Google and Facebook are currently dominating the online pay-per-click advertising space. When it comes to ads on search engines and social media, Google and Facebook are what most businesses think of at the beginning.
While those two giants of the tech world may be the leading pay-per-click platforms, there are many alternatives available to marketers and small businesses trying hard to get the attention of their target users.
Honestly, with all the competition, both Google and Facebook have started to get quite expensive and per-click costs are often out of reach for many smaller advertisers. Competition and Cost are the two main reasons why so many marketers are looking at viable alternatives where they can get the best bang for their buck.
That is the reason why we thought of looking into five ideal alternatives for PPC Digital Marketing other than Google and Facebook. These sites have a cheaper per click cost but potentially can give the same kind of returns.
1) Outbrain
Outbrain is one of the leading content marketing platforms online. Advertisers can get access to some of the biggest sites in the world that include leading media houses and trusted publishers.
If you are not aware of Outbrain or content marketing, it is basically a platform where you promote your content. So over here, you would never directly get to link to your product sales page or web store. Instead, what you are doing is linking to quality content, information or blog post on your website.
You may have already seen on various media websites a number of article photos and links showing up at the bottom that provides news and information from various other sites.
With Outbrain, you will not only get a cheaper per click rate than Google, you can have your ads show up on some of the biggest names online like CNN, Wall Street Journal etc.
The strategy here is to either directly gain traffic for your website or use guerrilla marketing. For example, if you are selling eco-friendly products, then you could create an article on your website that purely gives information on the dangers of using plastic or how products usually contain toxic materials. Someone clicking on your link will not just get that valuable information, but they will be exposed to your eco-friendly products as well.
2) Reddit
Reddit has been around for a long time and has one of the highest daily active user counts of any site in the world. Many marketers are rushing to Reddit considering it is easy to create targeted lists on the site.
Think if you could target a particular group on Facebook. An active audience that is currently talking about something similar to what you are trying to sell. Unfortunately, Facebook does not allow you to target specific groups in its ad platform at the moment. However, with Reddit, you could target specific sub-Reddits.
Sub-Reddits are discussions based on a particular topic. So if you are an author trying to sell a paranormal fantasy book. You could target Sub-Reddits dedicated to discussing paranormal fantasy. That is such a huge advantage as you get an active audience base that is exactly talking about what you are selling.
3) Pinterest
Pinterest has got a reputation for being a more women-centric social media platform. However, this is not a true representation of the platform.
Pinterest has an outstanding loyal following and you can target a diverse range of audiences using their platform.
Of course, it is still mainly meant for business to consumer products. It is also one of the best places to advertise for retail products aimed at both women and men.
Also unlike Facebook where nowadays even with a lot of followers, you do not get much exposure, with Pinterest followers you do get better exposure in their daily feeds. Hence many advertisers have started campaigns to get more Pinterest followers and then advertise to those users.
Pinterest is also perfect if you want more eyeballs for your blog or any content-based website.
4) Amazon
Amazon’s advertising platform is only meant for those who are already selling through the Amazon eCommerce network.
However, so many vendors and sellers are currently trying to advertise outside of Amazon to try to get people to buy from their Amazon listings. Honestly, you are better off spending your budget on Amazon itself. Bid on the keywords related to your product and have your listings show up on the top as Sponsored Products.
Users browsing on Amazon for a particular product is obviously looking to buy that product and is a hot lead. You rather be in front of these people rather than trying to pull others towards your listing who may or may not want to buy.
Fortunately, Amazon’s ad platform has come a long way since its inception and has become much more user friendly with good targeting options.
5) Bing
Okay, I know Bing does not come anywhere close to Google’s reach and number of searches. Yet, it is one of the best platforms for marketers.
Microsoft’s search engine has seen a steady rise in advertisers each year. As a marketer, you will have less competition and better pay-per-click rates on Bing than on Google. Of course, the number of searches and potential reach will be much lower than Google, but you still get good warm leads searching for products or services similar to yours.
Bing offers lower rates, less competition with all of the targeting options as Google. It is definitely worth looking into and you may be surprised by the outcome.
