1. Overview

A marketing plan is essential for this, and within that, digital marketing is expected to play a significant role for numerous enterprises. However, ‘digital marketing’ encompasses a diverse array of channels and techniques. Choosing the right options can feel daunting.

This guide provides a concise overview of essential digital channels that enterprises can leverage to attract new customers, enabling you to make well-informed choices about which channels might suit your needs best.
 

2. Google Business Profile 

Meaning -
‘Google My Business’ is a valuable tool that allows enterprises to claim their business listing and manage the information displayed about them in local search results, including both Google Search and Google Maps. 

When to utilise it 
If your business engages with customers directly and operates within a defined local region, and you aim to attract new clientele, then creating a Business Profile on Google My Business can be especially beneficial. For instance: 

If you operate one or more physical locations that serve customers, such as a shop, café, garage, restaurant, or beauty salon. 
If you operate without a physical customer-service location but provide services to clients in a defined geographical region—like a cake designer, mobile hairdresser, plumber, electrician, or consultant. 
Essential advantages 
If you cater to a local audience, GMB can assist you in attracting new customers by:

Boosting your visibility: For small or local enterprises, being prominent in search results can significantly impact your ability to attract new customers. A Google My Business account is the fastest and easiest method to enhance your visibility in local search results and panels. 
Assisting clients in discovering your business: Individuals searching for a local enterprise are typically on the verge of making a purchase or utilizing a service. Sometimes, a precise portrayal of your business, the services you provide, and your location, along with some visuals of your offerings, is all that is needed to convince them. All of this information is easily accessible on GMB listings. 
Establishing trust: Keeping your Google My Business listing clear, concise, and current helps you uphold a professional online presence, demonstrating to potential customers that you are reliable and credible.
Highlighting customer feedback: An important aspect of GMB is that customers can share their experiences regarding your business. Positive reviews hold significant influence and frequently play a crucial role in the decision-making process, helping to attract new customers. When you provide excellent service, your customers are likely to share their experiences through reviews without any encouragement. However, it's also worth exploring strategies to increase the number of reviews you receive. Additionally, make sure to reply to any existing reviews. This demonstrates your responsiveness and can assist in garnering more reviews. 
Factors to keep in mind 
It’s crucial to understand that with GMB, your listing is not owned by you, and you don’t have complete control over it - that responsibility lies with Google. Customers have the ability to propose changes to the details in your business listing, such as important information like operating hours, which Google can update on your listing at any time. 

Customers can upload photos of your business that they have captured and share their reviews on your profile. Additionally, Google might already feature a ‘knowledge panel’ for your business, filled with information sourced from various online platforms and its own data, all without your awareness or contribution. 

Specialised knowledge needed 
There’s no requirement for specialised expertise to effectively manage your presence, and you can handle it on your own. It is beneficial to familiarise yourself with the platform before claiming your listing. This will assist you in determining if it is the right avenue for your business and provide valuable insights for creating a successful listing.

For additional details, refer to the DigitalBoost guides available on Google My Business: 

Seize the opportunity or miss out—can Google My Business enhance your marketing efforts? 
Comprehensive guide - claiming and enhancing your Google My Business profile 
Funds needed 
Google My Business is a complimentary tool, allowing you to claim and manage your listing without any financial investment. Nonetheless, it is essential to invest time in this channel to effectively manage and uphold your listing.
 

3. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) 

Meaning -
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) involves optimising your website to enhance its visibility in the organic (unpaid) search engine results, making it easier for potential customers to find the products or services you provide.

When to utilise it 
If your website serves as a primary business channel or plays a crucial role in convincing potential customers, then SEO is probably very important for your business. Similarly, if you provide a product or service that is in demand, being visible in search results will undoubtedly be advantageous. 

Nonetheless, there are a few situations where SEO might not be suitable for your website. If you're looking to attract new customers right away, keep in mind that SEO is a strategy that takes time and won't provide instant results. If your product or service introduces a completely new idea that lacks any existing search volume, then SEO won't be effective in generating demand, as you won't show up in searches when there are no searches being made. 

