10 ways to use the internet to grow your business, Spotlight – Google Small Business Online Marketing Guide User Manual

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Advertising
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From affiliate marketing to online classifieds, there are

many ways to build your business online. Here’s a look at

ten popular online marketing options:

1. Local listings and classifieds.

Create your

business listing on listing sites such as Citysearch

to ensure that consumers searching for nearby

businesses find yours. Some listings allow

you to promote offers such as sales and new

products. Customer review sites are basically local

directories like Yelp that allow users to express

their opinions about businesses.

2. Search advertising.

Search advertising is a

method of placing online ads on Web pages near

search engine results. With AdWords (www.google.

com/adwords), you can deliver your message at

the moment someone is searching for the type

of product or service you offer. Choose keywords

that relate as closely as possible to your offerings

so you receive the most likely prospects. For CPC

ads, you pay only when someone clicks on your ad.

3. Contextual ads.

Contextual advertising takes

display ads to the next level, by placing them on

sites related to your offerings; for example, if you

sell sporting goods, your ad may perform better

on sports-related sites. Services are available that

automatically distribute ads to sites based

on the content of those sites.

4. Display ads.

You’ve probably seen the

dancing aliens; that’s a display, or banner, ad.

Do-it-yourself display ad builders, including

Google’s AdWords display ad builder

(www.google.com/displaynetwork) can help

design your ad. You can also distribute your display

ad via ad networks and ad management systems.

5. Geotargeting.

Geotargeting simply means

advertising to prospects in specific locations –

which could be very useful, for example, if you

sell dresses only in Dallas. One way to get started

is to create a listing on Google Places

(http://places.google.com/business).

10 Ways to Use the Internet to Grow Your Business

AdWords

SPOTLIGHT

This display ad

is a great example

of an effective

video banner

featuring small

business owner

Bud Duong. See

other display

ad examples at

(www.google.

com/adwords/

displaynetwork)

Advertising