Evaluating Advertising on
Things you should know about www.mysunshinecoast.com.au
- 68,000 plus visitors per month
- 1 Million business records viewed per month
- 33,000 business records viewed per day
- 4,000 plus newsletter subscribers
- Restricts business listings to Sunshine Coast
and local area
Please
be aware that visitors to a site and hits on a site are two
very different things. Many
sites try to get you to buy advertising from them by saying
they get 50,000 hits a month but this is no indication of their
popularity. One visitor can click on every image on a site
and this could show 50 hits. Search engines also visit
sites regularly and index every page, image, link, etc. which on
a small site can register 250 hits per search engine
or more! The information you need is the number of
new visitors compared to the number of returning
visitors. A good site will have about 70% returning
visitors and 30% new visitors whereas a poor site will have
about a 90% to 10% ratio. Reputable companies will provide
you with a history of their statistics.
Getting Started:
Firstly search in Google
- 85% of Australians use Google so use what they use.
- For an example let us search for a camping shop in Noosa.
- Type in camping equipment noosa and then search "pages
from Australia"
- The results show www.mysunshinecoast.com.au returned
the two top listings in the "organic" results! (Organic
means these results are not paid for but that Google feels
they are the most relevant to you for the search term you typed
in.) Sponsored ads may appear on the right hand column under
a "sponsored advertisement" heading and they may
also appear at the top of the organic ads but are highlighted
in blue. Sponsored ads are listed by the amount paid for placement
of that ad and their relevancy to the search term.
- Next do a search for camping equipment sunshine coast and
you see that www.mysunshinecoast.com.au is
again in the top two organic listings but there is a presence
of sponsored ads listed also. This means that the people clicking
on the ads will have to choose from all these choices. You
now need a short history lesson of what has been happening
in the Internet searches on the net.
Three years ago the sponsored ads
were getting about 80% of the clicks and the organic results 20%.
Now the ratio has changed to about 60/40 because people are not
stupid and know that the relevancy is greater in the organic results.
This is because Google will only place an organic ad in the area
where it is relevant whereas the sponsored ads can be from anywhere
in the world! The most important thing to remember
is that the conversion rate of the number of people contacting
or buying from the organic results is about 4 times higher than
those clicking on the sponsored ads! I will let you do
the math.
- Next click on the www.mysunshinecoast.com.au result
in the organic results shown by Google. The page category page
opens and now you get to choose what category you wish to explore.
Since we were looking for camping equipment
sunshine coast we will click on camping equipment retail and
repair and we see that all the shops available are listed
there.
Note: The top listings with the email
now facility
is the new business listings and the rest are listed alphabetically.
Now it is decision time!
- If you want to be listed at the top of all these listing
you can purchase an “Advanced Listing” which
is highlighted and has a link to a 40 word review of your company
along with your contact details plus a photo of your choice.
For an example please click on this link www.mysunshinecoast.com.au/promote.php and
view the "Advanced Listing" details.
- If you wish to upgrade your listing to give yourself a more
comprehensive exposure then examine the other options on this
page such as the "Premium Listing" for $199.00
- Or opt in to the new promotion which has a Bonus VIOP (Voice
over internet protocol) - Engin Voice Box 2 –RRP- $199.00-
included with a “Premium Listing” for an investment
of $299.00. Allowing you to save up to 55% on your phone
calls!
(Check for
Voice Box 2 product features and benefits).
Now apply the above steps to your
own business and see what results you get. Do not forget
to use the search terms that your clients would use!
Let me conclude by saying that this
information will help you organize your advertising time but please
be aware that some businesses will not find advertising value by
advertising in www.mysunshinecoast.com.au.
Those company’s services, products or area location make
this type of advertising have little value and are not cost effective.
However by using the above approach you can decide for yourself.
I firmly believe that each company has to explore their advertising
media options specifically and position themselves in the most
advantageous venues.
I have just touched on a simple way
to find value with searching the web with regards to maximizing
your advertising dollars. To find out more about how to use search
engines effectively go to Google for
they are very helpful or contact me at don@on-line-biz.com .
About the author
Don Podwin works in the field
of web site search engine optimisation specializing in small
business development and Internet promotions.
He is affiliated with www.on-line-biz.com, www.subtledifference.com.au, www.ezy-website.com, www.engin.com.au , www.mmt.com.au and
also does consulting with regard to advertising cost effectiveness
for clients of www.mysunshinecoast.com.au .
- He also provides and recommends small business solutions.
- He believes in empowering clients to make informed decisions
that are the most beneficial for their own situations and educating
business people on current and more importantly future Internet
trends.
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