If a website isn't essential for your business or isn't a crucial part of your sales strategy, then SEO may not be the right fit for you. Nonetheless, you can still show up in local searches by utilising Google My Business. 

Essential advantages 
Effective SEO can significantly impact your business. Achieving top positions for relevant keywords places your business directly in front of a significant number of potential customers who are actively looking for the products or services you provide. 

Here are some important ways SEO can assist you in attracting new customers:
Generating significant traffic: One of the primary advantages of SEO is that achieving high rankings for relevant keywords can lead to substantial amounts of 'free' traffic to your website (for numerous businesses, organic search accounts for the bulk of their traffic). 
Understand your audience better: SEO enables you to gain valuable insights into your audience's preferences and behaviors. What are they looking for? What terms and expressions do they utilize? What are they expecting from you? This level of understanding can empower you to effectively cater to and persuade new clients. 
Brand visibility: Maintaining rankings for various relevant terms enhances your brand’s visibility, and when targeted effectively, can ensure you are seen at every stage of the decision-making process. 
Building credibility and trust is essential for effective SEO and achieving high rankings. This involves creating a high-quality website that offers valuable content and an excellent user experience. This enhances your credibility and the trust that customers place in you, which can subsequently influence conversion rates.
Long-term advantages: When executed effectively, SEO can provide ongoing results, with content consistently attracting traffic and new customers to your website over time. 
Factors to Keep in Mind 
Before starting with SEO, it's crucial to take into account 
SEO is a strategy that requires time and patience: as highlighted, it is not suited for immediate solutions or quick outcomes. Optimising your site and achieving rankings is a process that requires time and effort. 
SEO demands a comprehensive strategy: it involves various components of your website, such as the technical aspects of your site development, the quality of your content, the backlinks you acquire, your user experience, and numerous other elements - there are no shortcuts to achieving high positions in organic search results. To achieve the top rank, it is essential to deliver exceptional content and an outstanding experience for your audience. It represents a valuable investment in your website and the material it hosts. 
It is essential to execute this correctly: Additionally, it is crucial to steer clear of any unethical techniques aimed at manipulating search engines. SEO techniques should adhere to the webmaster guidelines. Not adhering to these guidelines can lead to your website facing penalties or being completely removed from search results. 
Rankings are not assured: Search engines employ highly intricate algorithms to evaluate the relevance of the content they index, and it is ultimately the search engines that determine which sites rank for each term. 
Specialised knowledge needed 
Implementing SEO effectively requires a significant level of expertise. 

It is crucial for individuals involved in SEO to grasp the functioning of search engines, conduct thorough research to choose the appropriate keywords for their target audience, and effectively optimize both content and technical aspects.

Weak SEO can lead to several consequences: 
It may not be effective, leading to a loss of time and potentially financial resources. 
This could affect the user experience, leading to a loss of trust and credibility, ultimately causing visitors to exit your site without making a purchase. 
It may result in the loss of your current rankings. 
It could even lead to your removal from search engines - Google penalises any sites that use ‘black hat’ techniques to manipulate search rankings, so a mistake could result in your site being blacklisted. 
With that in mind, small business owners can definitely handle some fundamental SEO tasks on their own. Many businesses choose to hire agencies or freelancers for professional SEO services, as attaining high rankings—especially for competitive search terms—requires significant time and expertise.

If you're considering optimising your site on your own, especially if it's a small site or focused on specific search terms, or if you want to ensure you're hiring the right SEO expert, you'll be pleased to know that there's a wealth of information online for your research needs. 

Explore the SEO articles and guides available at DigitalBoost, featuring:
A comprehensive guide to SEO tailored for small enterprises 
Search engine optimisation (SEO) 
Funds needed 
From a technical standpoint, SEO does not necessitate any financial investment, since organic listings are free and you have the option to optimise your site independently (though it will require a commitment of your time). 

