Banners are the little square ads you see on people websites. Sometimes they are on the top. Sometimes they are on the sides or the bottom. The great thing about placing banners is you get to target the exact person you are looking for to work with in your home based business. You simply put them on the websites that person would be interested in.

Banner Advertising can provide consistent flow of traffic, and you are able to plan your advertising in advance. You can also run very targeted campaigns with banner advertising, that you can’t with other methods.

Here are some important things to ensure you get the most from your banner advertising for your home based business:

I. Important Terms

You should know all the terms to go with this sort of marketing method as there are so many abbreviations it pays to know the language.

Example:

CPM – Cost Per Thousand

This is a method of measuring how much you will pay for a banner ad. Often times you are charged “on a CPM basic” which means you are charged for every thousand impressions. A “$2 CPM” means you pay $2.00 for every thousand impressions your banner ad receives.

CTR- Click Through Rate

This is the ratio of impressions to clicks. For example, if there are 1000 impressions (or page views) on a website, and 10 people click on the banner ad, that would be a CTR of 1%

II.Find Websites

One of the easiest ways to find websites for your banner ad, is to simply “play customer.”

1. Go to Google.com and type in keywords that you think your target market is looking for.

2. See what websites you can find (in the natural search – left side of search results) that have banners on them. If a website has a banner on it, that banner could be yours!

3. Keep track of the websites you find in a spreadsheet, and make notes on each, so you don’t have to do the same research twice.

III. Choose Placements

Once you have a list of possible websites, you want to choose which one would be the best for your banner. Use the following criteria to select your placements:

1. “Above The Fold” – your banner ad should always appear above the fold. This means people should not have to scroll down to see your banner. *This is important because an impression is counted every time the page loads.

2. Quality Content – Does this website offer the reader valuable content? Or does it look like the Las Vegas strip, with a flood of banner ads? The longer a person is on the website, the more likely they are to click on your banner ad.

3. Targeting – Does this website attract the type of viewers you want? Does it attract people who would be interested in what you have to offer?

VI.Place Your Banner Ad

Keep the following points in mind, before placing your ad to drive traffic to your home based business:

1. Rate Cards – Most websites that accept advertising post a “rate card” on their site, letting you know how much their banner ads are. You can often negotiate these rates down significantly, by contacting the website owner directly.

2. Always Test Small – Most advertising reps will want you to spend money with them. Let the site owner or rep know that you are very protective of your “test budget” and if your banner does well, you’ll definitely look forward to doing lots of business with them in the future. *As soon as you see your banner ad doing well, you will want to secure a good long-term rate and specific placement with the site owner.

3. CPM – Be wary of sites that charge more than $4-$5 CPM for banner ad placements. $2.00-$2.50 is ideal, but we’ve seen sites out there trying to get $15 CPM (which is very high).

V. Determining Banner Ad Success

1. You want to make sure you are only keeping the banners that are making you money and drop the ones that are costing you more than they are worth as soon as possible, this will ensure your lead costs stay below $5.

The best way to do this is to set up tracking on each of your banner advertisements so you know where your quality traffic is coming from. Then you just take the cost of the advertisement and divide by the leads example, if you spent $30 for your banner ad and you got 10 leads, 30/10 = $3.00 per lead. Your goal should be to pay $5 or under per lead, depending on the quality of leads. After you have all this information you can adjust your advertising accordingly.

Speaking of professional and effective Low and free cost marketing methods and training for your home based business here’s a link to a message from a good friend of mine, his name is Jay and he is the creator of the world’s premier online marketing course. Which is creating amazing results FOR thousands of people around the world, regardless of their experience!

Definition:

A niche market is a focused, targetable portion of a market.

By definition, then, a business that focuses on a niche market is addressing a need for a product or service that is not being addressed by mainstream providers. You can think of a niche market as a narrowly defined group of potential customers.

For instance, instead of offering cleaning services, a business might establish a niche market by specializing in blind cleaning services.

Why should you bother to establish a niche market? Because of the great advantage of being alone there; other small businesses may not be aware of your particular niche market, and large businesses won’t want to bother with it.

The trick to capitalizing on a niche market is to find or develop a market niche that has customers who are accessible, that is growing fast enough, and that is not owned by one established vendor already.

Are you aware that Google offers a variety of tools to help you with your website performance and promotion? The pervasive search engine company has a library of information, support materials, blogs, videos and applications all at your fingertips.

Here are some of the essential Google tools for your website to ensure that your website is very Google-friendly and that you are leveraging available resources to market your business online:

Google for Webmasters
A detailed overview of how Google indexes web pages.

The Google Channel on YouTube
A collection of more than one-thousand videos covering everything Google.

Google Webmaster Central
One-stop shop for webmaster resources.

Google Webmaster Tools
Detailed reports on your web pages’ visibility on Google.

Google Webmaster Tools Checklist
A checklist to help you get up and running quickly on Google Webmaster Tools.

Google Webmaster Central Blog
Official news on crawling and indexing sites for the Google index.

Google Webmaster Central Channel on YouTube
A collection of more than 100 useful videos.

