There is no hiding the importance of advertising.
Whether you have a 9 to 5 job working for a corporation or if you have an online business, advertising is an absolute essential.
The question many have on the internet is whether paid advertising or free advertising is the way to go? Both types of advertising have there advantages and disadvantages.
It really is up to the person and the type of business they are running to decide.
Just know that the more advertising you do, the better chance you have of generating traffic.
To start, let's talk a little bit about paid advertising.
There are a number of different forms of paid advertising.
Everything from buying your way up the search engines to placing a banner on someone else's web site should be considered.
The benefit of paying for advertising is you can get immediate exposure.
Instead of having to work your way to the top of the search engines, you can immediately be toward the top for the right amount of money.
Although it does involve you paying to make money, it can help you get the business started quicker.
As for free advertising, it gives people who do not have the money the opportunity to still generate traffic.
Some of the most popular methods of free advertising include writing articles, posting in forums, sending out newsletters and exchanging links.
The downside to advertising using free methods is you do not get instant exposure toward the top of the search engines.
There is much more work to do to get the kind of traffic you need to have success.
However, there are many benefits to free advertising that you simply cannot get by purchasing advertising.
Obviously, you do not have to spend a penny to write an article or post in a forum.
This way you can earn money as oppose to spending a bunch right off the bat.
But the biggest bonus to advertising for free is the fact that you get the personal connection with your target market.
By posting in a forum, you have the opportunity to see what people are looking for, show your knowledge on the subject, and build a relationship with people.
This gives you the opportunity to gain their trust and personally interact with them; something you could never do with a banner or a link on the search engines.
When it comes time to make the decision between paid or free advertising, there is no one that can make it other than you.
Both have their advantages and disadvantages and there is nothing wrong with trying out a little of both.