However, if you choose to engage professional assistance, the budget needed for this will vary based on your requirements, ranging from a reasonable investment to a significant portion of your marketing budget.
 

4. Organic social marketing 

Meaning 
Organic social marketing refers to any 'free' activities that companies engage in on social media platforms. This involves setting up a business profile or page on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, along with generating and sharing posts and content on these channels. 

When to utilise it 
Many businesses now maintain a presence on social media, and for numerous small enterprises, it serves as a key platform for connecting with and engaging their customers, especially during the challenges posed by the coronavirus lockdown. 

If you seek to attract new customers and haven't established a presence on social media yet, there are several situations where building and sustaining an active social profile can be especially beneficial, such as:

-If you cater to a local clientele, 
-If you run a small business and don't have a website, 
- your enterprise flourishes through referrals 
- your service availability, offerings, or products frequently change and you need to communicate the latest information, 
-If you run a specialised business with a vibrant community 
-If you produce a significant amount of content or visuals that resonate with your customers 
-However, social media may not suit every business model. If your audience does not engage with social media, such as a predominantly elderly demographic, then it may not be worthwhile to focus on that platform. Similarly, if your product or service does not align well with any platform, this might not be the best channel for your business. 

Essential advantages 
Social media serves as a powerful tool for discovering and engaging new customers while also fostering relationships with current clients and handling customer support effectively. Several important advantages of this channel are: 

Various platforms: Numerous social media platforms are accessible for businesses to connect with their audience, featuring major players such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, and Snapchat, along with many niche and up-and-coming platforms. Every platform serves a unique purpose and caters to distinct demographics. This provides numerous businesses with various opportunities to engage and connect with diverse audiences. 
Various methods for engagement: These platforms provide a variety of content types, giving businesses numerous opportunities to connect, share updates, and highlight their products and services. From text posts to polls, click-to-shop options, short videos, instant messaging, and ‘stories,’ there are significant opportunities for businesses to connect with and engage their customers.
Highlight and utilize customer feedback: Customers can share their reviews and testimonials on your social media platforms, and Facebook prominently features these reviews. Positive reviews hold significant influence and frequently play a crucial role in the decision-making process for prospective customers. Social media provides a platform for showcasing these reviews and encourages the collection of additional feedback. 
Engage in the dialogue: Social media provides a platform to participate in broader discussions or trends happening online. For instance, hashtags on Twitter and Instagram provide a chance for companies to engage in specific trends. Social platforms enable companies to stay updated on discussions and shares relevant to their sector. 
Highlight your brand: Social media tends to be more ‘personal’ compared to a website, and maintaining a strong social media presence can provide potential customers with an authentic understanding of your ‘brand.’ Showcase your products or services while also sharing engaging content such as testimonials, news, and images that reflect your brand identity. 
Being approachable: Social platforms provide a chance to be available for addressing any questions or inquiries that both new and existing customers might have, which can enhance trust and credibility. 
Factors to keep in mind 
When managing a social presence for your business, there are several important factors to consider: 

There are numerous chances to make mistakes! Social media offers an excellent platform for engagement, but it is quite simple to make mistakes. There is a delicate balance between captivating brand actions and bothersome, unwelcome content. When creating posts spontaneously and sharing them online right away, it’s simple to accidentally express something inappropriate or convey the wrong impression. The risk increases significantly if you are not an active user of social media in your personal life. Being thoughtful is essential. 
Content should be captivating: social media channels require consistent upkeep. It is essential to share content consistently, ensuring that it is both of high quality and engaging for your audience. This could include routine images of finished projects or snapshots of new products, but you'll only discover what resonates with your audience once you share and observe their preferences. Understanding the content formats and topics that resonate with your audience is crucial, so focus on creating more of these engaging materials.
A strategic approach is essential: To maintain vibrant accounts, it's important to organize your content and posts ahead of time, ensuring you always have engaging material to share, which requires careful planning. 
They operate on a pay-to-play model: On many major social platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, organic reach is limited. This indicates that a significant number of users, including your own followers, are unlikely to see your posts unless you invest in promoting them through advertising. To achieve genuine impact and draw in new customers, it's essential to allocate a budget for advertising. 
Specialised knowledge needed 
Managing your social channels independently is possible, but it’s essential to have a solid understanding of social media best practices. It is crucial to grasp the ‘rules of play’ as defined by the platforms and the users in the market.

