Heads up! To view this whole video, sign in with your Courses account or enroll in your free 7-day trial. Sign In Enroll
Well done!
You have completed How to Market Your Business!
You have completed How to Market Your Business!
Preview
While many SEO efforts focus on improving organic search results, companies can also use paid advertising to push their links in front of users. Paid ads can come in the form of text, banners, and even on social media platforms, so it’s important to understand how each one works.
Things to Consider
- Do you have revenue goals you must reach that could use help? Have you considered using paid advertising to compliment your marketing efforts?
- Do a search for terms that your users might look for. What paid ads appear? Are they your direct competitors?
- If you're on social media, have you considered advertising? What are your competitors doing?
Related Discussions
Have questions about this video? Start a discussion with the community and Treehouse staff.
Sign upRelated Discussions
Have questions about this video? Start a discussion with the community and Treehouse staff.
Sign up
While many SEO efforts focus on improving organic search results,
0:00
companies can also use paid advertising to push their links in front of users--
0:04
all in the hopes of generating business.
0:10
Now, these marketers need to create ads
0:12
that are eye-catching, and relevant,
0:14
and compel users to click through to a page
0:16
where they can take action.
0:19
Paid ads can come in the form of text,
0:21
banners, and even on social media platforms,
0:23
so it's important to understand how each one works.
0:26
Google AdWords is the top pay-per-click system in use today.
0:30
Pay-per-click advertisers bid on key words
0:35
and can set budgets on how much they're willing to pay.
0:37
If you go with this option, you'll be bidding for your ads to appear on search result pages
0:41
when people search for the corresponding key word.
0:45
Your ad may also appear from Google AdSense,
0:48
the system that displays ads within websites relevant to the same key words.
0:51
Display advertising is another option.
0:57
Display ads--or banner ads as they've been known for years--
1:00
require the production of visual elements that appear on different websites.
1:03
They come in many different shapes and sizes,
1:08
and like text ads, they work best when targeted at the right audience.
1:10
The social media advertising has increased in prominence
1:16
as each platform has established itself.
1:20
Facebook, Twitter--even LinkedIn--offer different advertising opportunities.
1:23
What's especially nice about advertising on social networks
1:28
is that they already possess personal information about its users.
1:31
Facebook uses various demographic data
1:36
such as age, gender, marital status--
1:38
even who they're connected to--
1:41
to display targeted ads for each person.
1:44
LinkedIn is similar in that it pulls from personal data--in this case
1:47
a person's job, company, and experience--
1:51
when displaying those relevant ads.
1:54
And no matter what your ads look like or where they might appear,
1:57
they need to link to a page that's compelling.
2:01
If you get users to click through,
2:05
don't waste the opportunity by simply sending them to your homepage.
2:07
Creating a landing page should provide users with all the information they need
2:11
to get started, or to sign up, or even to make a purchase;
2:15
and they'll be effective as long as the content matches the ad that they saw.
2:20
Think back to the ideas we discussed about information sent.
2:25
If the destination doesn't match the link
2:29
or their expected results, user confusion may result in failed conversions
2:32
and users leaving the site.
2:37
Keep in mind that paid ads have their drawbacks.
2:40
In addition to costing advertisers money,
2:43
research has shown that users do not trust paid ads nearly as much
2:46
as personal recommendations.
2:50
Users are especially wary of being mislead
2:53
when money might be involved.
2:56
Nevertheless, certain companies have found a way to make it work,
2:58
and that explains why paid advertising is a billion-dollar industry.
3:01
So if you're trying to attract new business
3:05
be straightforward about your communications
3:07
and concentrate on providing great content
3:11
to influence them not mislead them.
3:13
Success may vary depending on the products you market, the ads you use,
3:17
even the search platform your ads appear on.
3:22
In the end, if you do try it out
3:24
do your research, monitor your results,
3:26
and be prepared to make changes along the way.
3:29
You need to sign up for Treehouse in order to download course files.
Sign upYou need to sign up for Treehouse in order to set up Workspace
Sign up