Don’t forget the traditional mediums in your local online advertising campaigns

Many times when a company starts planning their online advertising campaigns they plan for the articles, press releases, local search engines, etc. But they typically leave a major player off the list.

The traditional medias that were used prior to the advent of the internet are still a great place to advertise your business, the difference is that you can now improve on the tried and true. Where once you would have submitted your ad to the local newspaper for print, you can now include them in your online advertising as well and likely use the very same ad you would have used strictly for print advertising in the past. All the benefits and usually for the same or a fraction more. You see a lot of times that local newspaper will run the ad in both for the price of the traditional print ad, or they will boost it just a bit to include the online version.

As more and more people have joined the revolution of DSL, local papers have too. Many more readers are now looking at that same newspaper than 5 years ago. And you will when you remember to use that traditional medium in your new local online advertising. How could you go wrong? If you’re not sure how to do that or want more help just let us help.

You may have heard of the 80/20 rule. If not, let me explain.

The 80/20 rule says that 80 percent of your production (or profits) will come from 20 percent of your work force (or sales force). In pay-per-click terms, that could be stated “80 percent of your conversions will come from 20 percent of your ads,” or even “80 percent of your click-throughs will come from 20 percent of your pay-per-click sources (re: search engines).”

What this means is you shouldn’t expect overwhelming results from any one ad. If you find an ad that is doing well then you should milk it for all it is worth. If one search engine is delivering more traffic than other don’t be surprised (it will likely be Google). What that means is you should focus your energies on where the 20 percent is. That doesn’t mean you should discontinue everything else. You might have to tweak a few things to get more performance out of the other ads and search engines. But you really should consider that 20 percent as your most effective efforts and maximize all of your potential in your biggest performers. If you’re going to pay for clicks, you might as well pay for the best clicks, right?

There are countless strategies out there for using pay per click advertising - some of them are going to be far more effective than others - but then, that isn’t something that should come as a surprise. While having any pay per click advertising plan or strategy is better than not having one, there are some things that you must keep in mind.

Choose the right keywords.

Let’s say that your real estate business in located about an hour’s drive from a major city: do you really think that it would be a good idea to use the name of that city as a keyword in your PPC campaign? Of course not - even if you use it on the website, it isn’t the right spot to focus on.

Choose the right link.

Every great website has more than one page. If you’re targeting a PPC campaign towards those who are looking to buy homes in an area, make sure that you are not linking them through to a page on your real estate website that focuses on sellers; if they cannot find what they are looking for right away, chances are good that they will not stick around long.

Craft a great landing page.

When you’re using a pay per click campaign, whether you offer moving services or home listings, it’s essential to make sure that your landing pages offer the info that the site visitor is looking for, but there’s another thing that’s important to: encouraging a call to action.

When you start to create a great plan for your pay per click advertising campaign, those 3 elements at the priority, but they are not the only things that you need to keep in mind. Your PPC plan should also include:

• Your budget.
• A way to measure results.
• A back up plan: what small changes will you tweak if you don’t get the results you are looking for right away.
• An idea of whether or not you will manage the campaign yourself or if you want to work with someone who can manage it for you.
• Which search engine you’ll run your campaign through.
• How you will measure results.

Pay per click advertising is an extremely effective tool when you’re marketing your real estate business online - however, it’s less effective if, when someone clicks on your ad, they aren’t taken to a page that addresses their questions and needs.

For example, if you’ve taken the time to choose the right keywords for marketing your business and have written a great add about - well, let’s say - a flat fee listing service in Des Moines that you offer, when someone clicks on that ad, they are obviously looking for specific information.

Do you think that you’ll get a better conversion rate from that ad if you:

1. have the link in the ad go to your home page that discusses all of your services;
2. have the link in your ad take them to a page that includes information for home buyers;
3. have the link in your ad take those who click through to a page on flat fee listings in Des Moines?

That’s the power of your landing page when you’re using pay per click advertising: if you choose the right landing page - a page that provides exactly the information that searchers are looking for - your ads are going to convert. If your landing page makes it easy to find a link to the information, you might have a few people click through to find the information, but many more are going to just decide it’s not what they’re looking for.

Finally - and it’s really important to listen to this point - if the page offers nothing related to what you’re ad was about, you’re quickly going to turn off searchers even if you do have the service that the person was looking for (and you’ll get to pay for the pleasure).

In other words: the right landing page is a key element of pay per click advertising

While you’re running your real estate business and focusing on online marketing, pay per click advertising can be an effective tool - provided you know what it entails and how to make the most of your campaign.

First, you need to focus in on your keywords. If your services include selling a home for less, target in on sell a home for less as your keyphrase. Real estate is vague; real estate in (the name of your city) is less vague, but it still doesn’t focus on the particular services that you offer. Be specific when you choose keywords for your pay per click advertising campaigns.

Second, look at the different ways that people will be searching for your services. Think about which search engines they’ll use; do your homework and choose the right marketing campaign (AdWords from Google is a common example). Each of the major search engines attracts a different type of searcher, and as a result each campaign can target a different group of consumers.