Before you establish your presence or initiate new activities, conduct thorough research on each platform to grasp their functionalities. Additionally, look into the current best practices for posting and engaging on those platforms to ensure you approach things correctly. It is essential to understand your audience and observe how other brands in your industry are doing, what content they are sharing, and the level of user engagement they are receiving.

Many companies with a strong social media presence, or those lacking the time to handle their own accounts, choose to hire agencies or freelancers to take charge of their accounts and manage all their content.

There is a vast array of insights on social media marketing accessible, including:
- Strategy for social media 
- Facebook for enterprises 
-LinkedIn as a platform for enterprises 
- Is it beneficial for my business to be on Instagram? 
- Twitter and Hootsuite for enterprises 
- Funds needed 
In essence, there is no financial budget necessary, since creating social media pages and posting organic (unpaid) content comes at no cost. However, it does require a significant investment of your time. To broaden your reach and attract new customers, it's essential to allocate funds for promoting your key content and/or executing targeted advertisements, along with expenses for design, images, and copywriting.

Additionally, engaging professionals to handle your accounts will necessitate an extra marketing budget to cover this service. 
 

5. Social media marketing/sponsored social 

Meaning 
Social media advertising, also known as paid social, is a strategy for promoting businesses on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. This can be achieved by running advertisements on these platforms or by boosting your social media posts. 

When to utilise it 
If your social media profiles play a crucial role in your business or are essential in convincing potential customers, then investing in social media advertising is probably very important for you. The organic reach on major social platforms has declined, indicating that to connect with new customers on these platforms, investing in paid social is essential. This is especially beneficial when:

Many small businesses primarily use social media for their marketing efforts, as it serves as a key platform for engaging with their customers. In such a scenario, social media advertisements and promoted posts may prove to be an effective strategy for attracting new customers. 
Having a local audience is advantageous: Many platforms enable you to focus your advertisements on specific geographic regions, allowing you to effectively reach your local audience. 
To effectively reach a particular demographic, consider utilising social ads. If your audience aligns with a specific group, tailored ads can be an excellent strategy to connect with them. 
Your product or service aligns perfectly with a specific platform. Social platforms each have their unique characteristics - LinkedIn serves as a professional network for businesses, while Instagram is a source of inspiration for users. As a result, certain products or services may perform more effectively on specific platforms compared to others. If your product aligns closely with the main purpose of a social platform (for example, a lifestyle brand on Instagram), promoting it on that platform could be especially effective. 
However, social advertising may not always be suitable. If you haven't utilised social media for your business yet, it might be wise to wait on advertising until you've established your company profiles and familiarised yourself with the platform. Similarly, if your product or service doesn't align well with any platform, this might not be the best channel for your business.

Additionally, since these advertisements focus on individuals who are earlier in the decision-making journey, if your goal is to generate significant traffic to your website or achieve quick sales or conversions, paid social may not be the most efficient channel for this purpose.

Essential advantages 
Social media advertising is quite easy to navigate and can significantly help you connect with new customers and enhance your brand visibility. 

