1. Google Adwords
Google has a monopoly on searches, controlling as much as 85% of that audience. This makes Google's Adword platform the most effective place to advertise online. To be successful however takes a significant amount of work. The first thing you need to know is which keywords and phrases people are searching for when looking for your products and services. Then you need to know which of those keywords have the best return on investment in your market segment.
2. Youtube
If Youtube was it's own search engine it would control about 15% of the search market. This makes Youtube another natural place to advertise. Video ads probably give you the most bang for your buck on Youtube but can be more difficult and costly to create. Running a simple banner ad can be an effective alternative.
3. Facebook
A recent study shows it's common for people to believe they use Facebook but not the internet. That gives you some idea of the power behind Facebook. There are people who's only participation on the web takes place inside Facebook. That means there are certain people you will only be able to reach by advertising on Facebook. Another great thing about Facebook is the fact most of the profiles are real so you're rarely if ever paying for ads that aren't getting viewed by real people.
4. Yahoo Search Marketing
Yahoo is the second biggest search engine next to Google and just like Google they sell advertisements alongside their search results. Although they don't have the marketing dominance Yahoo is making somewhat of a comeback in the search space since Firefox ditched Google as their default search engine in favor of them.
5. Bing Ad Center
Like Google and Yahoo Bing sell ads alongside keyword search results. Some of the positive things about Bing's platform are things like lower average costs per click and also less stringent guidelines.
