Are you looking to place an ad on Google, but you are curious about your Google advertising options? Google is the number one leading search engine, so some may think it’s the best place to put ads. However, there are many alternatives that can offer better perks for digital marketers, like lower prices and exposure to different audiences. Although Google is leading in the search engine industry, placing ads on other platforms may be more beneficial for your business. In this article, we will tell you about seven alternatives to Google AdWords, along with some free alternatives that your Google Ads agency can use to create more conversions and sales.
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Google AdWords
You may not be familiar with Google AdWords and that’s okay. Google AdWords is another name for Google Ads and it first started as a place for business owners to bid on keywords to use to advertise their companies. However, it has now evolved into just an advertisement program that is used to control and manage your ads.
What makes Google AdWords versatile is that Google can place the ads on web pages or search results. There are different types of Google ad, including Google Shopping ads, Responsive Search Ads, Dynamic Search Ads,Display Ads, and more. It can provide real time analytics of users on your website. You can even manage your campaigns with a mobile app. Although Google Ads sounds like the best option, there are many advertising alternatives that are cheaper and more efficient.
Additionally, many businesses may have reached a ceiling of exposure on Google Ads and can benefit from different types of ads in order to increase market share. There is no best alternative to Google search ads. Rather, each ad alternative offers unique advantages and distinct audiences.
While Google AdWords is a popular platform, there are several Google AdWords competitors out there you can check out, too.
Understanding PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Advertising
Before we get on with the list of best Google AdWords alternatives, it’s key to understand pay-per-click (or PPC) advertising. Pay-per-click advertising essentially means a business will pay every time someone clicks on their advertisement.
Different businesses have different rates. For example, car insurance companies often pay more than $50 per click. On the other hand, a bracelet company would pay something more along the lines of $2 per click.
These rates matter when formulating a budget for your advertising plan and different platforms have different rates. Google, for example, has an average $20 pay-per-click rate. That is one of the higher prices because Google has such high search volumes.
Seven Alternatives to Google Ad Words
Perhaps your conversion rate is dropping or your shopping campaigns aren’t working, so you need to find another advertising platform. Here is a list of the top seven alternatives to Google AdWords:
1. Bing Ads
Although Bing is less popular than Google, their platform is still popular with 10% of the total search engine index. Microsoft owns Bing, AOL, and Yahoo, so purchasing an ad powered by Bing means your ad will go on all of those other search engines. There is also a Google My Business alternative that is powered by Bing.
What makes Bing unbeatable is its price. Bing Ads have an average PPC of $7.99, which is marginally smaller than Google’s $20 PPC. This means that you can create more ads at a cheaper rate, which can yield consumers and website traffic.
Bing also has its own ad management software that allows you to manage your ads and see which demographics you are reaching. For small businesses, Bing Ads are a great alternative to Google AdWords.
2. Facebook Ads
Facebook is the most popular social media platform with over one billion daily active users. Depending on the nature of your business, there may be no real alternative to Facebook ads. A reach that large means there are plenty of possibilities to reach people through your advertisements. Putting your business on Facebook not only allows you to manage your business, but also put up ads.
Facebook Ads is very simple to use. You can put up a post, photo, video, or website link in just seconds. Unlike Google and Bing, you have full customization abilities and can target ads based a wealth of personal information. After that, you can select a radius of where you want your ads to reach and to specific age groups. This can be very useful if you want to target certain types of people.
Lastly, you can have any budget for Facebook Ads, making Facebook a great place to run ads for any business size. Their analytics tools are also very powerful. While it is the biggest player in the social media market, there are advertising alternatives to Facebook, such as Amazon Ads, that have a larger reach. This is particularly true for the advertising of products.
3. Amazon Ads
If you are planning to advertise a product or service, Amazon is the place to do it. Amazon owns 50% of the total online marketplace, while eBay has 6% and Walmart only has 3.7%. Looking at these stats, Amazon is the place to go when people do their online shopping and can be an overlooked advertising platform.
With Amazon, you can create a range of video and display ads to target different customers. Unlike Google, people usually go to Amazon to look at products. Therefore, having your product as an advertisement there will most likely convince a consumer to buy it. Lastly, Amazon has its own network of services and sites, which means your ad can appear on external sites other than Amazon.
4. LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn is the place to go for Business to Business (B2B) advertisements. Since LinkedIn is a social network and job center, the platform is full of professionals. LinkedIn is also great for event advertising. For example, if you were holding a conference on your product, many people in those industries may be interested.
