Numerous website and business owners want to gain as much exposure as possible online. However, the often prohibitive cost of PPC advertising when done with Google AdWords usually prevents them from being able to advertise as much as they would like to. There are in fact a few alternatives that can be used, which are just as effective – both cost- and exposure-wise.

1. Facebook Advertising

Image Source: Facebook

Although Google AdWords enables you to set up adverts by choosing your target markets according to things like age, gender and various interest categories, it is not yet able to match the results that users of Facebook Marketing are obtaining. This advert platform also continues to offer its clients a vast array of new and exciting methods to test and experiment with when compiling Facebook advertisement campaigns. This enables you to determine what type of adverts will be the most effective option for your particular business.

2. Sponsored Tweets

Image Source: Twitter

This is a Twitter-based advertising platform which helps to connect sponsors with appropriate twitter users on a pay-per-tweet basis. Advertisers have the ability to choose their pay-per-click partners according to various categories, geographical location, follower numbers and much more. Each of the links that are tweeted has a link that not only tracks the message that it has been sent out with; it also enables the tweet and information from it to be integrated seamlessly with a Google Analytics account to determine whether the advert has been cost-effective or not.

3. LinkedIn Direct Adverts

Image Source: LinkedIn

This alternative to AdWords PPC advertising enables you to target specific demographics of users according to criteria that can be easily specified before placing the advert. However, it is important to remember that LinkedIn Advertising is one of the more expensive options, with clicks starting off from a minimum amount of $2 each. As a result, it is highly recommended that if you decide to us this particular platform as an AdWords alternative, you should spend a fair bit of time analyzing LinkedIn’s core demographic structure. It is also recommended that you invest in a third-party bid measurement program to help you keep track of whether your ROI in relation to the high prices will be worthwhile.

4. Yahoo! Bing Ad Network

Image Source: Bing/Yahoo

Currently, the Bing Advertising network accounts for as much as 30% of the online search engine usage in the US alone. This makes it a rather lucrative option when looking for PPC advertising alternatives and another advantage of it is that it is connected to major syndicated partner sites such as The Wall Street Journal Digital Network, Facebook and Amazon. Prices of Bing adverts are a lot lower than their AdWords alternatives and while traffic figures may be a little lower, the quality of the sources they come from appear to be substantially better.

5. StumbleUpon Paid Discovery

Image Source: Stumbleupon

This platform allows advertisers to share their URL’s and choose their ideal targeted audience and from here, your website will then be recommended to users. The only time you will pay for advertising on this network is when you receive a unique visitor to your site via StumbleUpon, which makes it quite a lucrative option for advertisers on a tight budget. Rates start from as low as $0.10 per stumble and the site guarantees targeted visitors directly to your website without using any form of click-through methods.

If you have been hesitant to try PPC advertising because of its prohibitively high costs, it may be worth your while to consider giving the above mentioned platforms a try instead of just relying on Google AdWords. You may find that you have a far better ROI than ever.