Tough economic times are forcing many companies to shift their advertising from traditional print and television to less expensive, more efficient online media outlets. However, before companies dive in they should have a clear strategy to make sure they get the best return on their investment. The following tips from AdCommunal Inc., an online ad agency network, will help companies large and small as they venture into the world of online advertising.

Top 10 Tips for Advertising Online in a Bad Economy:

1. Understand your audience. Choose an advertising approach that best suits your goals, and select an agency that can deliver to your goals.

2. Pay for leads, not impressions or clicks. The best way to do this is through a performance-based program where you pay a set amount per lead generated; regardless of how many times the ad is shown or clicked on.

3. Maximize your investment. Not only does a lead-based performance approach generate leads, it provides free brand visibility through banner placements and free site visibility through clicks, while generating leads that you can contact repeatedly.

4. Avoid set-up fees. There is no reason for you to pay set-up fees for your online campaign. If an ad agency tries to charge you set-up fees, look elsewhere.

5. Look for exclusivity. Most advertising agencies will tell you that they do not handle competing accounts – check if the agency has a smaller division or a separate department that’s serving your competitor.

6. Consistency through smaller agencies. Make sure that the agency representative you deal with is also responsible for the distribution of your campaign, thus giving them a direct handle on both sides of the transaction. Smaller ad agencies tend to allow for this, are often hungrier and can provide better attention and service.

7. Target niche sites and bloggers. Make sure the ad agency you select has access to a network of various traffic sources including social media, search engines, niche sites and bloggers – as they can be valuable sources of traffic.

8. Avoid extra costs of hiring a dedicated affiliate/program manager, and instead, appoint the ad agency as the exclusive program manager or agency of record to promote your campaign.

9. Monitor your success. Make sure the agency you choose provides advertiser and publisher reporting interfaces so that you can login and see real time ad tracking data like the number of leads generated, ads run and sites reached.

10. Make improvements as you go. Select an ad agency that can differentiate between sources of traffic so advertisers and publishers can optimize campaigns, fuel profitable sources and avoid wasting ad time and money on the wrong sites.

Originally posted on May 3, 2009 @ 11:00 pm