Google Small Business Online Marketing Guide - Manual (Page 8)

8
Comparing Online Marketing Tactics
10 Ways to Use the Internet to Grow Your Business
AdWords
TACTIC CHARACTERISTICS
Targeted
Flexible
spending
levels
Highly
measureable
Supports
graphics
or video
Good for
special offers
Can include
customer
reviews
Local listings and
classifieds
√+ √ √ √
Search advertising √+ √+ √ √
Contextual √ √ √ √ √
Geotargeting √ √ √
Display ads √ √ √ √ √
Group buying √ √ √+
Mobile marketing √ √ √ √
Social
networking sites
√ √ √
Affiliate marketing √ √ √ √
Online videos √ √+ √
√ = Effective √+ = Highly effective
HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU SPEND ON MARKETING?
The amount varies by industry, business size and how much you want to grow
your business.
The Small Business Administration and SCORE ® (Counselors to America’s Small
Business) put it at between 2% and 10% of sales.
Depending on your business model, you could spend half of your marketing budget
on offline (print ads, brochures, telemarketing) and half on online (search marketing,
display ads, mobile). The more online oriented your business is, the more you should
consider increasing your online spending. Your return on investment (ROI) will
depend on your offer and who you reach out to (current customers or prospects).