Google Webmasters Help
A list of support resources.

Sitemap Generators
Tools to create XML sitemaps.

Google Business Solutions
A directory of Google services to help you market your business.

Google Local Business Center
Tools to help you get your business listed in Google and Google Maps.

Google AdWords
Create and run online ads for your business.

Google AdSense
Contextual advertising solution for web publishers.

Google Keyword Tool
Confirm keyword query volumes and research keywords for your website to target.

Google Trends
See trends in the way people are searching.

Google Insights for Search
Compare search volume patterns across geographic regions, categories and time frames.

Google Base
A database for you to submit online and offline content and products.

Google Product Ideas Blog
Updates from the Google product ideas team. See the future right now.

Google Analytics
Web analytics solution providing you with insights into your website traffic.

Google Website Optimizer
Web page testing and optimization tool.

Google Checkout
Secure checkout process similar to PayPal.

Google on Twitter
Follow Google on Twitter.

Google Webmaster Central on Twitter
Get the latest updates from the Google Webmaster Central team via their Twitter feed.

Twitter is a micro-blogging platform. It lets you update your status and lets the whole world know what you are up to. There are millions of Twitter-addicts all over the world, and the number of active users has increased by 900% in the past year. Companies can also use it to promote themselves.On Twitter you will have people “following” you, and you will be “following” others. “Following” is being updated every time a new post is added to one of your contacts’ profiles. Being followed is the same; every time you have something to add, all your “followers” will be updated. The more people that follow you, the more exposure your business will get. But it’s not about adding as many people as you can to your friends list. You need to be smart about building your follower base.

The problem is that many companies that try to market using Twitter don’t understand how this community works, and consequently their Twitter Marketing efforts don’t pay off.

To help you avert this fate, the following steps will guide you in understanding what to do and what not to do to give your company huge exposure using Twitter.

Step 1: Import Your Contacts

Twitter allows you to to import contacts from Gmail, Hotmail and your own address book. Do it.

Step 2: Make Sure that Your Profile is Complete

Fill in all the fields (both required and optional) and include your website URL. You can also personalize your Twitter page to match your company’s branding.

Step 3: Understand the Dynamics of Twitter

Twitter is a social tool, not a classifieds site. These are some tips that will help you to get followers:

• Don’t spam others about your specials
• Follow other users
• Be active in the community (tweet and post comments about others’ tweets often)
• Only post useful and relevant information
• Don’t tweet every 5 minutes. It becomes annoying.
• Engage in conversations. Retweet (reply to others’ tweets) often
• Don’t promote your company directly. Do it the smart way. For example, if you sell widgets, write a buyer’s guide about the kind of widgets that you sell and tweet about that blog post. That is useful information. Avoid tweets like “Great Widgets On Sale – Starting at $9.99!”

Step 4: Build Your Followers Base

There are many things that you can do to build your followers base:

• Put a link to “Follow Me on Twitter” everywhere (your email signature, forums, website, and business cards)
• Every time you post on your blog, invite people to follow you on Twitter
• Search for Twitter users whose followers base you would love to have for yourself. See who is following them and follow those users. They will follow you back.
• See who is following your friends and follow them.
• There are Twitter directories that are great to find members who are likely to follow you. Examples include Just Tweet It and Twellow.
• Use Twitter’s search feature to find profiles that interest you. Use Twitter’s RSS feed to be notified every time a tweet containing a certain keyword is made.

Step 5: Balance Your Followers/Following Ratio

Try to have a balance between people you follow and people that follow you. If a lot of people follow you and you don’t follow them, they will stop following you. If you are following plenty of people but just a few are following you, you’ll be seen as a spammer trying to grow your follower base as quickly as possible.

These are some ideas to keep both numbers balanced:

• Grow slow. Instead of adding 200 new friends all of a sudden, add maybe 50 and wait for them to follow you back. Then follow another 50.
• Use tools like Friend or Follow. This tool lets you check who is following you whom you are not following. It also allows you to see who you are following who are not following you. This is the best way to balance your ratio in just a few minutes.
• Avoid following others so they follow you, only to stop following them once they are on board following you. If you do this, you will be seen as a spammer.

Step 6: Make it Worthwhile to Follow You

Tweet interesting stuff. Every time you are about to post something, ask yourself “Is this something I would be interested in?” If the answer is no, chances are that your followers will feel the same way.

Step 7: Learn from the Best

Find users with several hundred followers and learn from them. See what they are doing right and get ideas from them.

Done right, Twitter Marketing can lead to positive exposure for your business. Companies have been known to make tens of thousands of dollars from customers that found them through a Twitter account. Depending on your business, Twitter could be one of the most successful weapons in your Internet Marketing arsenal.

Twitter is growing by leaps and bounds as people begin to appreciate its clean and easy-to-use interface. Twitter, at this point, does not look like one of the many flash-in-the-pan Internet applications that we have seen in times’ past.

Twitter’s 140 character micro-blogging platform has gained a lot of traction, as individuals and business people have learned to bring together their friends, family and customers under a communications platform that all users find useful.

