I’ve used Outdoor Advertising in the past to promote my business and to this day I have no idea how many customers I gained from it, if any. What I am trying to say is, you can expand your reach, advertise to targeted customers and track your results for the same $400 bucks, or more, you will spend per month with billboard advertising?
I’m not saying Outdoor Advertising doesn’t work, because it does. The point I want to get across is that for the same money, or less, you could have customers finding and visiting your storefront or website from Nashville to Knoxville. In my opinion that beats targeting only the people that travel past a sign on a road.
Today I am going to give you a comparison between Billboard Outdoor Advertising and Pay Per Click Search Engine Marketing (PPC Advertising). When we are through you will have a better understanding of both and will be able to make an educated decision about how to best spend your advertising dollars.
Let’s Compare the Pros and Cons
- Cost Per Month Comparison
Outdoor Advertising – Average cost is approximately $750 a month. Packages typically range in price from $400- $4000 per month. Average investment for 3 months of billboard advertising is $2250.00 / Yearly Cost – $9000 / Monthly Cost – $750
Pay Per Click Advertising – Average one time set up cost, $975 and includes first month optimization and management. Set up packages range in price from $600-$1400. Estimated monthly management cost is $285 per month there after. Average monthly ad spent to pay for “cost per click” $250. Total investment for 3 months of PPC advertising equals $2295.00 / Yearly Cost – $7110 / Monthly Cost $595
The figures above were pulled from advertiser’s websites. Prices will vary per city and per campaign. Depending on who you know, you may get a discount for each. Bottom line, the cost of advertising with PPC will save you on average almost $2000 a year or $155 a month.
- Effective Reach of Advertising
Outdoor Advertising – Billboards will share your message with literally thousands of people per day. You ad is always showing, it runs 24/7. Billboards do not target specific customers but instead push your message out to the masses. Outdoor Advertising is limited to customers that travel through a certain part of town or pass you on the Interstate.
Pay Per Click Advertising – With PPC you are in control of where and when customers see your ad. Customers viewing your pay per click ad are looking for precisely what you sell and they are “Ready” to buy your goods and services. You only pay for clicks bringing targeted visitors and search engine marketing gets less expensive to operate the longer it runs. With PPC you target customers where they life and on what they use the most for information; their cell phone and computer.
- Pros
Outdoor Advertising – Always on, thousands of impressions everyday and targets specific road or interstate you do business on. With new digital boards you have the capability of changing ads on a daily basis for specific promotions or a wide variety of products or services. Outdoor advertising is also an excellent choice for branding your business name in the community. You can commit your advertising efforts short term or long term.
Pay Per Click Advertising - You control the time, days and locations your Ads appear. Notice I said Ads, plural! Leave it on all the time or run it only on the weekend. Run it only in Nashville or in every household and on every smart phone in Tennessee. Write as many ads as you want to promote any product or service. Advertise to customers at the precise time they are looking to buy what you have to offer. Although you can run PPC for a short time it is best suited for businesses that have long term goals and commitment. Search engine marketing is less expensive and saves you money. Last but certainly not least, you can accurately track conversions and return on investment with PPC Advertising.
- Cons
Outdoor Advertising – Small area of focus and no way to accurately track results or ROI.
Pay Per Click Advertising – Takes proper management for best results and requires an optimized website.
As you can see, both of these advertising methods are effective for promoting your small business. Now that you know how each one works and how much it will cost you, make an informed decision as to which direction is best suited for your business.
Learn more about pay per click advertising
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Brian McDaniel | Carbon Copy Consulting
“Trusted Resource for Free Online Marketing Education”
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