Third, when you’re going to launch a pay per click marketing campaign, make sure that your landing page is going to work. If all of your pay per click ads take people to your home page - regardless of what specific services they are looking for - chances are good that some of those individuals who click through aren’t going to immediately see what they’re looking for, and they’ll leave quickly.

In other words, beyond the obvious paying each time someone clicks through on your ad, pay per click advertising involves having a clear understanding of your services and the individuals who can best take advantage of them.

Pay per click advertising is something that is relatively straight forward: it’s a type of marketing in which, in order to get your website amidst the top links someone who is searching sees, you commit to paying a certain amount if your link is clicked.

In other words, it’s an extremely effective tool: with pay per click advertisingm, you won’t be paying for the times that your ad appears and no one clicks on it; you’ll only pay if someone follows the links.

So how do you launch a successful PPC advertising campaign?

You could look at your competitors, you could spend time researching keywords and thinking about the landing page that your ad sends searchers too. You could focus on what your competition does. You could look at different networks - Google, Yahoo! Search Marketing, or Microsoft’s Ad Center. You could look at successful campaigns, or you could just try your luck.

Of course, there is one other option that makes even more sense: choose to work with a partner who can help you receive the maximum benefit from your pay per click campaign - a partner who will listen to your goals, research your competition and put their expertise to work for your campaign - and be sure that you get the results that you’re looking for.

Pay per click advertising is a great way of getting visitors to your real estate website - especially when you are able to target your marketing to those people who are already in your area. There’s a simple reason for this. When you target your PPC campaigns to your region, you’re putting your ad in front of those people in your area who are already looking for the products and services that you offer.

That’s right: targeted pay per click advertising can make sure that your services are made available to those individuals who are ready to take advantage of them.

So what do you need to have during your par per click campaigns:

1. A focus on what you can afford to spend so that you don’t exceed your budget.
2. An ability to be consistent - you don’t want to go all out on PPC costs one month and do no advertising whatsoever the next.
3. A great landing page. Your ad will draw attention to your services; your landing page will seal the deal.
4. An understanding of what you need to do to market your site organically because you don’t want to pay for all of your traffic.
5. A willingness to monitor your price point and conversions so that you are able to make more than you’re spending.

Your ads and landing pages should all be focused on what you can do to really speak to people who are browsing the web or searching for your site; use language that will help you gather leads and convert sales. After all, while it’s generally recognized, it’s important to state again for the record that pay per click advertising is only as effective as your PPC campaign.

With Pay Per Click advertising services businesses like your real estate company are able to bid on the top spot for marketing: by having a higher bid for a search term (and being willing to pay the search engines when someone follows your link) you can make it easier for searchers to find your real estate website.

Pay Per Click Marketing has been so successful for many who are marketing their sites on the web that there are now additional Pay Per services available online.

For example, Pay Per Impression services let you pay others to advertise for your site. Pay Per Action campaigns allow you to pay a certain amount when a certain action is completed - say, pay $2 for every lead generated or $100 every time someone comes to your site and purchases a deluxe listing package. Pay Per Call Services can be used in a way that every time someone calls in response to your ad, you pay a set fee.

Each of these services has its merits, and the more committed you are to attracting web traffic, gathering leads and increasing the popularity of your real estate website, the more you are going to want to look into them. Without more information, how will you know whether or not a marketing campaign will really be right for you?

When your goal is drawing visitors to your real estate website, pay per click (PPC) advertising campaigns can be a great tool.

When you launch a PPC campaign, you’ll find that you’re able get your website directly in front of your target audience - those who are most likely to need your services and convert to clients.

If you’re going to launch a pay per click campaign, you’ll want to make sure that you’re partnered with someone who can help you get the most out of that campaign. When you’ve got the right partner, it will be easier to:

• Choose the right advertising network>
• Choose the right keywords
• Register an ideal domain name
• Create a great landing page
• Collect leads and convert prospects into clients.

For more information about launching successful real estate pay per click campaigns, visit the Pay Per Click Journal.

When you have your real estate website up and running - whether you offer a listing service to FSBO sellers, tips for buyers, sellers or investors - you just might find that you’re not getting the traffic that you need.

Sadly, there are enough other sites out there competing for traffic that just building a great site isn’t always enough. If it were, there wouldn’t be companies built around helping site owners get traffic.

Pay per click marketing (PPC) is a service that’s offered by Google, MSN, Yahoo! and other search engines. The short explanation of PPC marketing is that advertisers like you agree to pay a certain amount each time someone searching clicks on your ad - an ad that’s featured a bit more prominently because you’re paying for the service.

While you could jump in and launch a pay per click campaign your own, you might want to hold off - just for a little while - until after you’ve talked with someone who knows the ins and outs of pay per click marketing.

That way, you’ll be able to learn more about launching geo-specific campaigns - making it so that you only pay for genuine leads to help you to market your site locally. You’ll also be able to form a strategy up front so that you are able to avoid making costly mistakes like getting caught up and spending beyond your budget.

Pay per click marketing can boost your sales and ensure your real estate website’s success - as long as the campaign is managed the right way.