by Ronald L. Burgess

“Everybody’s doing it.” Online advertising, that is. With hard times and faltering newspapers, the pyramid schemes and snake oil salesmen have descended on the Internet. Don’t be surprised if you are hit-up to do “Cheap” advertising or linking programs by people you know (even a relative) in the next year.

How do you evaluate the effectiveness of these new services?

First and foremost, deal only with people who have been in the online marketing business for several years. It is way too complex at this time, for those who do not clearly understand the complete subject of Search Engine Optimization(SEO). Many marketers, designers, or ad salesmen have almost no understanding of the technical and performance issues on the subject.

Second, ensure that your site has traffic tracking analytics, and that your webmaster can independently track every click, to your website, before committing to an ad program. You should have statistics available from your website for all inbound visits, or you simply will never know if you are getting scammed.

Online advertising is a great way to extend your advertising dollars from traditional budgets. But, be sure you have professionals assist you with the evaluation before you spend the big bucks online.