What would a small time business do if it needed to advertise its Web service or Web presence? Go to some of the lesser known Web sites and get itself a barter ad which is rather ineffective or buy some space from the Internet heavyweights for huge sums of money which is daunting as far as the expense is concerned.
So is a small player on the Internet forever relegated to obscurity the vast cyber world provides ever so willingly? Such an event is in deviation from the real purpose of the Internet, which is to bring power to the proles. Well not in a “Workers of the world unite” way. But, yes, the Internet is supposed to bring every person-who has access and is equipped with the requisite skills or knowledge-on a common plane.
The disparity between an organisation and a business will soon disappear and an idea whose time has come will sell, nothwithstanding old world economics. All of this would happen if effective Internet marketing were accessible to the normal public, like the neighbourhood bookstore who has just set up an online sales portal. Romantic notions? Not quite.
The Subjects
Take the case of www.alltimeshoppe.com, a small time online book store in Delhi. Promoted by Dr Y P Gogia, a PhD in anthropology, Alltimeshoppe.com sells books on a number of subjects and has been in existence since 1997.
“Circumstances compelled me to give up my job and start a business. I had earlier started a computer hardware business in 1992. Later, in 1997, I started Alltimeshoppe.com. Since then, I’ve seen the online sales business grow,” says Gogia.
The initial sales via the net were sluggish as the site was based in India and had limited exposure to mainstream media in terms of advertisements. As the Internet population grew, the clientele also increased. Gogia points out, “Book buyers on the net belong to a particular segment. Most of them are students or corporates. Of these, corporates almost always place bulk orders.”
Aggressive Internet marketing is the key to increasing the popularity of your site”
Dr Y P Gogia, Proprietor,www.alltimeshoppe.com
A closer look at the segment revealed corporates to be a net-savvy population willing to experiment. Grabbing mindspace in this domain also meant a huge surge in sales, as corporates belong to a high spending category. The only obstacle was to attract this fast moving populace in a cost-effective manner. As Alltimeshoppe.com couldn’t afford to have a huge advertising budget, an easier and affordable alternative was required.
At the other end of the spectrum was an Internet biggie, www.naukri.com, one of India’s largest job sites. Faced by competition from a number of major players, Naukri.com needed to plug any possible loophole in its advertising and marketing campaigns. Ayesha Kapoor, AVP, Marketing, Naukri.com recalls, “We already had an existing marketing and publicity campaign that was working fine for us.”
The important thing for Naukri.com was to be present at the entry point into the Internet. Putting it simply, Naukri.com needed to be high on an Internet user’s radar and recall. “We realised that the most common entry point on the Internet was Google. So we need to have something that figured high when a relevant subject was searched for,” says Kapoor.
A comparative look at the two companies here proves that the Internet has something for everyone. What we have here are two diverse setups-one a small online book seller, the other an established brand. The objective, though, is the same: to make an impact on the Web user. Only the scales were varied. The binding factor was the fact that both were looking for a tailor-made, low-cost advertising tool.
The Solution
At the time when both companies were shopping for a solution, Google-riding high on the popularity of its search engine-had also developed advertising tools for both, the Web publisher and the advertiser.
Both services-AdSense for the publisher and AdWords for the advertiser-were simple to implement and effective in terms of grabbing attention by strategic placement. In AdWords, both Alltimeshoppe.com and Naukri.com, saw exactly what they were looking for.
“For a Web site like ours, we had to maintain a fine balance between aggressive and restrained marketing,” says Gogia. “Adwords was the ideal service for us. While we haven’t had a huge surge in the number of visitors because of the programme, our visibility has certainly increased in relevant circles. For example, if you do a Google search for “books India”, ours would be the first link in the ‘Sponsored Links’ section. So any Internet user looking for Indian books or books on India would know where to come,” he explains.
For Naukri.com, it served the purpose of having a presence at the first entry point. Kapoor states, “Google was the entry point for most Internet users and it was part of our broad Internet marketing stategy to use AdWords for advertising.”
What got most users hooked on to the service was its customisation and simplicity. Everything right from the ad layout to the payment cycle and method could be customised. The advertisers pay a ‘per click’ or ‘per page’ impression rate. This meant that they pay only if their ads are clicked. Since the ads are placed only on relevant sites or displayed as sponsored links during relevant searches, it ensures that the user never feels the advertisments are an intrusion, unlike pop-ups.
For most advertisers, the biggest advantage is that AdWords looks and acts like a link to their site. The advertiser also has a mechanism to track every hit on his site and check whether it has been via the AdWords link. This facility is provided by Google along with the service or can be done by an independent third party software as well.
The Result
Both companies are guarded in giving out numbers of any sort. As Gogia, of alltimeshoppe.com, put it, the service had been in use for the last four months and he was convinced enough to continue with it. “It’s not that this is the best advertising tool available on the net or that it is the most cost effective. What really appeals to a small business like mine is the flexibilty it offers,” says Gogia. Since using AdWords, Alltimeshoppe.com has received bulk orders from clients such as Star TV and the Bombay Stock Exchange.
For Naukri.com, who have been using the service for over a year now, Kapoor says, “It complements our existing campaigns and strategies. Also, Google is a reliable brand with a proven advertising tool. Google does make a lot of money by selling advertisments and there are a number of people who do click on these ads.”
An advertising tool that works for small businesses as well as established Internet portals makes AdWords an enviable competitor.
Its simplicity in implementation and cost effectiveness make Adwords a tough option to beat. With companies opting for specific targetted ads instead of widespread ad banner campaign, it only makes sense to develop these audience specific advertising tools. On the Internet, it seems as if the Word still has some value.