Advertising - To Target Or Not to Target?

The Internet advertising world is buzzing about the power of targeting. Analysts and the media have championed targeting as the "magic bullet" that will increase cost-per-thousand-impression rates for Web sites and ultimately accelerate the growth of Web advertising.

What seems to be missing from the dialogue is the answer to this basic question: Does targeting specific groups of people through Web advertising net a better return on investment than advertising without targeting?

Market forces prevail: Despite the hype, few marketers have examined if and when targeting actually makes economic sense. Isn't the whole point of advertising on the Web to help the advertiser make money? If Web site owners can collectively can help advertisers achieve their goals, then isn't that going to increase the viability and growth of the Internet advertising industry?

As online marketers become more and more sophisticated and big-name advertisers continue to learn that the Internet is a powerful marketing channel, it is inevitable that the remorseless economics of traditional advertising will prevail. Advertisers will become less interested in the technological nuances of the Web and will focus instead on whether it is helping them achieve their objectives or not.

The Web publishers, advertising and direct marketing agencies, ad networks and ad technology vendors that best meet the needs of advertisers will be the big winners. Those who do not focus on helping advertisers reach their goals - be it driving traffic to a Web site or creating a corporate brand - will be lost in the shuffle.

Return on investment is the key: This brings me to that ever-present buzzword - targeting. There is no denying that targeting in advertising is a valuable and powerful means of reaching prospective customers. Because of the inherent technical capabilities of the Internet, the possibilities for targeting are vast. For example, delivering a Ford Taurus ad to a consumer at the precise time he is shopping for a car (or searching for information about buying a car) is quite compelling.

Step back for a moment and consider what is called the "Rule of Ratios." It states that any increase in the cost of buying ads should be offset by an increase in the results.

If a $5.00 CPM (cost per thousand exposures) buy nets a one percent response and the CPM is then bumped to $25, a five percent response is needed in order to maintain the ROI (return on investment - 1/5 = 5/25).

If the advertiser shifts to a $25 CPM campaign and, because of better targeting, triples response, then the advertiser's ROI goes down even though the response rate has improved. Here is the math:

• $25 spent on a $5 CPM campaign with a one percent response yields 5,000 impressions and 50 responses: Cost per response = $0.50.

• $25 spent on a $25 CPM campaign with a three percent response yields 1,000 impressions and 30 responses: Cost per response = $0.83.

In some cases, the additional 33 cents per response is the "brand premium" that the advertiser pays for the appearing on the more targeted, more expensive site. While there may be a good reason for the advertiser to pay this premium, it is clear that the targeting available on the $25 site is not justified on a response basis.

In other cases, the additional cost per response simply represents a negative return on the investment in targeting.

Start small and experiment: The Web is the ultimate "test-before-you-invest" medium. Spending a small portion of your budget to test different creative concepts and targeting options is an inexpensive, fast and easy way to tailor a campaign and ultimately maximize results.

Let's say you have several different targeting options and are uncertain which one will perform better. The Internet allows advertisers to experiment with small amounts of money and minimize risk. Spending a few thousand dollars on each option and examining which one nets better results will significantly increase the chances of having a successful campaign.

In many cases, it doesn't make sense to begin a campaign in a high CPM environment and then sit back and hope your ads do well. It is far more cost effective to start off advertising on smaller sites at lower CPMs and begin the testing and learning process. As the campaign evolves, you may find that specific sites (and parts of sites) are getting a better response than others. Likewise, you may want to take advantage of targeting options using the knowledge you have gained from testing. That is the time to enhance your targeting and focus on where you now know your customers are.

Keep an eye on the numbers: Because technology allows advertisers to easily tweak campaigns on the fly, each campaign can be optimized to net the best possible return. Marketers need to try promising new targeting methods and technologies. Any new idea, however, must ultimately pay corresponding dividends.

Make more money faster by easily connecting with hard-to-reach decision makers who can buy your products and services...NOW! Get started free by getting Michael McCann's new Special Report excerpted from his newest edition of his popular business development book, Connecting with Key Decision Makers (How to Reach Hard-to-Reach Businesspeople Who Can Say "Yes")...just for asking at http:/www.GlobalBusinessCafe.com/ and http://Twitter.com/MikeHMcCann Go now!

Michael McCann is a 25-year veteran of developing unique and professional business development programs that create tangible results for individuals and companies. Let him help you instantly...free!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_McCann
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Incentria you can earn an extra stream of income by completing simple tasks

Here at Incentria you can earn an extra stream of income by completing simple tasks; We have advertisers that will pay you real cash money to simply view their websites, and other advertisers will pay you even more to join their various programs!



Member Benefits

  • Paid To Click
  • Paid To Read
  • Paid To Signup
  • Traffic Exchange
  • PTP $0.10 CPM
  • $1 Payout
  • 10% Referral Earnings
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Clicksia, earn an extra stream of income by completing simple tasks

Earning Opportunity

Here in the world of clicksia, you can earn an extra stream of income by completing simple tasks; We have advertisers that will pay you real cash money to simply view their websites, and other advertisers will pay you even more to join their various programs!



