If youre marketing a product on the Internet, developing a successful advertising campaign is an important part of your success. However, this is an area in which many Internet marketers struggle.
For this reason, I have devised a list of the most frequently asked advertising questions I have received.
Question: Im new to the Internet and have been seeing a lot of terms Im not familiar with. Can you tell me what ROI means
Answer: You can find just about any Internet term you can imagine at Net Lingo http://www.netlingo.com.
Here are a few common advertising terms used online:
ROI - Return on Investment
USP - Unique Selling Proposition
Conversion Rate - The number of visitors compared to the number of sales
CPM - Cost Per Thousand (Associated with ezine advertising)
Question: What, in your opinion, is the most effective form of Internet advertising
Answer: In my opinion, ezine advertising is the most effective form of advertising used on the Internet. Not only is it cost-effective, but it also provides a great way to reach your target audience.
The key to using ezine advertising effectively is to target your audience and track your response. You must test the effectiveness of both your ad and the publication in which youre advertising. This will enable you to determine which ads are pulling the most response and which publications are providing you with the highest response rates.
The Directory of Ezines provides a complete online searchable database of ezines that accept advertising. This directory contains all the information youll need to effectively place your ads. There is a $39.95 per year membership fee.
If youre looking for a low cost alternative for purchasing ezine advertising, Ezine Ad Auction will enable you to bid on ad space in targeted ezines.http://www.ezineadauction.com/
Question: Is banner advertising still effective
Answer: Although banners are no longer as effective as they once were, theyre certainly not obsolete.
A few months ago, I tested the effectiveness of several different banner designs and click through rates. The overall results of my test concluded that the effectiveness of banners has definitely declined over the past few years. However, with over 12,000 click throughs delivered, banners can still be very effective.
The banners used in my test were as follows:
=> Static banner with a text ad
=> Animated banner with a text ad
=> Static banner with text and the words Click Here
=> Static banner with blue underlined text
=> Static banner with text and a drop down box image with submit button
Can you guess which banners were the most and least effective The results may surprise you.
Heres how the banners preformed:
3.0% - Static banner with blue underlined text
2.2% - Static banner with text and a drop down box image with submit button
1.0% - Static banner with text and the words Click Here
0.9% - Animated banner with a text ad
0.2% - Static banner with a text ad
Question:When designing advertising banners, is there a standard size used on the Internet
Answer: Yes, here are the standard banner and button sizes used on the Internet:
=> Standard Banner Sizes:
468x60
234x60
120x240
=> Standard Button Sizes:
125x125
120x60
88x31
Question: Can you tell me how I can test the effectiveness of my banners
Answer: In order to test your banners, youll need to use a script to display your banners and track the number of exposures and click throughs.
I use a great script called Web Adverts. You can find it at the following web address: http://awsd.com/scripts/webadverts/index.shtml
To test the effectiveness of your banners, divide the number of exposures by the number of click throughs.
Example Formula:
100 exposures divided by 25 click throughs = 4:1 ratio
A 4:1 ratio specifies that the banner is clicked on once for every four exposures. The lower the number of exposures compared to the click throughs, the better.
Question: I know that ezine advertising is an effective form of advertising, but can you tell me about some other advertising options
Answer: There are many forms of advertising you can utilize on the Internet. For example, there are a number of programs referred to as Pay Per programs.
These programs include, pay-per-click, pay-per-lead and pay-per-sale.
Pay-per-click programs will enable you to advertise to your target audience and only pay for results -- you pay a set amount for each visitor that is sent to your web site. The most popular pay-per-click program is the pay-per-click Search Engines. You can learn more about pay-per-click Search Engines here: http://www.payperclicksearchengines.com/
Pay-per-lead programs will enable you to only pay for leads. These leads may be potential customers that fill out a registration form, enter a sweepstakes, or download a free product trial.
Pay-per-sales programs are simply affiliate programs. Affiliates are paid a set commission for each qualifying sale.
You can find a number of Pay-Per programs here:http://www.clickaffiliate.com/
In addition to the above Pay-Per programs, you can purchase pay-per-click banner ads. There are several companies online that will place your banner within their network and charge you a set fee for each click through.
Value Click
http://www.valueclick.com/
AdDynamix Pennyweb
http://home.pennyweb.com/
Another popular advertising technique used on the Internet is pop-windows.
Although the effectiveness of pop-windows has declined (due to software programs that prevent them from loading), pop-windows can still be an effective advertising tool.
For further information on using pop-windows, you may read the following articles:
Create Your Own First Visit Pop-Window
http://www.web-source.net/popups.htm
Pop-Under Windows - The Latest Pop-Window Trend
http://www.web-source.net/popunder.htm
Question: Id like to track my advertising response rates, but Im not sure how to do it. Can you help
Answer: The easiest way to track your advertising strategies is to use a script that will track the number of clicks a specific link receives.