Mom and dad find it easier to keep up with the lives of their grown children through Twitter. The fact that Twitter allows people to link to other web pages makes Twitter a simple platform to share thoughts, ideas, and links to stories and pictures. Grandma and granddad find it easy to check in on the kids’ Twitter account and to maintain daily contact with those across town and elsewhere in the world.
Friends can make plans and share common interests through the Twitter world. One can reply to a message publicly, or if the message is a bit more private, one can send a Direct Message (known as a DM) to anyone who has agreed to follow you also. Through the DM system, lovers can share flirts that no one else can see, but the persons intended to receive the message.

If you let your kids use Twitter, it may be best to set up their Twitter Account Settings to “Protect The Tweets”. In the description of this feature, Twitter says, “Only let people whom I approve follow my tweets. If this is checked, you WILL NOT be on the public timeline.”

The Public Timeline is the messages/tweets that everyone can see. Anything not on the Public Timeline is private, with restricted access.

Business People Are Working To Tap Into Twitter Marketplace

Twitter was born in March of 2006. But most of us never really heard of it or even understood it, until this last year (2008-2009). A few of the Internet gurus started talking about Twitter in 2008, and as 2009 got underway, more online marketers started talking about the Twitter community on a nearly daily basis.

We have accounts in Twitter that are a couple of years old, but we didn’t get involved with Twitter really until about April of 2009. In April of 2009, we had 12 Twitter Followers.

In May 2009, there was not a single online business in the Top 100 of Twitter, but those numbers are starting to change. Through May of 2009, the Top 100 accounts on Twitter were dominated by TV and Movie celebrities, a few media companies such as @cnnbrk, politicians and sports figures.

Most online marketers hadn’t given Twitter much thought until “The Great Ashton Kutcher vs CNN Twitter Race” that ended on April 17, 2009 with Ashton (@aplusk) getting the privilege to declare victory. Even now, three months after the end of the race, Ashton is still the champion – Number 1 in the Twitter Follower counts with 2,975,032 Followers. Ashton is followed by @TheEllenShow – 2,610,357; @britneyspears – 2,553,668; @cnnbrk – 2,431,783;  @twitter – 1,930,821 and @urdu_news – 5,594,54.
When the Great Twitter Race was concluded, I did a backlink check on Ashton’s @aplusk account. Literally, Ashton had bought a ton of advertising on websites, blogs, forums, etc. Ashton was also getting tons of free press in print and online in the Great Twitter Race.

Of course, we marketers should not feel bad if we are getting on this bandwagon a little late in the game, because @google has only had their account since Jan 09. Google is currently the 23rd biggest Twitter account with 1,244,976 Followers.

A surprise for me was seeing @WholeFoods, an Austin Texas based grocery store, sitting at #38 with 1,094,093 Followers. According to TwitterCounter, Whole Foods had only 322,820 Followers on April 4, 2009. A quick look at the Whole Foods profile indicates that they are using the account to share with their customers: company news, customer support, and available specials.

An honorable mention goes to @kevinrose, celebrity and founder of Digg.com. Kevin Rose is the 40th most popular person on Twitter, with 1,092,920 Followers.

Once you get into the Top 100 List below #40, you finally start to see a few online businesses in the mix. @zappos CEO is #45. @woot is #46. @TechCrunch is a web media site at #55. @dooce is at #60. To see the full Top 100 List, go here: http://twittercounter.com/pages/100

Who Is In Your Target Market and What Do They Want To Know?

As you look around at those people who are successful building their own little communities on Twitter, you will notice that each one gives people what their Followers want.

For example, @cussy is an online marketer, and he has nearly 10,000 Followers. His secret to growth: quotes. He gives his followers some of the best quotes about business and reaching goals of anyone on Twitter. I follow him and Retweet him often.

@dave_carpenter advertises himself as a Success Partner For High Achievers. Dave shares quotes and tips, and he retweets others who give good advice also. More importantly, Dave encourages the people he follows. He has nearly 9,000 Followers at this time.

@MattLevenhagen is a professional marketer. His 13,000 Followers follow because he runs a mix of marketing tips, links to great articles, and retweets for great advice. He even uses his Twitter account to give his customer’s support.

@SocialMedia411 is a Social Media expert who offers social media tips, links to social media articles and news. With more than 56,000 Followers, you can bet that the advice given here is worthwhile to its audience.

When you learn to talk to the people most likely to buy from you, you have completed the first and most important step to enable you to develop strong Twitter Marketing habits.

Learn How Others Are Successful With Twitter

As always, when you want to learn to be successful, you should look to those who are already successful and try to reverse-engineer the steps that they used to become successful. Once you have taken the time to study many who have been successful in the way that you want to be successful, you may note that success comes from giving people what they want and doing it in such a way that you provide good value to your customers.

Those who have been successful with Twitter have done so, because they put the needs of their Followers ahead of a personal desire to be boring or silly.

The good news is that other business people have started to find success on Twitter and you can too. When you learn to provide the people in your target market with the information that they need and want, you will have started down the path to building a Twitter Follower list to envy.

Author: Trey Pennewell