4 Free Online Advertising Ideas

1) Craigslist: Craigslist.org is a well known local classified ads service. Pros: * Localized. This means that if a visitor lives in San Francisco then he/she will only see ads for San Francisco. This means that the majority of people who view your ad will be local. This means less shipping costs; or, if you don't ship products or you provide a service then they will be able to come to your store to make a purchase. * Very well known (Over 5 billions page views a month). The effects of this are obvious, the more people going to craigslist.org, the more people seeing your ad. * Preset search strains. Unlike a search engine visitors don't choose their own search strains. This means that if your ad is listed under small business ads for the San Francisco bay area, visitors do not have to type in small business ads San Francisco to see you ad; instead, they just click on they San Francisco link, then small business ads. Most people do not start with a specific search when they start searching. Staying with small business ads, a searcher may start with just advertising. With less time and guess work necessary to find small business ads for San Francisco, a visitor is more likely to find your ad. Cons: * Localized. Yes, this was also a pro; however, if you either ship products, provide a service that can be used anywhere, or have multiple locations then only visitors from one of the areas you sell to will see your ad. * General search strains. There aren't many sub topic on Craigslist. 2) Free classifieds/directories: As opposed to Craigslist, free classified are not localized. Pros: * Can be seen by anyone, anywhere. This means that as long as you can provide services or products nationally or globally, then you will get customers from all over the country/world. * Preset search strains. Same effect as Craigslist. * Search strains can get very specific. This varies depending on the service, but most free classified services allow browsers to choose multiple subtopics. Cons: * World wide. If you are a localized business then your ad will not be as easy to find for locals. 3) Write articles on your industry: Writing articles without sales pitches can get targeted visitors to your site. Pros: * Extensive submission. Each article can be submitted to many databases. * Targeted. Most readers will be already looking for information on your industry, so when they see your link at the bottom they will most likely click on it. * More interest. How often do you stop and read through an ad you were not looking for before hand? Probably not very often. But most professionals will read through articles about their industry. Without the sales pitch in your article readers will probably keep interested in your ad. Hopefully they will think that you know what you are talking about and click on that link at the bottom of the page. Cons: * Time consuming. Unless you pay a writer, it will take a while to write ads. 4) Forums: Many industry forums allow you to post ads in certain sections. You can also place a link/short ad in your forum signature. Pros: * Targeted. Most people reading an industry forum are interested in that industry. * Plenty of potential browsers. Especially if it is the industry's number one forum, there will be a lot of members and guests just waiting to read your ad. Cons: * Common businesses. While most industry forums have visitors who are looking to purchase the products and services of the industry, most members will run a business similar to yours. * Large numbers of ads. If it is the dominant industry forum then it wil most likely have a lot of competitor's ads on it too.

All of the advertising methods work very well. It is best to do all four. You only spend time on advertising these ways, and the more you advertise the more visitors you will receive. Good luck with your online marketing.

About the Author

Chris Bennett is the owner of Your-WebSpace.com , a professional grade web hosting provider. Check it out for fair prices on business quality hosting.

One Response

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