Random thought about banner ads (advantage of having your on blog!). Banner ads just don’t work. At least banner ads with no context and target. I’ve been thinking about banner ads a lot since I started my own blog. My aim in starting my own blog wasn’t to make money. At least the aim isn’t to make money directly from my blog. The blog itself has created opportunities both business and personal. So, when I was invited to join WordPress’ WordAds network I declined.
I don’t think these types of traditional ads really work for the advertiser, the content producer or the content consumer. This is one of the reasons I have yet to think Facebook is worth investing. I’ve been a FB user for years and have only seen one banner ad that tempted me to click on the link. It was one of the more targeted ads I’ve seen on FB. It was an ad for higher education targeted at people who worked for my employer and for which my employer had pre-approved for tuition assistance. The only problem was that I’ve completed my higher education. But, the ad gained my attention. Those are the types of ads I expect as a consumer of FB content.
I like the ads ran by Leo Laporte’s TWIT network. They are intelligently integrated into the content. I haven’t had the need for services like GoToMyPC and Stamps.com but if I did they’d be top of mind. I’m not above advertising on my blog; I just want it to be useful for all parties. What advertising have you found to be effective?
I completely agree. I’ve recently entered the world of web based business and I have experienced first hand that banner ads don’t work. Facebook is a waist of time. Although it generally gets the word out that my company exists, nearly all of the attention my ads receive are people who “like” my companies Facebook page and their interest stops there. To top it off, those “likes” cost money. Adwords are also very inefficient. They too require a large amount of funding to return any sort of attention…too much funding.
I’m still on the hunt for a more effective form of advertising, which is also affordable for a small starting business.
I’m learning just participating in the different social media and blog communities is much more effective. My audience wants to engage when it’s convenient for them to do so.
I have had good experience with adwords when they linked to useful content or an appealing call to action. When I have had strong white papers, free tools or a useful webinar that helped the searcher/prospect achieve their goals, the ad strategy worked. When I ran more general ads, bounce rates were high and click throughs were low.
At one time I worked for an antivirus company. When we had write-ups or removal tools for new malware – the search ads with the names of those malware rocked – because we were helping people solve specific problems, and in doing so, helped build our brand image and customer loyalty.
Thanks Dan. I’ve had mixed results with Adwords. Search ads have been very effective. Ads from their ad network no so much.