Enhance brand visibility: Social advertising enables you to enhance brand visibility among your target audience during the initial phases of their decision-making journey (i.e., before they start actively looking for your product or service). 
Simple to navigate: The advertising platforms, especially the features for boosting posts, are quite user-friendly. 
In-depth targeting: Social media platforms provide exceptionally precise targeting options, along with effective retargeting capabilities. Businesses can focus on users based on their preferences, interests, age, gender, location, online behavior, and more. Facebook allows you to create lookalike audiences, which is described as “a method to connect with new individuals who are likely to be interested in your business because they resemble your best existing customers.” 
Extensive customer reach: Social platforms boast a vast number of active users, enabling you to connect with a significant portion of your target audience. 
Various ad formats: Each platform provides a variety of ad formats, giving you the flexibility and creativity to showcase your brand and connect with your audience, while also allowing you to evaluate the effectiveness of different formats. 
Factors to keep in mind 
Before launching any social media advertisements, it's essential to consider the following:

Manage your expenses wisely: Just like any form of advertising, it's easy to exceed your budget if you don't monitor your costs effectively. Establish budgets and monitor your expenditure closely, ensuring you assess the returns to prevent overspending.
It is essential to focus your efforts: to connect with the right new customers, conducting thorough customer research and accurately targeting your advertisements is vital.
Continuous management and enhancement: Social ads require active oversight and refinement to maintain budget control and enhance outcomes. Regular analysis of advertisements is crucial to identify areas for improvement and to gather insights for future campaigns. 
There is no universal approach: Each social platform serves a unique purpose and audience, so your advertising strategies must be tailored accordingly if you are utilising multiple platforms. 
Practical expectations: It is crucial to have a practical understanding of what social ads can accomplish. They are unlikely to generate significant traffic or immediate sales on your site, as they are positioned further back in the decision-making process. Establish realistic objectives for your advertisements and assess their overall worth comprehensively.
Specialised knowledge needed 
To effectively create and target your advertisements or promoted content, it is essential to have a good understanding of the advertising platforms and their functionalities. 

The level of paid promotion you choose to pursue will determine the expertise required. If you intend to focus solely on promoting your organic posts without engaging in paid advertising, it demands less expertise regarding various ad formats. However, it remains essential to comprehend the platform, effectively target your audience, and know how to collect and analyse the outcomes. 

To effectively manage various ad formats across different platforms, a higher level of expertise is essential. Before starting any initiative, it's crucial to grasp the platforms involved, which includes understanding various ad formats and their requirements, identifying your audience and selecting appropriate targeting, as well as crafting engaging ads, managing your budget effectively, and continuously optimising your advertisements. 

You can manage your social ads independently, especially for a small, focused campaign. However, when managing larger or more intricate campaigns across various platforms, or if this channel is crucial for new business, many organisations choose to engage a specialist agency or consultant to establish and oversee their ads, ensuring they are executed effectively. Additionally, if you are managing extensive advertising campaigns, it may be beneficial to seek expert assistance for designing your ads or capturing high-quality images and videos.

If you're considering managing social ads on your own, or if you're looking to gather more information before bringing someone on board, there are plenty of resources accessible online to assist you. 
- Video tutorial on paid advertising 
- Guide to Paid Advertising 
- Strategy for social media 
- Facebook for enterprises 
-LinkedIn as a platform for enterprises 
- Funds needed 
A budget is essential for covering the costs of your promoted social posts or the clicks on your social advertisements. The budget required will differ based on your enterprise, your goals, and the scale and aspirations of your campaign. 

Social ads or promoted posts can be executed with a very modest budget, especially at the beginning if you want to test the waters or if you have a small local audience. However, to connect with a vast or national audience, you will require a significantly larger budget. 

If you choose to engage a professional agency for managing your campaigns or creating your advertisements/media, you will need to allocate extra funds to cover these services. 
 

6. Paid Search / Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising for Indian Enterprises 

Explanation 
Pay Per Click (PPC), often referred to as paid search, is a type of online advertising where businesses invest to feature prominently in search engine results for selected keywords. It’s referred to as Pay Per Click because you incur costs only when a user engages with one of your advertisements. The most widely utilised PPC platform is Google Ads, formerly known as AdWords. 

When to utilise it 
If you offer your products or services online, or if your customers search for them on the internet, PPC can be a highly effective method for reaching and drawing new customers to your website. 

