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Five questions to ask before you advertise on a website

There are few, if any, large corporations that can survive without spending money on some sort of advertising. This is why you still see established businesses putting ads on TV or on websites all across the internet. While you may not have the big budget for traditional TV ads, you can use website advertising to create some buzz and generate sales. To achieve the biggest effect with the least amount of money, you must choose where you spend your money wisely. With that in mind, consider these five simple tips:

Reach your target market

When choosing a website to advertise on, you need to make sure that its visitors are the group of people that you are trying to target. For example, if your business is dedicated to gaming and consoles, your advertising will be ineffective if you place ads on a website for seniors. Talk to the owner of the website, request to view its media kit to check if it is a good match between your products and the demographics of the site's visitors.

Compatible site content

Ideally, the website that you are looking to advertise on should have content that is compatible with your business. If we stick with the notion that you have a business dedicated to all things gaming, then you might look for a site that publishes reviews of the latest games and consoles. This will assure a high level of interest by the visitors for the products you are advertising on the website.

Type of ad server used

More and more website owners are using ad servers to serve and track the advertisements on their sites. You need to ask the owner of the site about the capabilities of the ad server they use, including the speed, reporting features, targeting options, which can have an effect on the results of your advertisement performance.

Pricing

It really does pay to shop around and ask questions when you are looking at purchasing advertising. You may find that one owner is willing to offer a discount or a reduced rate on your ad, where others are not. You may even be able to set up an exclusive ad deal that would be mutually beneficial, but be sure to try and maximize your potential ROI.

Ad formats offered

There is a good possibility that you have found several specific advertising formats that work best for your campaign. Perhaps ad banners of a certain size draw the biggest crowd, or maybe you have found that text-links are what get the biggest response. Whatever the case, you need to check with the website owner to make sure that the site accepts your ads.

If you follow the five tips outlined above, you will increase your chances of delivering a strong advertising campaign. On the other hand, not considering these tips could result in your advertising budget getting gobbled up with no return on your investment.

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