This is a common question that I often face when I approach a customer.  They often wonder if something that only attracts one person, one click at a time is worth the cost.  It’s an interesting question because you always want to use the medium that brings in the most revenue for the least amount of money.  My honest answer is that it really depends on your business.  However, the truth is that any business can benefit from online exposure.  Whether that is just a simple website or a complex e-commerce solution depends on the type of business.  I have three suggestions for businesses when it comes towards implementing an online marketing campaign.

1. Can you recoup the costs you made for a particular strategy within one year?  That is to say if you build a website will you get enough business out of it within one year to make it worth it.  Usually if the website is built right, that should be no problem.  This question can be applied to any kind of online marketing campaign (PPC, CPM, Email, SEO, etc).

2. Do you have a grasp of what the campaign aims to achieve?  If you aren’t computer savvy, it is in your best interest to learn what is taking place if you invest in online marketing.  Don’t hire someone to do it for you and assume it’s being done correctly.  Always stay on top of them.  I encourage my customers to be active when I’m creating an online marketing campaign for them.  You get the best ROI when you are active in the decision making.

3. There is always room for improvement.  Maybe you won’t see any improvement out of the metrics or statistics but there is always room for improvement with online advertising and marketing.  One example is expanding your budget to launch a new campaign for a different product line or trying to get “double ranked” on google.  There is a reason why managed online marketing services cost what they do.  An experienced online marketing professional should be continously improving what they are doing.  If you end up paying for a discount service, odds are that you are getting a discount on the quality of service.

So to answer the question of whether online advertising gives the best ROI?  It’s a loaded question but there is always a return if the investment is executed correctly.