When we think about paid search or hear mention of PPC, most of us business owners will automatically think of Google AdWords, or Google Ads to give it its new name. This is entirely understandable when you consider that AdWords was the original paid search platform and has enjoyed over two decades at the top of the digital advertising pile. It’s natural that AdWords is your first thought when you want to drive traffic to your business website quickly.
While Google unveiled a brand new AdWords experience earlier this year which is packed with features and additional functionality to make life easier for advertisers, other solutions do exist. Let’s not forget that last year, the AdWords average cost per click reached its highest ever point and it’s shown no signs of declining. For many small businesses, the reality is that AdWords is just too expensive.
The good news, of course, is that there are alternatives. As more brands are priced off the Google front page, new platforms are springing up which are more affordable for those with more modest budgets. So, if you’re thinking beyond AdWords for your business website traffic acquisition, which platforms should you consider?
While it’s not a search engine as such, Facebook does have its own sophisticated advertising solution. Its demographic targeting options are superior to those AdWords offers thanks to Facebook’s natural insight into its user base – everything from age and gender, location, marital status, hobbies and occupation is stored in our profiles and this means you can target your ideal customer incredibly precisely.
What’s more, Facebook also offers a range of ad types so you won’t be stuck with a one-dimensional campaign and the cost per click is much cheaper. Of course, Facebook may not be the right option for all advertisers but, if you find that your existing Facebook activity does send traffic to your business website, it’s well worth considering.
Much like Facebook, LinkedIn also offers a targeted, precise alternative to Google AdWords at a much more affordable price point for this small business. LinkedIn doesn’t provide quite as many ad types or demographic targeting options as Facebook, but it’s certainly well worth considering if you want to reach a business audience with your online advertising spend.
- Bing Ad
Bing has long been a second choice to Google and, most businesses will admit to paying it little attention. Bing hasn’t let living in Google’s shadow stop it from building its own very effective paid search platform, however. In fact, it’s been on a continual development mission of late – perhaps in response to Google’s new AdWords experience – and has a range of sophisticated features seasoned PPC advertisers are sure to appreciate.
While it’s true that Bing doesn’t have the search volume of Google, it is more affordable and for smaller advertisers, offers a more sustainable path to promotion. It’s also worth asking yourself if you need (or can afford) to have millions of users seeing your ads each day anyway. If the answer is no, creating a targeted ad campaign with Bing ads and focusing on quality of business website traffic rather than quantity, could well be the answer to your AdWords budgeting nightmares.
- Yahoo Gemini
No list of PPC platforms would be complete without mentioning Yahoo. Much like Bing Ads, its Gemini advertising platform offers a far cheaper alternative to AdWords when it comes to generating small business website visitors. The price, of course, reflects the fact that there is less competition and less traffic, which means fewer eyeballs on your ads, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a waste of time or money. If your demographic happens to favor Yahoo, this is a cost-effective way to incorporate paid search without footing a massive AdWords bill.
Gemini combines search and native ads in one platform too so it’s easier to get to grips with if you found AdWords unnecessarily complicated.
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