There are also 630 million active business professionals on LinkedIn. This means that you can reach the top tier and decision makers of companies much easier than on other platforms such as Google and Facebook. LinkedIn is a very valuable social network that can generate your business a lot of website traffic and possible revenue.
5. Outbrain
Outbrain is a platform that is solely for content discovery. It helps advertisers promote their websites with sponsored content and native ads placement. Outbrain has a network of over 100,000 websites which includes CNN, MSN, and the Guardian.
Outbrain has recently merged with another discovery platform called Taboola, making it a serious competitor to Google Ads and Facebook Ads. They are projected to reach two billion users a month, which is remarkable.
An example of Outbrain is when you are on a website, at the bottom you see relevant articles or blogs. Outbrain will put your article in those spots as a relevant ad that resembles a normal article. Since their ad network is so huge, all these websites have the possibility to link to your main website. There are also many Outbrain alternatives.
6. Instagram Ads
Owned by Facebook, Instagram is the leading photo and video sharing platform in the world. There are 500 million monthly active users on Instagram. Since the app is mainly photos and videos, the best things to advertise are lifestyle products or similar services.
Instagram Ads work by having your advertisements show up in people’s feeds, so there’s no chance someone can miss it. This is a great way to advertise your product because you are ensuring that the right targeted audience is viewing the ad. That’s why your advertisements should be designed to catch people’s attention, whether it’s a video or photo.
7. Reddit Ads
Reddit is the most popular discussion board platform in the world with 1.6 billion monthly active users. Reddit is unique because it’s a discussion platform for almost any topic out there. Whether It’s sports, food, tech, any topic you can think of, they will have it.
The way Reddit Ads works is similar to Instagram; they put an advertisement in someone’s feed so they will notice it most of the time. Reddit is great for reaching millennials and Generation Z because the platform is mainly composed of those demographics.
You can also target certain users’ interests based on the discussion threads people are writing in. Lastly, the PPC rate on Reddit is much cheaper compared to Google. All in all, Reddit Ads is a great choice to target certain groups and capture a majority of the market.
These seven platforms we just introduced are great alternatives to Google Ads. Although Google is leading in the search engine industry, there are still many other social media platforms where you can be successful in advertising. Not to mention that most of these options are also cheaper than Google and some can even provide more services.
Free Alternatives to Google AdWords in 2020
So far in this article, we discussed seven alternatives to Google Ads. However, most of these options aren’t free. Are you looking for a way to advertise with Google for free? While there may be no such thing as free Google advertising for business, there are other ways to reach potential customers and attract organic traffic. Here are free ways to advertise your business on the internet.
Start a Blog
Starting a blog is a great way to not only advertise your business but also bring more people to your website and build trust in your business. Blogs are great because you have a chance to answer people’s questions and connect with your users. Blogs are really easy to start and an excellent way to deliver high quality content to your audience.
Create Social Media Pages
Creating active social media pages is a great way to advertise your business. When you post, you can use hashtags and anyone searching for that hashtag will find it. Social media can lead to people following your page and later being interested in your business.
Use SEO Strategies
Search engine optimization is a great way to get more eyeballs on your website for free. It uses several factors to rank results based on the search terms. Using SEO strategies, you can enhance your website so that it will appear in search results on Google and alternative search engines like Bing.
Tips for Google AdWords Campaigns
Perhaps you do not need an alternative to AdWords at all, but you need to optimize your existing Google ad account. Here are some Google advertising free tips:
Come Up With New Keyword Ideas
Try coming up with a new list of keywords. Maybe the keywords you are using are too popular and have a high cost per click and you can benefit from using longer keywords.
Design New Landing Pages
Maybe the issue isn’t with your Google Ads themselves, but with your landing pages. Design landing pages that convert with a professional graphic designer.
Write Effective Calls to Action
Are your calls to action not converting? Make sure they are persuasive and concise. Include a reason to convert right away.
Need Help with Google AdWords?
In this article, we discussed seven alternatives to Google Ads, which included Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, Outbrain, and more. There are many options out there that have better PPC rates than Google and can help grow your business exponentially. Although most of these platforms aren’t free, there are still free options out there like incorporating SEO and starting a blog which can generate more website traffic. If you have any questions, contact SEO Design Chicago today for help with Google AdWords or its alternatives!
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