Affiliate Benefits

  • Paid to Click
  • Paid to Read
  • Paid to Sign Up
  • Traffic Exchange
  • PTP $0.10 CPM
  • $1.00 Minimum Payout
  • 10% Downline Earnings
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    ClixN'Cash

    Affiliates

    Here at ClixN'Cash you can GET PAID to view websites, read ads, complete offers, refer other, promote our site, and more! Registrationis absolutely free and you can start earning cash today! Click Here To Register


    Advertisers

    We offer high quality advertising with industry-leading options and features. With us you can promote your affiliate program, blog, auction, personal site, or any other kind of website! Get your site seen by real people at affordable prices!

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    LinkGrand

    LinkGrand is a profit sharing internet advertising company that will pay you to visit our advertiser's websites.

    Sign-up Now and Start Getting Paid!

    Here is some of what LinkGrand offers

    1.Membership is FREE.
    2.Get paid to visit our advertiser's websites.
    3.Earn a very generous $0.003 per link clicked.
    4.Refer members and get an amazing 30% commission of their earnings.
    5.Refer advertisers and receive a 10% commission of their purchases.
    6.Realtime reports of your earnings.
    7.Daily payouts with low minimum.
    and more!

    Sign-up Now!
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    WordLinx

    1. How does WordLinx work?

    Advertisers pay members to visit their websites. Members are paid $0.01 USD per click. Members must visit each advertiser's site for a minimum of 30 seconds. WordLinx charges advertisers a small commission of 10% + $1.99 USD per order to support running costs.

    2. Can I earn from referring new members?

    Yes, you will earn $0.05 USD for every new member that signs up and clicks several adverts. You will also earn 5% of their earnings from clicking adverts and 5% (up to $25.00 USD!) per sale if they buy visitors. If your referral upgrades to a paid membership, you will earn $0.50 USD on 3 levels. Pro members earn double. Please login and click Referrals, then Referral Information to find out more.

    3. How much does it cost to join?

    WordLinx is free to join. The amount you can earn is unlimited!

    4. How much do I have to earn before I get paid?

    You must have a minimum of $10.00 USD in your Available Balance (see cashout page) before you can request payment. This keeps admin costs and transfer fees to a minimum. Members can also spend Earned Credits on visitors or products. Please check our Term for full details.

    5. How can I be sure that I'll get paid?

    WordLinx is owned by an international media company. Unlike many other internet ventures where the owners can easily pick up and run, WordLinx is part of a real world business. We provide high quality support for free so you can always be sure that your questions will be answered.

    WordLinx members only get paid when advertisers spend. This is NOT a High Yeild Investment Program (HYIP), a Multi Level Marketing scheme (MLM), or Ponzi scheme. With WordLinx, there is no investment involved. Advertisers only spend money in return for real online advertising.

    WordLinx is a Certified BeenPaid.com Paying Program (verify) and our service has been online for over 5 years. You can search online to see proof of our payments to current WordLinx members.

    6. What are your cashout fees?

    Automatic Payments have a WordLinx fee of 5%. You will not be charged a fee by PayPal as that is paid for you. For example, if you withdraw $10.00 USD you will be paid $9.50 USD instantly.

    Manual Payments have a PayPal fee of up to 6.9% (source). You will not be charged a fee by WordLinx. For example, if you withdraw $10.00 USD you will be paid $9.31 USD within 30 days.

    7. Can other members of my family join?

    Only one member per household. Duplicate accounts will be deleted.

    8. How do I get started?

    Click here to complete our sign-up form, then wait for the confirmation email. Click the link in the message to activate your account. Login to your account to start earning or advertising.


    >>> Join Here<<<

    or

    Click image below


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    Paid to Click Sites That Pay!

    After seeing the cost of college these days, I decided to take action to help defray the cost as much as possible. Paid to Click (PTC) seems like a simple way to do it.

    I am hoping to raise enough money doing PTC to help pay for my Daughter & Son's college educations. Hopefully i will learn enough along the way to help others
    earn extra cash for your expenses as well.

    Here is a list of paid to click (PTC) sites that have good reputations and actually pay their members.

    A PTC site is a site that pays you to view websites linked from their page. Many also pay you for people whom you refer to their page. You don't make a million
    overnight but, you can make a steady income if you stay with it.

    I will write honest reviews and updates on these sites regularly to give you the best choices in PTC sites for you to make extra cash.

    I am also interested in learning about other sites that you recommend.

    Tips in Succeeding in Paid to Click
    1. Find 5-10 trusted sites that you can visit every day. Look for sites that have a consistent amount of ads every day and have a good history pf paying on time.
    Keep a close eye on your sites. A site that was great last month may be sold or go away next month.

    2. Refer everyone you know to your downline. You can send direct links for friends & family or create a site like mine where they can sign up for the sites they like all
    in one place. Don't expect everyone to sign up right away but some may sign up later when they see you success.

    3. Use some of your revenue from PTC to advertise on the sites you use. Example: When I receive $20 on The Clickers, I use that money to advertise this site.