PPC proves to be especially beneficial when:
It’s essential to boost traffic rapidly. PPC can start bringing visitors to your website immediately after your ads go live. This is highly beneficial if you want to quickly increase the number of potential customers on your website, promote an event or a limited-time offer, or if you need to clear inventory.
Your organic rankings are lacking. If your website isn't performing well in organic search results for your desired keywords—perhaps due to competition from larger, established sites, being a newer site, or if SEO isn't a focus for you—then pay-per-click advertising can help you maintain visibility in your target search results.
You aim to focus on a particular region. If your business caters to a local audience or operates within a specific geographic region, you can effectively run PPC ads that target individuals whose IP addresses are located within that area. 
You aim to highlight a particular offering. You choose the keywords for which your ads will be displayed, enabling you to direct traffic to a particular section of your website or to exclusively promote a specific product or service. PPC provides the flexibility to focus on and target only those search terms. 
Nonetheless, PPC may not always be suitable. Similar to SEO, PPC can only generate traffic when there are individuals actively searching. If your product or service is a completely novel idea with no current search interest, then PPC won't assist you in generating demand, as you won't show up in searches when there are no searches being made. Similarly, if your website does not serve as a main business avenue, is not a crucial part of your customers’ decision-making journey, or if your customers do not look for your products or services online, then PPC may not be the most effective use of your marketing budget.

Essential advantages 
When PPC aligns with your business needs and is executed effectively, it can serve as a highly efficient channel, driving significant amounts of relevant traffic and yielding a strong return on investment. Here are some important advantages of this channel: 

PPC allows you to connect with potential customers precisely when they are looking for your product or service, meeting them at their moment of need. 
Strong Returns: When executed effectively, PPC can yield impressive returns on investment. This is because you can reach users who are close to making their purchasing decisions, and you can concentrate your budget on the most effective ads and keywords.
Precise targeting: PPC advertising enables you to be highly specific about the audience you reach and the advertisements you display. Your advertisements can be directed to appear for particular search terms, in specific locations, and even at certain times of the day and on particular days of the week. You can also reach out to individuals using various ad formats, tailored messaging, and specific landing pages. 
You have the power: PPC offers a significant degree of control - you can pause your account or specific keywords whenever you wish, modify your ad copy or landing pages, introduce new keywords, adjust your budget, expand into new regions, change bids, and more, all according to your requirements. 
Experience immediate outcomes: As soon as they go live, PPC ads can start attracting traffic - and potentially generating sales or leads - in no time. Moreover, the modifications you implement, along with effective tracking, allow you to effortlessly view your results through your campaign dashboard. 
Clear data: PPC generates a significant amount of useful data, such as click volumes, conversions, and expenditure on advertisements. When PPC data is integrated with other data sources, like Google Analytics, it provides even deeper insights. This can enhance PPC performance while also guiding marketing strategies and influencing product or service choices.
Experiment and discover: PPC serves as a fantastic method to evaluate your marketing strategies and even your product offerings. Conducting A/B testing allows you to evaluate various ads, landing pages, and messaging strategies effectively. To determine which approach is most effective, you can also implement targeted PPC campaigns for broader testing. This allows you to evaluate an initial offering before expanding into a larger market. 
Factors to keep in mind 
When it comes to PPC, there are several important factors to consider, including:

Maintain control over expenses: Costs can escalate quickly if you don't manage your budget effectively and ensure your account is properly targeted. Being highly focused is crucial, and it's essential to establish practical bid levels and maximum spending limits. Every business managing PPC should consistently monitor their expenditures and the returns they are generating. A well-targeted campaign can still fall short if it fails to deliver the necessary returns. 
Preparation and research are essential: Effective PPC demands a solid foundation to begin with. Targeting the most relevant search terms for your audience is crucial. This requires conducting thorough keyword and competitor research to identify what people are searching for and the terms you should aim to rank for. Using incorrect keywords will result in unnecessary expenses.
It is essential to focus on targeting: the strength of PPC lies in its ability to reach the right audience - effective PPC campaigns are always precisely targeted, organized, and feature relevant ad copy along with compelling landing pages. Not targeting effectively will lead to a decrease in return on investment.
Continuous management and enhancement: PPC accounts require regular oversight and optimization to maintain budget control and enhance performance. The search environment is constantly evolving, with new competitors vying for your keywords or launching promotions. It's essential to stay informed and respond as needed. However, it is crucial to regularly analyse the data to identify areas for improvement in PPC campaigns. 
Specialised knowledge needed 
To effectively manage PPC, one must possess a significant level of knowledge and expertise. 
For anyone managing a PPC campaign, it is crucial to grasp the workings of the channel and ad platforms. This includes researching and choosing the appropriate keywords for your target audience, properly setting up and targeting your account, and continuously maintaining and optimising your account based on data analysis.

