Where should you advertise online?

I'm often asked this question: "Where should I advertise online?" And I understand why since there are literally thousands of online advertising options. From paid search, to ad networks, to directories, to websites, to blogs... and maybe all these options make sense for your advertising dollars, but then again, maybe not.

No worries, as our job is to help you get on your feet and moving in the right direction with online advertising... and hopefully keep you from taking too many wrong (expensive) turns.

Now back to the question: "Where should I advertise online?" The answer depends on the following:

1. What's your monthly online ad budget? It'll be based on results... that's right. But it may take a few months to determine what works. So how much do you plan to spend in the meantime?

2. Who's the target audience you want to reach? This is really important since the more you understand about your prospective customer the better.

3. Are your customers local or everywhere? On the Internet it's easy to waste dollars finding prospects who can't buy from you. So even online you need to think geographically.

4. How will you know your advertising was successful? Orders, leads, website visitors? Figure this out in advance so you can measure your advertising performance.

With these questions in mind, here are some guidelines to help you figure out where to advertise online:

If your monthly online ad budget is less than $1,000, then consider:

• Paid Search: Google is the most popular but you should also test Yahoo! and Microsoft.
  

• Directories: This includes online yellow pages such as Superpages.com and Yellowpages.com. Many of these providers will also create your very own web page if you don't need a fancy website.
  

• City Guides: Yahoo! Local, Yelp, and Citysearch offer advertising options that can be really effective if most of your customers live nearby.

If your monthly online ad budget is $1,000 to $10,000, then consider:

• Paid Search, Directories, and City Guides (as described above).
  

• Small Blogs and Websites: This is where knowing all about your target audience comes in handy since you want to advertise on sites that your customers frequent. And expect to spend between $250 and $1,500 per month on each site.
  

If your monthly online ad budget is $10,000 or more (lucky you!), then consider:

• Paid Search, Directories, and City Guides (as described above).
  

• Blogs and Websites: Focus on sites that reach visitors that match your target audience. The better the match the better your results! Keep in mind that many popular consumer-oriented websites require a minimum order size of at least $5,000.
  

• Advertising Networks: There are hundreds of ad networks to choose from. Select those that best reach your target audience. For example, vertical ad networks specifically target many consumer categories such as autos, travel, health, women, and even the environment... so definitely check them out. And like popular websites, most ad networks want you to spend at least $5,000.

Remember, these are just guidelines. So yes there are ad networks you can try on even a small budget; and sure there are popular sites which sell affordable text ads. But when in doubt, stick to the guidelines until you feel comfortable with your online advertising efforts... or you risk taking one of those wrong turns we talked about.

And don't spend your whole ad budget on one option (i.e., Google). Test different alternatives to see what works best for you... based on how you measure success.

Thanks and let us know how it goes!