When marketing experts and business professionals discuss the best ways to reach and engage their target audiences, Google is typically the first media venue that comes to mind—so much so that many search marketers have a Google-only mentality. Some marketing dollars may find their way into programs with Yahoo and MSN, but beyond these three, where do you go? Here are some ideas.

Contextual Advertising

Contextual advertising, also known as content targeting, refers to advertisements that appear within digital media such as websites and mobile phones. Contextual ads are driven by theme or relevancy to specific keywords. They are targeted to the specific individuals who are visiting a website and the subject matter of the article they are reading. Typically, the ads appear next to related non-search-engine-generated content, such as news and travel articles.

Keyword-targeted ads are based on the keywords used in sponsored search listings. The ads are served to third-party partner sites that have content relevant to the keywords. For example, if an advertiser used the keyword "interior semi-gloss paint" within its sponsored listings campaign, a search engine may associate that with an interior design article on a partner site.

Site-Targeted ads are shown on specific sites that a marketer selects based on overall industry relevance. Depending on the publisher site, text ads, banner ads, or video ads may be used. All of the major engines offer a contextual advertising program. Google’s contextual advertising program is called AdSense. Yahoo’s Publisher Network and MSN’s AdCenter offer the same type of contextual advertising system.

Contextual advertising usually works on a cost-per-click basis. Due to the large amount of impressions that contextual advertising can deliver, the cost-per-click structure assures marketers that they are paying for leads and not just eyeballs.

Second Tier Engines

The rapid cost-per-click increases with Google, Yahoo, and MSN have caused some marketers to devote more money to smaller second-tier search engines, such as Ask, FindWhat, LookSmart, Miva, and others. Though second-tier search engines drive a small percentage of the search market share, they often supply lower-priced clicks, sometimes at prices half that of similar clicks via Google, Yahoo, and MSN.

On the downside, secondary engines may not deliver the same traffic quality, nor offer conversion tracking, nor report on the same metrics as Google, Yahoo, and MSN. Still, it is a chance to be where your competitors are not.

Local Search

Local search engine marketing helps small to midsize businesses compete with corporate players. Media consumers are migrating away from traditional local media such as radio and newspapers, and spending more on online advertising. The reasons are simple: People who are looking for a local service, business, or retailer are often much closer to the final stage in the buying cycle. And local clicks often result in better leads and conversions.

Vertical Search

Vertical search refers to search engines that focus on specific businesses. Typically, business professionals search for something very specific and related to their industry. Vertical search engines are emerging to address the particular needs of niche consumers and professions. While the volume of response might be lower than Google, Yahoo, and MSN, using vertical search engines oftentimes results in higher ROI.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing promotes online businesses (merchants) by rewarding affiliates (partners) for every visitor, subscriber, customer, and/or sale provided through his/her efforts. Several affiliate networks have designed programs to help both the affiliate and the merchant, including Link Share, Link Connector, and Commission Junction.

Display Advertising 

<>Online display advertising uses static and animated banner ads, as well as interactive media to gain attention. While search engine marketing is an effective way to get an advertiser’s message in front of users, display advertising enhances the user’s engagement. Marketing experts find that using a combination of display and traditional search marketing (PPC) together can significantly enhance overall effectiveness. Typically, online users exposed to both search and display campaigns purchase more of the advertiser’s products than users who are exposed to one or the other.

Broadband Advertising

Broadband video advertisements are one of the newest formats for online advertising. Here, marketers have a chance to execute their television commercials via the web. Several online channels such as CNN.com require the user to watch a 15-30 second advertisement before watching a news video. The video ad is usually accompanied by a static image ad nearby to maximize effectiveness.

Rich Media

Although reach is still important in today’s marketing world, engagement is the key, which is why rich media is becoming more popular. Rich media, which uses dynamic motion, as well as video, audio, and animation, will soon transcend the Internet and be incorporated into such digital platforms as mobile phones, iPods, portable media players, and more.

E-mail Marketing

E-mail marketing, which is a hybrid between direct mail and Internet marketing, offers many benefits. Marketer can choose a specific industry, audience, demographic, or any other specifics to define a target audience. E-mail marketing also reduces the possibility of a searcher getting lost on a website. The single, consistent message or theme in an email limits the paths a visitor can take. What’s more, e-mail marketing is most often based on a specific call-to-action.

Conclusion

To have an effective online marketing mix, marketers must first realize the importance of testing different channels. Sponsored listings on Google, Yahoo, and MSN are a great way to start, but you shouldn’t limit yourself only to these options. 

First, learn who your targets are. What are their activities online? What channels/sites do they participate in? What do they look for while they are gathering information? Do they engage in interactive ads? Then learn which advertisements and which channels engage your target audience the most. Finally, test and combine different types of online marketing and track progress with analytics to achieve success.