Managing your PPC can be done independently, especially if you have a specialised product and intend to execute a focused campaign. It's essential to thoroughly educate yourself before getting started. Many businesses choose to engage a specialist agency or consultant to establish and oversee their PPC campaigns, especially when this channel is crucial or constitutes a significant part of their budget. An expert can help maximize the effectiveness of the budget, ensuring optimal results while minimizing unnecessary expenditures.

If you intend to manage PPC on your own, or if you're looking to gather more information before bringing someone on board, there are plenty of resources accessible online, such as:
- Video tutorial on paid advertising 
- Guide to Paid Advertising 
- Funds needed 
- PPC operates as a paid advertising model, necessitating a budget to cover the costs of clicks on your advertisements. Nonetheless, the required budget can differ significantly across various sectors and individual businesses. (The effectiveness of PPC is crucial - if it is delivering cost-effective leads or sales, you are likely to increase your investment in this channel, and the opposite holds true as well.) 

If your focus is on a limited geographic region, you offer a specialised product or service, or you are competing for a select few low-competition keywords, then the budget required for PPC advertising can be quite reasonable. However, if you are focusing on a wide range of keywords, reaching out to a national audience, or competing for highly sought-after search terms, the required budget will significantly increase.

PPC is tightly regulated, so a smart approach would be to initiate a test campaign with a fixed budget to evaluate how effective this channel can be. Starting small and gradually expanding as required is a great approach. 

If you choose to engage a professional to establish and oversee your PPC campaigns, it will naturally necessitate an increased budget to cover these services. 
 

7. Display Advertising 

Meaning 
Display advertising is a form of online promotion where businesses invest to showcase their advertisements on various websites or digital platforms. In simpler terms, display ads are the eye-catching advertisements that appear prominently on numerous websites, including large video or image banners. 

When to utilise it 
Display advertising serves as a powerful tool for enhancing your business visibility and connecting with a broad audience, particularly when targeting a large, diverse, or nationwide market. It is especially beneficial for discovering new clients if you are aiming to:
-Enhance visibility: Display serves as an excellent platform for creating and sustaining brand recognition. If 'brand' plays a crucial role in your buying choices (like in FMCG products), if you aim to introduce new customers to your identity and offerings, or if you are organizing an event or promotion, display advertising allows you to connect with a broad audience effectively. 
- Generate demand: If you offer a unique product or service that customers may not be actively looking for, utilising display marketing can be a powerful strategy in your marketing plan, effectively highlighting your offering and creating demand. 
Retargeting: By implementing retargeting strategies, you can display ads to users who have visited your website or left items in their shopping cart. This approach serves as a reminder to customers about their interests, encouraging them to finalize their purchases.
Nonetheless, display advertising may not always be the most suitable option. Display ads appear on your website, so ensure you have a site that is current and well-maintained before launching any ad campaigns.
Additionally, display serves mainly as a tool for brand building. If your goal is to generate significant traffic or achieve immediate sales or conversions, display may not be the most efficient medium for your needs. 
Essential advantages 
When executed effectively, display can serve as a significant component of your digital marketing strategy. This channel offers several important advantages, such as:
Engage potential customers early: In contrast to channels like PPC, display ads allow you to reach new clients at the initial stages of their decision-making journey (i.e., before they begin actively looking for your product or service). When customers are familiar with your messaging, it can effectively influence their decision-making as they approach a purchase.
Be visible across various platforms: Display ads are typically positioned via third-party advertising networks (like the Google Display Network). This indicates that your advertisements can be displayed across a vast array of pertinent websites, providing your promotions with extensive visibility. 
Showcase your brand with creativity: Display ads rely significantly on images and videos, providing immense opportunities for businesses to express their creativity in design and messaging, highlight their brand, and achieve a distinctive presence. 
Enhanced targeting capabilities: Display networks provide an enhanced level of targeting, ensuring that your ads reach a relevant audience. This encompasses targeting based on customer interests, location, age, gender, websites, and more. Retargeting clearly enhances this approach, enabling you to focus on customers who have taken particular actions on your website. The strategy you choose for targeting and the landing page you select play a vital role in ensuring your ads remain relevant.
Data: Akin to PPC, display advertising generates a significant amount of valuable data. Businesses can monitor the effectiveness of their advertisements and placements and connect with additional data sources like Google Analytics to assess the volume of traffic directed to their website. 
Factors to Keep in Mind 
When it comes to display advertising, there are several important factors to consider, such as:

