After 6 months, how have my TV commercial’s fared?
Six months ago I started advertising my Lakeway web site on cable TV. A few people have asked how it’s working.
The answer is tricky. If the goal were merely to drive traffic to Lakeway.com, I’d say it’s not worth the cost. I could have put the cable advertising money into Google Adwords and gotten much more traffic.
But it’s not just about web traffic. It’s about credibility, and that’s where the TV advertising has worked. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked to someone about advertising and they say, “Wait, are you the guys advertising on CNN?” They instantly know that I’m not some fly-by-night operation.
I also featured a few of Lakeway.com’s advertisers in the TV commercials, and they have been very satisfied with the results. One advertiser recently told me, “A lot of my customers have told me they saw the ads.” This was a bonus to some of the early advertisers to get them on board.
Verdict? If you’re trying to build traffic to a general directory site, online advertising is more cost-effective. If you’re trying to build credibility, TV commercials work.
Troy says
I would love to talk to you a bit more about this. I am also developing a geo site, a major city dot org domain and realize that I will need to do some local advertising as well to build credibility. I would love to get some advice from you and hear a little more about your experience. Is it ok if I email you?
Thanks.
Andrew Allemann says
@ Tory – sure, but perhaps I should just do a post based on some of your questions?
M. Menius says
@Andrew – Curious if you used the Ad Spot service who buy ad space in bulk and then resell that to local advertisers such as yourself? I hear it’s more affordable done that way.
Andrew Allemann says
@ M. Menius – I looked at a couple such services and found them more expensive. One note is that I’m targeting only part of the Austin viewing area, and Time Warner cable let’s you advertise by “zone” rather than the entire city. If you’re trying to hit an entire city then maybe some of these alternative services will work better.
t says
I also tried commercials on air a few years ago for a computer site,I’ve found Adwords is way more effective for getting people to visit your site, but it seems adwords is getting more expensive each year, who knows maybe soon it would make sense. The main benefit I feel on air ads accomplish is in regards to branding. good luck
Tim Davids says
Did the TV ads cost more than a roadside billboard would have cost?
Did you sell any onsite ads because of the TV ads?
Do you think onsite advertisers would pay more if they knew ahead of time they would be shown on TV too?
TIA
Andrew Allemann says
@ Tim –
1. Billboard cost more per month than TV ads
2. Yes
3. I’ve pitched it to some of the advertisers as an “at cost” option going forward to be included in commercials. Two businesses are on board, but we’ll see. (I feature three in each commercial).
Louise says
I posted an ad in the National Enquirer classifieds once for about $200.00 – no joke, because NE boasts 18 million readers – and got a couple disappointed visitors who seemed to be looking for a thriving singles scene. If you focus on nightspots for the young people in one of your ads, that will be the one to attract the visitors! Then be ready for them with an informative landing page about nightspots, because that category is not prominent on your homepage.
Mark at Geo Report says
The best ways to increase a geo domain’s presence locally are:
a) to appear time and time again in local long tail searches (organic and /or paid).
b) plus hard work beating the streets.
Old media, like the press and local tv are expensive and blunt instruments.