Are you considering online advertising using banners? The Keystroke Marketing team has compiled the following list of
online advertising prices vis-à-vis their effectiveness in today’s Internet marketplace.
What is a Banner Ad?
As an Internet user, you are probably already aware of how banner advertisements look. These eye-grabbing rectangular or square graphics are currently visible on millions of Web pages. Banner ads are considered by many to be one of the most effective marketing methods and can be purchased at a reasonable online advertising price.
But what exactly do banners advertisements do? Banners are small ads which promote a business online through Web pages. Depending on the site you wish to target, some banners are expensive, while others are low-cost or even free. There are many banner exchange programs in which two sites will trade banners between their sites. You can look for banner exchange programs using a search engine and join one yourself. However, try not to rely too much on programs lacking an online advertising price. Remember that there are millions of banner ads online, and you are competing against these and other distractions for users’ attentions.
On the other hand, there are companies which offer banner online advertising campaigns at a reasonable price. Fees depend on the online advertising price scheme that you choose. Companies which run campaigns take charge of building your banner ad program and showing these to your target audience, helping to increase your leads and sales.
Banner Online Advertising Price: Cost vs. Features
Online advertising is no different than other media such as television and radio. Essentially, it boils down to a game of numbers. The more people who know about your business, the greater chance you have of converting them and the more you get out of your online advertising price investment.
For instance, say you display a banner ad to 50,000 people. This is similar to placing an ad in your newspaper and having 50,000 people view it. As you might expect, only a small percentage of these people will truly pay attention. An even smaller percentage will actually be motivated by your ad to act - buy your merchandise, visit your Web site, or call your business. On the Internet, only expect about a 1% click through rate for the online advertising price you pay on the ad.
Of course, there are many banners that do well with
online advertising. Many do worse. Some sites are proven to attract prospective customers, while others simply do not. Generally, if you create the right banner advertising campaign and get the right professional assistance, you can expect to yield solid results.
Banner Online Advertising Price: How Much Do I Pay?
There exist a wide number of options for displaying your banner ad through the Internet. Though CPM, CPA and CPC are the most common, there are many others to choose from.
- Cost per Impression or CPM. CPM is when an advertiser pays for showing their banner to a specific group or audience. CPM online advertising costs are usually priced per every thousand impressions. Typically, the going rates range from $25 to $40 per thousand impressions. This means that whether or not the audience clicks on the banner or shows interest in the merchandise, the advertiser needs to pay simply to display it.
- Cost per Visitor or CPV. CPV online advertising price involves showing the ad to targeted visitors, as well as leading them to the advertiser's website. This is similar to CPC.
- Cost per Click or CPC. CPC is also more commonly known as PPC and is probably the most popular online advertising method today. With PPC, advertisers need to pay each time a user clicks on their ad and gets directed into their Web site. There is no online advertising cost incurred for showing the ad, only when it is clicked on. This system is more efficient if the advertiser would like to measure the performance of their ad. It also provides specialists with the chance to gain more information about their market and refine their searches. PPC online advertising costs include the right to be listed under keywords which will draw relevant traffic into the site. However, rates only apply when a user actually clicks on the ad. There is only a slight difference between PPC and CPV. Simply put, with PPC, each click is be paid for whether or not the visitor actually makes it to the advertiser's site. PPC rates usually vary anywhere from $0.10 to $5.00.
- Cost per Action/Acquisition or CPA. This system is based on affiliate marketing. CPA online advertising costs involve a publisher, who takes on the responsibility of running the ad, and the advertiser is only obliged to pay once a user is led to complete the transaction. This can either be in the form of a sign-up or a purchase. It is similar to Cost per Lead (CPL), wherein the advertiser pays whenever a user completes a form, registers for a newsletter, or other action which may lead to a potential sale in the future.
Each online advertising price scheme has its own advantages and disadvantages. Your choice on how much to budget for advertising depends on what your goals are and the price you are willing to pay. Some people who run successful ads see as much as a 1% response rate, although most do significantly under this.
The Status of Banner Advertising Today
Unfortunately, the status of banner advertising in terms of revenue has plummeted for many sites. Rates have also decreased as the number of banners has become overwhelming. As expected, banner ads have lost effectiveness. Many large Web sites have reported that a standard ad will only receive a click through of .3 to .5 percent. In other words, the online advertising price you pay will only convince 3 to 5 people out of 1,000 to click the ad.
In 2000, the CPM of a banner ad ranged from $5 to $68. Online advertising prices for banners have decreased by about 40% since then. Given their lagging returns and poor targeting, banner advertisements can be risky. To achieve higher ROI, consider some of the other online advertising options available.
Better Options for Online Advertising: Search Engine Optimization
The good news is that the online world provides many options for Web site marketing. You do not have to get stuck paying an online advertising price for a service which does not work. One Internet advertising method which will help your site is search engine optimization (
SEO). Unlike banner ads,
SEO involves the proper design and optimization of your site to make it more visible in the online world. Quite frankly, a majority of online users use search engines to find what they are looking for.
SEO capitalizes upon search engine traffic to yield higher rankings, making your site more visible to your target audience. Not only is this effective in attracting people, but you are bringing in prospective clients who will actually be interested in your products and services.
The online advertising price you have to pay for SEO may be higher upfront. It takes a great deal of technical work to achieve solid search engine rankings. However, over the long-term, SEO is extremely cost effective, since it’s a service that you can trust to bring in the customers that you need. The added online advertising price you pay for SEO is outweighed by the total ROI of the service.
Keystroke Marketing is a full-service SEO,
PPC, and banner marketing firm also specializing in
Web design
and
Internet marketing. For a quote on your online advertising project, please fill out our
free quote form or call Keystroke Marketing at: 1-888-449-3239.
