Online Advertising Alternatives to Google AdWords

When you are first starting off with your online business, spending $30, $40, $50 or even $100 a month for advertising may not be the best option for you. Google AdWords can get you good results by allowing you to pay per click advertisements. The problem arises if you are in a very competitive market and are competing with other bidders for good advertisement placement.

Another disadvantage to starting off with Google AdWords is that although you can set a daily budget with your AdWords account, you are looking to spend an average of at least $30 per month, for your advertisement to display. Also, clicks do not necessary result in a sale or an opt-in.

Unless you've designed your Google AdWords account to target a very specific product or service that people are actively searching for, which in turn results in successful conversions, you may be potentially playing Russian Roulette with your money.

Now don't get me wrong, Google AdWords can be a VERY effective way to generate business. But like I said before, when you are first starting off, other alternatives to advertising may work very well for you and keep you in line with your advertising costs.

My suggestion is to try these options out and if they work for you, great, if not, little to no money is lost and you can look into other options.

Note: It can take a few weeks for your advertisements to begin showing up in the search engines, so give it some time before trying new options.

Here are three advertising websites to look into:

USFreeAds.com-

You can post advertisements for free. However, you can upgrade to Gold membership for $10/year. If you plan on doing lots of advertising, or would like to have additional options like use of the html editor, ability to use PayPal, and upload up to 12 images, I would suggest upgrading to Premium Membership for $9.99/month.

Backpage.com-

This is another advertising site that allows you to post for free. If you want your advertisement to always show up on the main page for your category, I would suggest upgrading to a paid version for as little as $4.00/month.

Craiglist.com-

We all know the popularity of Craigslist. Many people are not aware that you can post your website under their 'small biz ads' section. You cannot post images, but it allows you to include your link which will in turn provide you with a strong backlink for your site.

Here are some key tips when posting your advertisements:

1. Include your keywords in the title

2. Make sure you include a link to your website/blog in the description area

3. Have a call to action

4. Bullet-point the benefits of your products or services

5. Offer an incentive for the person to click on your advertisement, like a free eBook being offered or a FREE 15 minute consult if you are a coach or consultant.

All of these sites have great ranking with Google and placing ads with these sites can generate great results with your website or blog. They have worked well for me and I hope they do the same for you.