Internet Marketing for Auction Sales
“The power of advertising auctions on the internet only generates more buyers.”
How to get 30,772 pageviews of your next upcoming auction sale
Advertising on the Internet can be as easy, or as complicated as an auctioneer wants to make it. With so many Internet options available, this article will help guide auctioneers in how to make best use of their Internet advertising dollars in an economical and effective manner.
Your own website.
Having your own website is the most effective and economical tool that every auctioneer should have as the centerpiece of their branding and advertising campaigns. It is believed that over 50% of an auctioneers regular bidders will choose to use an auctioneers own website as their regular point of contact, but only if the auctioneer takes their website seriously. This doesn’t mean spending thousands of dollars annually for your web presence. Bidders want to see a tidy website with clear navigation and easy to read content. Most importantly, they want to see current upcoming auction content with as much detail as possible. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
If your website is out of date, showing past sales as being still upcoming, or not showing any information other than date, time, and location, you will leave a poor impression with your bidders . With services offered by several national auction advertising sales that will power your auction calendar or your complete website, there is no excuse to not keep your website up to date even if you are not computer savvy.
Newspaper / Radio Station websites
Newspaper websites can be worthwhile, or a waste of time and money. Many newspapers see the Internet as a huge competitor to their business model and have their head stuck in the sand and hope it goes away. We all know that is not going to happen.
Other newspapers have a website component that is simply a copy of what their newspaper ad is. If the online newspaper version is available to everyone then it can some value to the auctioneer even if they are charging extra as potential bidders who are not subscribers may use the website to locate future auctions.
If the website is password protected so that only print subscribers have access, their is absolutely no benefit to paying extra for their Internet advertising. The only people using the website are the same people using the print newspaper, so what benefit is there? Even the NY Times recently opened up their complete website to everyone as the subscriber only model was not working for them or their advertisers
Some newspapers also list the sales online with no details , photos etc, are also not searchable, and are also only available for the same week that it is in the paper. These are all things that have very limited value to auctioneers when their are so many more effective ways to reach the bidders.
Only newspapers who have full auction sale content, perhaps even with expanded listings and photos are a good value for auctioneers.
Association websites.
Auctioneer Association websites are a great idea for auctioneers to quickly and easily find information regarding their profession. There benefit as an advertising medium to reach bidders is questionable as they are not usually setup to maximise this feature. Many of the salebill pageviews on websites such as these are only other auctioneers checking out the competition. Since these calendars are usually a benefit of being a member , if you have the time to add your sales you have nothing to lose by adding your sales
Local Auction websites
Most states usually have a local “mom and pop” auction advertising website. Usually started by an auction enthusiast, If they have been online for many years these sites are usually worthwhile advertising with as they have a good brand among local bidders who may use these sites as their primary location to check for upcoming sales. Depending on costs of course, they can be effective and they usually get great coverage in a very local area. They may not have all the full features that the national services use to maximise your Internet marketing. Many of these sites have good Google rank for very specific searches, so it can be worthwhile to be listed just to get a link back to your own website if they allow.
Watch for Part 2 coming soon that will help you go National !
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