Online Advertising Basics

Print advertising is important and should always remain a mainstay of your advertising plan. Online advertising, which has been around for almost twenty years, should also be a part of your advertising plan. Consumers are spending more time in the digital world every day of every year – shouldn’t your advertising be there for them to see? The Media Audit reports that the Internet now comprises one-third of the typical media day for all U.S. adults, and they spend approximately four hours a day online. No matter where your fishing tackle store is located or which segment of the industry you are involved in, your customers are online.

Getting Started
Where to start with online advertising may be one of the biggest hurdles you will face, but by reading this piece you have already started the process. Most Fishing Tackle Retailer readers are interested in local customers, as this is where the majority of your business will derive from. Some of you, especially this time of year, will see an increase in non-local customers as the tourists start to appear. No matter where your customers live, at some point they will be on a website local to you to obtain local news, weather and travel information, or just local fishing information.

Advertising on your local newspaper’s website in the Sports section or in the Weather/Tide Chart section would be a wise choice. Where do anglers go to get information about the weather for an upcoming trip, or when high tide will be, online? How great would it be for your business if while they were obtaining this information your ad and a link to your site were there as well? If you sell more than just fishing tackle this is a great choice as you surely sell items for non-anglers as well. If you are strictly a fishing tackle retailer, you will have some non-anglers see your ad, but you will also certainly have many anglers see it as well.

Like most areas, yours should have at least one if not multiple fishing message boards or local fishing websites. Many local sites are always looking for new advertisers or sponsors, and they are a hub for the many local and visiting anglers as well. Placing your ad on a site such as this is called target marketing, or fishing where the fish are. You know anglers come to this site for fishing information – at some point every angler on the site will need something new. Why not have your store be where they buy it?

Placing your ads where your customers go online not only keeps your campaign focused to the correct clientele, it also keeps your name top of mind and associates your business with a positive site they already trust. Advertisers always want to have their ads in a place their customers visit, trust for truthful information, and always leave happy.

Payment Options
The price of the ad will also reflect the size of your ad, much like print advertising. How you are charged for your ad is dependent on how the site is set up and the amount and type of traffic they receive. A local newspaper’s site will receive a large number of clicks every day, but how many clicks will the Sports section receive? Find this out before you agree to any terms. The local fishing boards may receive less traffic, but it is far more concentrated and everyone who comes is already pre-qualified to be a customer of yours. No matter what the traffic of the site is, there are three ways you will generally see ad prices broken down.

The first way many sites charge for ads is based on a Cost Per Impression (CPM) – this means you are charged X number of dollars for every thousand visitors that come to the site per month. Most local newspapers have adopted this method as they receive some of the heaviest traffic. Unfortunately the CPM model does not count where on the site they visited, just that they visited. If you are advertising in a section that does not see as much traffic, you are being charged the same as someone who is advertising in a section that does see the majority of traffic. Find out the breakdown of traffic throughout the site if possible.

The second method is a Cost Per Click (CPC) model. This method charges you every time someone clicks on your ad and goes to your site. This is a somewhat newer model and tends to deliver a slightly better result than a CPM model. Many sites with a CPC model will ask you to keep your ads fresh and might require you to serve up multiple ads a month. They only make money when someone clicks on your ad so they will want a fresh message to ensure more clicks.

The final model is a flat monthly fee for your ad. The more specialized the site the more common this method is. The specialized sites may not see the multi-million numbers of clicks a month that other sites do. They do however offer the most targeted audience you can find. A setup like this is great for you if you are not trying to sell through your site, and are more interested in keeping your name in front of your customers. Whenever possible ask if this method is an option. If it is, choose this method. What good is a few thousand clicks to your site if you not selling goods through your site?

Creating the Ad
Every website is set up with specific ad sizes – the discussions on which size ads and which location garner the most clicks is always debatable. The key is to ensure that your ad fits the feel of the site you are on, and catches your customer’s eye. An ad that blends in too much with a site’s background will be overlooked; one that is too loud or contrasts too much will be ignored. An ad that is too cluttered or is too hard to understand will turn off customers as well. Create your digital ads to reflect a message similar to your print advertising. This will help create an even flow within the customer’s mind and help drive home the key point you are showcasing. Having too many mixed messages will often confuse customers and send them to your competition’s cash register.

Most times your powerful print advertising will translate well to the digital world and should at least be tried before you attempt to create a new message. If your print ads are black and white, introduce color, but limit the amount of color you add. Again, too much color, or colors that do not compliment your message can turn off customers. If advertising is not your forte, find someone who can help you. If there is a fee, see what kind of deal you can work out for bulk ads. Many times a graphic designer will design ten ads at once for less money than they would ten individual ads. If the ads can then perform double-duty in both print and the digital world the investment will be well worth it for you. If the ads pay off, as they should, your cost will be a great investment into your business.

When to Start
When should you start digital advertising? Why not today? Spring, summer and fall are key fishing times for most areas, especially ones that have a summer tourism industry. Getting your name out there now will only help your business’s image and increase your bottom line. Before you start advertising, make sure your website is up to date and has your key contact information easy to find. Having your website up to date should always be a key concept you practice whether you are advertising online or not.

Have you started to advertise online yet, or will this be your first endeavor? Share your questions, thoughts, comments and experiences with us all on our Facebook page and our new LinkedIn group. The more interactions we all have together the stronger everyone’s business will be.