new Internet marketers rush into their new business venture and spend far too much money on advertising before they even know which methods work the best. Maybe banner ads will bring you business; maybe they won't, but before you sink all of your advertising dollars into banner ads do your homework first.
AdSense or AdWords?
Most, if not all Internet marketers are familiar with Google AdSense and AdWords. Briefly, AdSense works by placing free ads on your website and you earn money (pennies in most cases) when others click on those ads. AdWords works by Internet marketers paying for keywords; it is a PPC (pay-per-click) marketing strategy. You only pay for the ads that are clicked on. While an entire volume could be written on PPC and AdWords, suffice it to say that while there is no guarantee that visitors will make a purchase, usually, only those interested in what the ad is selling will click in the first place.
Anytime you search Google, you will find an example of PPC ads. These are listed on the top and to the right of the "regular" results and these ads have been paid for by advertisers; that's why they are called sponsored ads. PPC advertising works for some Internet marketers and it doesn't work for others. You can, however, easily track your progress and decide if this method of advertising is for you without spending a ton of money.
Free Advertising
Don't neglect the plethora of free advertising opportunities the Internet has to offer. Free forum posting, free blog hosting, link exchanges, and article directories: all of these are ways in which you can benefit from free advertising and you should seriously consider taking advantage of them. One of the most important aspects of building your Internet empire that you should take into consideration is that you need to build relationships with your customers so that they will become and remain loyal customers. One of the ways in which you can do this is to establish yourself as an expert in your niche. Frequent blog and forum posting can also serve as free advertisement; just remember to keep it real and relevant and don't try to use these sites as places to make a quick sale. Just get involved naturally and you can acquire a reputation of being an expert in your niche.
