The Internet reaches millions of users which presents a prime
opportunity for advertisers, and the costs of internet marketing and
advertising are unlimited. The costs of reaching such a wide
audience vary quite a bit--from absolutely nothing to millions depending
on one's chosen method.
Methods of Internet Advertising
The most cost effective way to advertise online would be to use
the content itself and submit it to search engines hoping the popularity
of the content will advertise the product. Although it is cheap, it is
also rather slow. Perhaps the method most readily identifiable by most
users is banner ads. One can also make use of opt-in e-mail ads, an
electronic form of direct mail. Another popular method of advertising is
through Google's Adwords, an auction based system in which the
advertiser pays per click.
Revenue Models
Just
as there are many methods of getting your ads out there online, there
are also many revenue models. The revenue model of the system that you
choose will determine the cost of your advertising investment. The most
commonly used models are CPM--cost per mille, CPC--cost per click, and
CPA--cost per action.
- In a CPM model, the advertiser pays for the number of people served by the ad.
- In a CPC model, the advertiser pays for only the number of people who click on the ad.
- In a CPA model, the advertiser pays for the number of people who
complete a transaction.
Costs
As you might be able to tell by now, the amount
of money needed to advertise online is largely dependent on budget.
With Google AdWords, for example, the advertiser decides how much to pay
for a keyword (the price depends on the popularity of the word -
ranging from cents per click to $5 per click). The position of the ad
depends on how high the bid is. The advertiser even sets a limit on how
much they want to spend--if the budget is $500 and you purchase a keyword
for $5, the ad will display until 100 people click on it. The cost of
banner ads very much depends on where you place them.
The CPM can vary from as little as $10 to $100 per impression
depending on how much traffic the website receives and how targeted the
website is. E-mail ads work on a similar model--one pays for the number
of e-mails delivered which can vary from less than $1.00 to $10.00. One
should also figure in the costs of producing the advertisement--the
company may want to use flash, audio or video. These elements can
require anywhere from a few thousand to $20,000 dollars to produce.
No matter which method you choose, you should take away from this
article that the amount of money spent depends largely on how much you
are willing to spend. So, set your budget and get your message out
there.
