Photo by Adeolu Eletu

Originally Posted On: https://www.shoemoney.com/2020/06/01/if-youre-not-marketing-on-these-3-platforms-youre-screwing-over-your-business/

Count me as guilty. I’ve spent the past few years touting organic traffic as the end-all-be-all of marketing. It’s the king, right?

Well, consider this: the Google Display Network can reach 90% of all internet users. And over 4.5 billion people use the internet worldwide.

If, by using Google’s ad network alone, you could reach even a fraction of the world’s online population, you’d be doing well as an advertiser. Can inbound marketing get that kind of reach? Probably not.

But paid advertising is such a broad term. How do you know where to start? Is Google so saturated and competitive that you shouldn’t touch it? Where should you really put your money?

Keep scrolling to find out!

1. Google Still Takes the Cake…Mostly

Despite Google’s forced breakup years ago and their downgrade to subsidiary, they still dominate the world of search engines. The word Google is still synonymous with “search the internet for.” Nobody says they’re going to “Bing” or “Siri” or “Yahoo” something.

The biggest downside is competition and price which go hand-in-hand. The average cost per click for search ads is around $2.7. Small to medium-size businesses will spend about $10,000 a month on these clicks alone.

That’s just an average. If you’re in the legal field, you could end up spending up to $100 per click for some specialties. And the average CPC is $7.

Consumer services averages $6.40.

So, you’re paying a lot for the kind of reach Google offers. Is it worth it? Only you can decide. But remember, if you want maximum results, you’re going to have to hire PPC management on top of your CPC.

2. AdRoll

AdRoll is a re-targeting platform. It uses the power of all the major networks to find and target those who’ve already visited your site. It’s the next best thing to email marketing.

Its not search marketing but that’s ok. If you really want to pay top dollar, you can go directly to Bing or Google for direct search PPC. But in-content advertising can be even more effective at times.

Think of it this way: When someone opens a piece of content, they’re looking for something specific. If AdRoll does their job of retargeting, they’ll catch your lead just as they’re researching the very problem you can fix. If they notice your ad and your ad speaks to them, they’ll click and your money will return on itself.

3. Facebook Ads

Two billion people use Facebook a month. While that share of internet users is much smaller than Google’s, you can target users more effectively than Google in some instances.

Facebook ads aren’t just placed on Facebook. Facebook owns Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Audience Network.

If you want to target in a more granular fashion than Google, then check out Facebook ads. They perform similar to display ads on Google, but if you learn to master the controls, you could see massive conversions here.