There is a struggle when dealing with most small business, specifically in Pottstown PA. Many owners still believe that print ads (in newspapers, diner placemats, and billboards) are the best place to spend their advertising budget. Well the statistics are in, and basically everyone else is doing it.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has reported that online ad revenue has hit $8.4 billion in the first three months of 2012 alone. In their report Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of IAB is quoted “More online consumers than ever are taking to the internet to inform and navigate their daily lives—by desktop, tablet or smartphone. Marketers and agencies are clearly–and wisely–investing dollars to reach digitally connected consumers.”
You can see that this is a very sharp increase (15%) when compared to Q1 2011 which had only reached $7.3 billion.
Now the challenge here is that many small business owners have been hit hard by the economic crisis of 2012. Being a small business owner, and in Pottstown PA this is even more evident. We are willing, most of the time, to just keep the lights on. However there are some simple things we have to remember:
- Most online ads are only charged when someone clicks on them. This means that instead of spending say $50 HOPING that someone sees the ad, you are spending $50 BECAUSE someone saw the ad.
- PPC campaigns and other online ads can reach hundreds of thousands per month if managed correctly, but most print ads will only reach hundreds
- If you want to be at the top of search engines, this is one effective method to get there. It WILL generate traffic to your website, compared to the Possible traffic you will get from a print ad.
So small business owners, take a few dollars, and join the rest of the world. It is more effective, with a broader reach, and will help your overall web position!