What is paid advertising?
Paid advertising is a broad term within marketing that covers all ads which cost money to run and generate results and sales with.
Unlike, for example, SEO, organic social media posts, email marketing and similar channels — which are not directly associated with variable costs — with paid advertising you pay for the results you receive. This can include, for example, cost per click (CPC), cost per sale (CPS and CPA) and similar models.
What does paid advertising cover?
As you might gather from the above, paid advertising covers a wide range of advertising options.
Paid advertising includes, among others:
- Search engine advertising
- Advertising on YouTube
- Advertising on social media
- Amazon Ads
- Affiliate marketing
- Influencer marketing
- Traditional marketing channels (print, TV, etc.)
Whereas the non-paid advertising options, which are "free", include among others:
- Search engine optimisation
- PR
- Word of mouth
- Organic social media posts
- Email Marketing
- Marketing automation
- Amazon SEO
Which channels and how each individual paid advertising channel should be used to get the right results depends on your business and where your target audience is.
What does paid advertising cost?
The price of paid advertising depends on the industry, the media and competition — all of which comes down to supply and demand.
With traditional media (TV, print, etc.) you typically pay per ad placement, whereas with digital advertising channels you generally only pay for the results you actually receive. This means you are not paying a fixed, agreed amount as you would with traditional media.
Payment on digital media can be in the form of models such as CPC, CPS, CPM and more.
This also makes it easy for you to measure your ROI on paid ads, so you always know whether your marketing is delivering a profitable return.
What can paid advertising be used for?
Paid advertising has always been — and will likely always remain — one of the most effective ways to acquire new customers. In recent times, the digital paid advertising options mentioned first are particularly effective, offering access to an enormously broad audience while also allowing for very precise targeting.
It is always recommended to use both paid and free advertising, as they work well together, can create synergy and give you a competitive advantage in your industry.
Are you ready to take your marketing strategy to the next level with paid advertising? Fill in the form below, or call us on 30 12 42 72 for a no-obligation conversation about how paid advertising can help you achieve your business goals.
