The online advertising section of this chapter is going to be more of a cautionary tale than one designed to get you super excited about the potential of ads. There are a number of inherent problems with advertising online—especially if you are on a limited budget.
While I am someone who believes that there are times when it is more expedient and efficient to pay for products and services rather than trying to do everything yourself, advertising is not often on that list.
The following are my reasons:
Expensive: If you have ever undertaken online advertising, you will know that on a bad day, it can cost a few dollars per click and on a good day still around 5 to 10 cents per click. That might not sound like much, but it adds up quickly.
Zero half life: Once your ads stop running, there are absolutely no latent benefits. No backlinks, no SEO, no residual traffic… nothing.
Ineffective: Not all advertising is ineffective, otherwise no one would...