A Site For All to See
Optimizing your website to improve visibility and increase traffic
Other Advertising and Online Public Relations - Page 6 of 9
Other Advertising
The online world is filled with advertising opportunities beyond search engines, link placements and opt-in emails. Here are some examples of alternative methods of finding new traffic:
- PPC programs have content channel partners who can receive your PPC ads based on the content of their website. So if a user is on a site that is talking about motorcycle accessories and you are bidding on the term “motorcycle accessories” your ad can show up next to the content of that page.
- Other companies have opt-in newsletters which contain sections set aside for sponsors/advertisers. Finding a newsletter targeting your niche can be a great way to find new and highly qualified traffic.
- Blogs, message boards/forums and other online communities are places where many people interested in the same subjects can come to interact. 2005 has been the year of online communities and there is one out there for almost every interest, hobby or idea. Finding those communities that contain members of your target audience gives you access to active and highly loyal community members who you may be able to turn into activists for your product.
- Rich Media allows you to interact with your audience inside the ad itself, including things like watching a video, or filling out a form or survey, and all without having to visit your site.
- For branding and awareness campaigns, there is still the standard skyscraper ads, banner ads and buttons on industry portals and search engines. As more and more people move away from newspapers, magazines and TV, it becomes increasingly important to get back in front of them during the time they spend surfing the web, shopping online and checking their email. While industry click-through rates are still very low on average, if you use ad networks with geographic, demographic and psychographic targeting capabilities, ad networks with day parting and frequency caps, you can still make online banner ad buys fit into your online marketing mix.
Online Public Relations/Publicity
Because they create a “buzz” in the online marketplace, both online public relations and publicity are integral to driving traffic to your website.
Online PR and Publicity are two ways you can tell your audiences about newsworthy items that are happening on your website, or in your company. Sending out your news releases to traditional media outlets is always important (and should include your website address.) To really drive the online user to your site, however, you need to also distribute your news release electronically to the myriad of online resources in your company’s industry.
Questions to consider:
- Who are the key influencers and purveyors of websites topical to your company?
- What kind of information are they interested in?
- Beyond the typical websites, are there blogs, discussion forums, etc. that are talking to your audience on a regular basis?
- Do you have news that should be distributed via a national wire service such as PRNewswire or BusinessWire?
- Have you optimized your news release for keyword terms?
Online Press Kit
In order to keep investors and clients “in the know” about your company (and to drive them to your website,) create an online press room where you can highlight current news releases and archive older ones. By keeping all pertinent press information contained in one place on your company’s website, your “online press kit” becomes a valuable and easily accessible resource for the media.
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