    4. Help your downline recruit there own downline. This will help keep them motivated.

    5. Keep clicking! After your downline gets big enough, you may feel you don't need to click anymore as your downline is doing all the work! But remember, you have
    an upline that is counting on your clicking every day and you should pay it forward

    6. Never give up! It takes time to develop a strong downline and sticking to it every day is the only way to achieve it.
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    How to identify an scam website before investing your money or your precious time

    first trick>>

    by search on your favorite search engine like google or yahoo. type the "site name" followed by the word "scam" or "fraud".
    for example>> bux.to scam

    when you get result you will know the truth.it the most common sense factor to analyse a website before investing your money and time. those people who were already scammed by the website will surely write some where about there bad experience with that money earning website.

    second trick>>
    analyze their cashout limit and per day earning. sometimes when a scam website is newly launched, and less peoples are scammed and they are lazy enough or are too frustrated to write about the fraud scam with the website, in such cases search engines will not be able to show you the truth. in such cases, you must use your brain, if their cashout limit is too high above $20 bucks and the tempetation is too much then probably the website is a scam.

    third trick>>
    generally there is a forum or a blog available with the honest website. if there is no forum or a blog. probably the website is one where you will waste your plenty of precious time and only the site owner will become rich, hence never do investment on a website which lacks a forum or a blog. honest peoples always loves to clearup the doubt and problems from their website users.

    fourth trick>>
    sometimes a website own a forum but they are near to get bankrupt, in such cases you will always find the people complaning about payment and also there will always be some silly excuses to hear from the forum administrator or from the moderators. it you just join such a website where users are not paid on time or there are less number of members paid per day then never do any kind of investment there either of money or cash or time,

    fifth trick>>
    discuss with the people. ask a question about the website on yahoo answer!, or at mylot or in some other forums which are dedicated to make online money.

    by following the above five trick i guaranteed that you will never fail in make money online without any investment, or you if you wanna make some investment in some money make scheme(which i will never recommend).
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    What does a "Scam" site mean?

    I think it's important to define clearly and unequivocally what it means for a site to be labeled a "scam" site, since people throw the word around a lot and since the word is used so much in this industry.

    The most common misconception I see is that people often think, "If a site is paying, it must not be scam" or "This site paid me recently, so it must not be scam."

    That may sound natural and intuitive, but here's the kicker: for a website to be legitimate (not scam), it must pay *all* honest users to whom it owes money, on time, and according to terms of service. It's not good enough that the site paid you recently, or that it's paid a few people recently (as proofs posted somewhere), or even that it's paid most people. For a site to be a legitimate business, it must be caught up on all current debts to all honest users.

    That is not an unreasonable standard, or some impossibly high bar. It's a basic function of the business model adopted by the administrator, who is either running a cash positive business, or an inherently doomed ponzi on borrowed time. The big fallacy I see is that people think, "Hmmm...well, I saw that x or y got paid recently, so this site is obviously still paying! It must not be a scam." Also, people sometimes say, "Well I got paid, so it's not a scam." Sorry, but one person getting paid is statistically irrelevant. Even a 1000 people getting paid is irrelevant, if 9000 other honest users earned their pay and are not getting paid.

    For a site to be legitimate it must: have sustainable rates (which indicates it's not just planning on grabbing quick profits over 3-6 months and closing), deal promptly and honestly with user questions and concerns, have reasonable Terms of Service and not change them simply as a means of damage control to deal with a cash-negative problem, be transparent about operations, and actively and successfully solicit outside ads that cover expenses on an ongoing basis.

    Everything has to be upfront and right for a site to be labeled "legitimate": the advertiser rates/clicks payout ratio, the referral earning offerings, etc. Only if a site meets the basic criteria of an operative business model should it be granted legitimacy. Failing that, even if only one factor is askew, it can and should be labeled a suspected "scam"--an unsustainable model. We all know that 90%+ of PTC's are scams, and if you take auroras out of the equation, it's 99+%.

    So, I guess my main point is that in the current climate, this is not an "Innocent until proven Guilty" industry. The burden of proof is on an individual site to show that it has a sustainable model and a proven track record, to earn the honor of being taken seriously. In the meantime, you don't throw the word "scam" around just because a site went down for a few hours when you tried to go to it, but you can and should label a site as a "scam" for unsustainably high click earnings rates or other suspicious indicators.

    People throw the word "scam" around too loosely in certain situations (when they have personally had a bad experience with a website), and not loosely enough in other general situations (when analyzing the general viability of a website's business model).
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    Downline Builders are a great way to get referrals for your PTC sites.

    Downline Builders are a great way to get referrals for your PTC sites.

    Benefits:

    * Advertise all your PTC sites with a single link
    * It's Free to Join
    * Free replicated splash page with all your referral links to advertise with
    * Downline growth for potentially unlimited number of tiers - with all YOUR referral IDs
    * Free Flow-Through of your referral IDs for unlimited tiers of your downline

    While there are many Downline Builders around, there are only a few that specifically cater to Bux PTC Sites. Read more!

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