To buy advertising space online, it’s advisable to do a web search for sites that relate to your product or service. Your goal should be to advertise on a website in which your target audience is likely to visit. Make sure to contact the webmaster of each website you’re interested in to ask for links to analytical information such as how much traffic the site gets to help you make comparisons and get the best online advertising rate. Also in terms of cost, always measure your advertising efforts as well as forecast the best return on investment (ROI) for your marketing budget.
When you’ve made a short list of possible sites on which you think you’d like to advertise, be sure to contact the webmaster of each website rather than a marketing manager. You shouldn’t simply look for the rates for their advertising space online, but rather communicate either by email or telephone to negotiate the ad cost. Before you start any strong negotiations though, make sure to send samples of any advertising banners you’re using now, as these may be impressive and something that the webmaster would like on the site.
In return for sending samples, ask for an analytic traffic report of the websites, as well as information about how they measure the number of clicks your ads will receive. You’ll need this information to measure the success of your online ads, so mention that if your ad does well, you’ll be considering purchasing larger advertising space on the site. Don’t pay any fees upfront until your questions about the website’s performance are answered. Another thing to consider when buying advertising space online is the form of payment the company accepts so that you feel comfortable using their preferred method.
While you won’t know exactly how well your online ad will do until you’ve paid for the space and have the advertising running, there are ways to forecast how well your ads are likely to perform. The first approach in wisely buying advertising space online is to check page rankings of the sites you’re considering for your ads. Page ranking refers to where a page appears on the list of results that comes up after a person types in a keyword term in a search engine. For example, if you sell sports equipment you’d be interested in potential customers who search for keywords such as “where to buy soccer balls online.” If you enter the key phrase into a search engine yourself, you can see which websites come up for it on the first and second pages to give to good options in which to consider buying online advertising space.