Below are some ad tracking resources to assist you in your testing and tracking endeavors.
Ad Tracking CGI Scripts
LnkinLite http://www.dtp-aus.com/cgiscript/lnkinlte.shtml
If youre looking for a simple way to track click throughs, then LnkinLite may be your answer. This free script will enable you to easily keep track of the number of clicks a specific link receives. Instead of using your standard link within your advertising, you can use a link created by this script. It will track the number of click throughs and instantly redirect your visitors to your URL.
Willmasters ProLinkz http://www.prolinkz.com/
This powerful script is a link creator, tracker, disguiser and manager all in one. It will enable you to create uniquely coded links that redirect to any URL you specify and count all hits and referers. Cost - $45.00
When testing your advertising strategies, keep in mind, a strategy that produces results for one person may not produce results for you. There is no set in stone strategy that works for everyone. You must develop your own style and technique and test your results to determine what works for you.
Take your time and develop a strategic advertising plan that produces results. Testing and tracking will be the key to your advertising success.
Copyright Shelley Lowery
About the Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design course, Web Design Mastery ( ) and eBook Starter - Give Your eBooks the look and feel of a REAL book ( )
Visit to sign up for a complimentary subscription to eTips and receive a copy of Shelleys acclaimed ebook, Killer Internet Marketing Strategies.
You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your ebook, or on your web site, free of charge, as long as the author bylines are included.
In this day and age there is so much information and spam out there. I read somewhere that we see over 3,000 advertisements a day. When your senses get overloaded you start to go numb to it. Advertisers are trying harder and harder to trick you entice you, and do what ever they can to get your attention. This is a poor way to do business. More and more people are blinded by the bucks, and not keen to their consumers needs. That is why so many online ventures fail. In this article I am going to illustrate the 5 keys to making website promotion on the internet successful.
The best way to promote your website is building trust with your customer. For those of us without household names, we need to work extra hard at this one. Think of your customer as a date. When you first meet your date you dont walk up and say will you marry me You ask for a dance or start talking. Same with meeting a customer. A big sign that flashes buy it now does not make me want to purchase anything from you, and why would I There are lots of good ways to build trust with your clients. Testimonials, good spam free information, starting your own newsletter, creating a press release, and writing articles such as this one are all good ways to get your name out there, and help you start your relationship with your customers on the right foot.
Consistent business comes with referrals. One great strategy is to offer some sort of discount, or special service for referred customers. Eventually once you get established, you can setup a referral program where your past customers can earn commissions. What could be better than having a bunch of satisfied customers with a story, go out promoting your business for you
Start a list of opted-in people that you keep on file. You can not buy this list you have to build it. If you have a list of 500 people that want to know more about your company, and appreciate your emails, they will not only read your emails, they will turn in to more sales. Think about this for a second. Lets say you spend 500$ to send out 10,000 email messages through an auto-responder. Even if your special offer is really good, you will be lucky to get 5% to read it let alone open it. But if you send the same message out to those 500 people on your list you will probably get at least 50% of your recipients will read it.
Massive action yields massive results. McDonalds spends close to 60% of their profits on advertising. If they didnt they would not have grown as fast as they did. Promoting your business takes a lot of money and time. The more you put in to it the more you get out of it. Dont use your entire advertising budget on just one source. Keep building and exploring. There are a lot of quality places on the internet to promote your business. They can be found. They best way to find quality places is see what your competition does. Type in your keywords for your company and see what comes up. Who is rated highest Write down those names. Then go to your favorite search engine and type mycompetitorswebsiteijustwrotedown.com. It should list off all the websites that link to your competitors website. Approach those webmasters and offer to exchange links, or purchase a link from them. They will help your sales and visits to your website.
Understand that nothing in life is easy. You have to put the work in and spend the time promoting your website. I recommend at least 4 hours a week promoting. If you can give up 4 hours of TV time throughout the week, then you can start building some real income, and before you know it. Your opt-in list is large, sales are increasing, and your wallet gets fatter. You will become a success, as long as you are working at it. You will experience ups and downs along the way. But remember While it is possible to change without improving it is impossible to improve without change.
If you need some help getting started or you would like some advice, please feel free to contact me anytime. webmaster@awesome-possum.com. For more tips, and ways to help you promote please visit my website www.awesome-possum.com.
Ryan Churchill decided to pursue his passion, internet marketing . He has spent countless hours reading books, and listening to lectures. He finally decided to take the plunge. He created June of 2005. Since then he has had great succes helping business get to the next level.