Financial Services Industry

Hitting the mark: online advertising tactics that work - Internet Advertising - analysis - Brief Article

California CPA, May, 2002 by Robert Spears

Think Internet advertising just doesn't work? Think again. Sixty-two percent of respondents to a recent Research.net survey report that online advertising helps them make buying decisions. Today's savvy Internet advertisers have embraced the idea of focused information in targeted markets with the goal of building long-term relationships--and it's working. Here are some tactics that range from fairly simple and inexpensive to the more pricey and time intensive.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

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The Research.net survey found that 73 percent of respondents use the Web to find out about new products, and the search engine is their research tool of choice. So, your first line of action should be to focus on your own Web site. Search engine optimization is one of the easiest and least expensive online marketing tools--it's all about getting your name to the top of the search engine rankings.

Following are techniques for increasing search engine optimization. Once you select some tactics, be sure to stay on top of best practices so they don't become obsolete. Search Engine Watch, www.searchenginewatch.com, provides tips and information about searching the Web and analysis of the search engine industry.

Directory Listings: Most search engines have Yellow Page-like directory listings by subject. Many are free and just require basic editorial approval. Check out Google's Business directory as an example http://directory.google.com/Top/Business.> Page Optimization: Text treatment on your own Web site can make a big difference. For example, the HTML title field (the name of a page displayed at the top of a browser window) is important and influential with most search engines, so is the actual text or HTML body of a page. A strong page will have a title with keywords (such as, "Orange County's Best Restaurant Tax Accountants") and the body of text should reinforce these keywords. Improve search prospects by adding descriptive keyword meta tags to the coding of the home page. Descriptive file names and URLs also are helpful (e.g. /tax-laws/2002/oc-restaurant-tax-services.htm"). Web pages that do not have ".htm" or ".html" file extensions are problematic for search engines.

Search Engine Submissions:

Once your site is optimized for search engines, you should notify the search engines. The more frequently your site is updated the more frequently your site will be crawled by search engines. Crawling identifies and indexes new information on your site. Make sure that all of your important pages can be crawled. A cottage industry of services and products exist to help manage this process.

Keyword Text Ads: Purchasing keyword text ads on search engines also has proven effective. The concept is that an advertiser can purchase a set of keywords for a given time period that will give them presence at the top of the search results. Rates depend on the market size for a given keyword. Google offers tips at www.google.com/ads.> Link Partnerships: The more sites that link to your site, the higher your rankings will be. Search engines interpret links to your site as an indicator of public endorsement. Reciprocal linking partnerships between complimentary sites will help boost your popularity and are free.

TEXT LINK ADS

Text link ads consist of text only and a link to the advertiser's site. They can be found on Web sites and in listserves and e-newsletters. Historically these have performed well. Also, they are less expensive and require little creative preparation. Their effectiveness may stem from their descriptiveness and modest presence. New ad technology also allows advertisers to update their text links at any time.

E-MAIL NEWSLETTER ADS

Research has shown that both banners and text link ads do better in editorial newsletters than on the corresponding sites--fewer ads, better-targeted content and more involved readers. Also, this is "push" marketing--your message lands directly in potential customers' mailboxes. And if you tie your advertising content to the e-newsletter's, you've increased the precision of your aim.

When negotiating rates, be aware of open rates, or percentage of delivered e-mails that the recipients open. Daily newsletters have low open-rates, while rates for weekly and monthly ones are much higher. Although results are harder to track in text-only newsletters than in HTML newsletters, experts agree that ads in text newsletters are effective. Ask the company you are purchasing an ad from about tracking mechanisms for text newsletters.

OPT-IN E-MAIL MARKETING LISTS

Many publishers have opt-in lists that permit advertisers to email ads directly to consumers. Be cautious. For every success, there may be as many failures that end up hurting the trust built between reader and publisher. As an advertiser, it is better to have an ad go inside an editorial newsletter. Or, if possible, have a direct e-mail sent by the publisher (e.g. From: XYZ magazine; Subject: Special Tax Course Offer for XYZ Readers).

BANNERS

Small businesses should focus first on ads that require the least amount of creative preparation. But, given that banners have a somewhat bad reputation at this point, there might be some good bargains available. Look for monthly sponsorships with targeted complementary sites and audiences. It is better to have fewer impressions in front of the right audience than to have many in front of an unidentified audience. To improve your click-through rate, try asking a relevant and provocative question in your banner for which the audience will have to click to get the answer.