In 2018, 72% of marketers vowed to increase their marketing budgets to invest more in paid traffic sources, particularly PPC. It’s easy to understand why–paid traffic sources can help you generate a lot of web traffic to your offer or website. However, picking one at random probably won’t help you. Also, going with the most popular might not be your best bet either. Sure, everyone’s using Facebook Ads, but is it right for your brand?
There are a few things you need to consider before you begin investing in paid traffic. For one, who’s your target audience? For another, on what platform are you most likely to find them? What devices do they use? Investigate your audience before you find yourself a source.
After familiarizing yourself with all that marketing terminology, you realize just how vast the concept of digital advertising is and how hard it is to get traffic, generate leads and what have you.
That being said, there are tons of great sources out there with the potential to grow your traffic and revenue. The odds are in your favor, and whatever your niche, there’s a platform for you. You just need to figure out what you’re willing to spend your money on.
Here’s our pick of 20 great sources of traffic and advertising that are actually worth the investment!
Google is most popular search engine in the world. And yes, this one was incredibly obvious, but it had to be said, nevertheless. When you consider the devices your audience uses, you know that Google has its finger in almost every metaphorical pie out there.
You’ve got so many advertising options to choose from, as well as a relatively low cost per click rate.
YouTube
When you talk about YouTube, you talk about a whole new audience. These people genuinely care about content, and not just any content – video-based content.
With banners, videos and text, you get a decent range of formats to choose from. Additionally, since its available in more than 70 countries, you can bet that you’ll get to target your advertisements to various demographics.
Facebook
Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned marketer, this is a fantastic place to source your traffic. The thing with Facebook is that it’s so easy to use, that even if you know absolutely nothing about advertising, you’ll still be able to find your way around.
Some people do have negative opinions about Facebook’s current situation and believe that the site’s popularity has died down in recent times. However, as things stand it still remains a good place to invest, though you would probably want to explore other avenues, just in case.
Instagram
Instagram is where you’ll find a large number of “millennials”. All your targeted campaigns will be run through Facebook, and as a bonus, you’re not required to have an Instagram account to run a campaign on Instagram.
One of the cons of this kind of advertising is limited formats. Given that Instagram is a visual-based platform you can only use videos or images to get your message across.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a fantastic source of traffic for any B2B. The targeting is also noteworthy with options of industry, position, role and more. You can get your content sponsored, send sponsored messages that reach directly into the user’s inbox and more.
Pinterest
Here’s a fun fact. Women make up 81% of Pinterest users. With its own unique interface, it definitely has built quite the niche for arts and crafts enthusiasts, home decor and the DIY fan base.
However, while you can reap long term benefits on Pinterest, it also requires some consistent work.
Baidu
Does your target demographic include a lot of Asian countries? If yes, this should be your go-to.
Spotify
Spotify is yet another site that can be used to target a wide range of niches. A huge percentage of Spotify users have free accounts, which means that your reach is well worth the investment.
Being a relatively newer platform means a limited range of formats, however, given the popularity of the platform it is safe to say that this will likely increase in the very near future.
Snapchat
If your brand caters to a younger demographic, then your brand will do well on Snapchat. With over 200 million users a DAY, its a one-stop for anyone looking to market to a global network of users!
Keep in mind that since Snapchat is a mobile app, you wouldn’t be able to target users on devices other than smartphones and tablets.
Twitter
Twitter often sees users that generate a comparatively larger income than most social media sites. As an added plus, it also has a decent CTR rate as well as less competition.
Reddit
54% of Reddit users happen to be American. It allows you to target your advertising by device and it is quite flexible with its settings as well. You know that “there’s a subreddit for everything”, so no matter how obscure your niche is, you’ll be very likely to find it here.
However, Reddit does seem to attract more gamers and those that convention might likely deem to be of the “geek” variety.
Outbrain
Some of the many perks to using Outbrain include high-quality traffic, header/image testing and a trial period. One con worth mentioning is, during the last year they redefined their policies to make them stricter.
Epom
An interesting feature with Epom is the collaborations with Millennial Media, AdMob, and InMobi that allow it to reach a wider network of users. Additionally, it also allows you a 30 day trial period, giving you the opportunity to experiment before you invest.
Yandex
If your target demographic is Russia, go for it! Yandex has surprisingly low competition and provides a much cheaper alternative to other paid advertising.
Vibrant Media
Vibrant Media is a great network that allows your content to access more than six thousand publishing sites online. It offers real-time targeting, native ad placement and a variety of advertising formats including mosaic, storyboard, and lightbox.
One of its main focuses includes placing your content within the right context to increase the likelihood of viewer engagement.
Airpush
As far as mobile traffic goes, Airpush is one of the top advertising networks. It’s got a wide range of advertising formats, fantastic support, great tracking and a good interface to work with.
Revcontent
Revcontent is by no means the biggest player on the field, but it does seem to have incredible potential. With its simple, user-friendly interface, it’s been growing immensely in the past year and allows your content to access top-notch sites including the likes of Forbes.
AdRoll
AdRoll specializes in retarget marketing. Their services are particularly useful for Facebook ads, Twitter and other social media platforms. If you’re looking to improve your leads, this is definitely worth a shot.
Bing Ads
Okay, so the first thing you need to know is that Bing and Yahoo got together. If you advertise on Bing, you’re going to leverage the audiences of both these search engines. However, keep in mind that this is still just 1/10th of Google’s traffic.
That being said, if you’re looking to experiment with paid search, Bing is definitely worth the shot.
Tapjoy
Reaching well over 500 million users, Tapjoy’s coverage, flexibility, and range of functions make it a great option for mobile advertising. This is an especially good site for affiliate marketers.
Getting the Most Out of Your Paid Traffic Sources
In addition to choosing the right paid traffic sources to run your ad campaigns, you also need to focus on the basics of marketing.
A great CTA, effective copy, and good graphics, all go a long way in getting the most out of your investment. If you’re using content to source traffic, then you have to ensure that its top-quality material that has the ability to stand out amidst the clutter that prevails. If you don’t find success after experimenting with multiple sources, its time to re-evaluate your strategy.
If you found this helpful, you’re sure to love the rest of our content. Have a gander at the rest of our blog for great tips on affiliate marketing and tons more!
