Proctor & Gamble recently announced their plan to cut nearly 2,000 non-manufacturing jobs come June 2012. Their reasoning—the greater return on investment of the digital space. Hence, businesses are starting to recognize the benefits of online advertising, particularly on Facebook and Google.
However, with many different methods of online advertising out there today, it is important you know exactly what you are paying for—like number of impressions or unique visitors.
One of the ways businesses are advertising online is by paying for services from big companies, who specialize in getting traffic to your site. These companies often make lofty promises to increase your online presence and overall sales.
Therefore, you don’t want to be in a rush when looking for online advertising services. Here are 10 questions to ask before you make the investment:
1. How’s business going?
2. Are you currently working with any of my competitors?
3. If so, what have you learned from their ad campaign that can improve my business?
4. What is your target market?
5. How many unique visitors do you get a month?
6. How much of that traffic will actually see my ad?
7. How long will my ad run?
8. Can I ever edit or modify my ad?
9. How do you promote your site and what do you do to boost your search engine placement?
10. Can you cap on the number of times one viewer is exposed to my ad?
Now that you’ve decided you’re happy with a particular advertising company, you will want to request web analytics to see how successful your ad is. You can also monitor your ad on your own—try using Google Analytics. This way, you’ll always know where you’re money is being spent.