They frequently go unnoticed: With display ads being so common across the internet, users have adjusted their behaviors to overlook them - a significant number of individuals simply do not pay attention to ads anymore. This leads to low click-through rates for display advertisements. To navigate this challenge effectively, advertisements should resonate with the audience, the creative elements must be engaging and visually appealing, and incorporating rich media whenever possible is essential. 
Many individuals utilize ad blockers: In addition to the tendency to overlook advertisements, a significant number of users employ ad-blocking technology to prevent ads from being displayed. 
Maintain practical expectations: It's crucial to have a practical understanding of what display ads can accomplish. Display ads often experience low click-through rates, making it unwise to set your goals for display advertising as high volumes of traffic or sales. Their true worth ought to be assessed comprehensively as a component of a broader initiative to enhance visibility. 
Creativity is essential: Display ads rely heavily on visuals, making the creative elements you choose crucial. With often low click-through rates, the creative aspect may be the only thing that captures attention.
Monitor expenses and outcomes: In the realm of advertising, it's crucial to stay vigilant about your expenditures, establish budgets, and allocate time for regular performance reviews to enhance results. 
Specialised knowledge needed 
To execute a display campaign successfully, a considerable amount of expertise is necessary. It is essential for all advertisements to adhere to established standards and requirements, be visually attractive, and be of the appropriate dimensions. Conducting thorough research on your audience is crucial to effectively target your advertisements. It's essential to establish budgets and spending levels while also analyzing your results. 

Running display ads on networks like the Google Display Network can be done independently, especially for small, focused campaigns. However, it's crucial to thoroughly educate yourself before getting started.

However, numerous businesses choose to engage a specialised media agency or consultants to develop and manage their display advertisements on their behalf. If display is a crucial channel or constitutes a significant part of your budget, engaging an expert will ensure your ads are polished and that the placements effectively reach your target audience. Additionally, for a more extensive campaign or if achieving visibility is crucial for your business, it may be necessary to engage a designer to craft and produce the advertisements.

If you are considering managing display ads on your own, or if you wish to gather more information before hiring a professional, there are plenty of online resources at your disposal, including:

Video tutorial on paid advertising 
Guide to Paid Advertising 
Funds needed 
Since display ads involve paid advertising, it is essential to allocate a budget for running your ads. The budget requirements differ significantly among businesses and are influenced by the desired coverage and the specific types of sites being targeted. By leveraging the Google Display Network, you can effectively run advertisements with a budget that is quite manageable, tailored to your specific settings and goals. However, if you are managing a large-scale campaign aimed at a broad national audience with extensive reach, your advertising expenditure will be significantly greater. 

If you choose to engage a specialised agency for the creation and management of your advertisements, it's essential to consider the expenses associated with these expert services.