Hard to believe that in 2022 there are businesses that don’t have their own website, but it’s true. One of the questions we often get is if a digital campaign can click through to the client’s Etsy, Facebook, or Amazon page.

The answer is no.

The heart of the matter is about owning the audience and control over the message. When a user clicks and the destination URL is an Etsy page, Etsy is in control of what is seen. They may see your client’s goods for sale, but they may also see ads for other Etsy sellers. Amazon regularly places “sponsored items” on pages.

By directing ads to a site you own, you’re in control of the message, of exactly what your new customers see.

And what’s to keep these sites, like Etsy or Amazon, from changing the URL to a person’s page? Nothing.

And we can’t forget the great Facebook outage of 2021 where the whole site was down for the better part of a day. Businesses depending on their Facebook pages to communicate with clients were simply out of luck and stuck waiting for Facebook to solve the problem.

Directing traffic to a site not owned and managed by your client also keeps us from doing any site retargeting, which is a highly-effective tactic. If that pixel can’t be placed on the site, we can’t build an audience for site retargeting nor can we serve to site visitors.

And lastly, your client is paying to advertise their product or service, don’t use those marketing dollars to drive more traffic to the likes of Facebook, Amazon, or Etsy. Those companies have deep pockets, let them buy their own ads.

Also, some platforms and ad networks we’re buying on won’t allow a Facebook page, app download, or a PDF as a destination URL.

Let’s help your clients to put their best face forward — in their ads and on their owned and operated websites.

P.S. We know building a website isn’t easy, it’s not something that can be tossed together in an afternoon. We work with a wonderful team of website designers who can do the work — whether it’s a single landing page, a 5-page site, or a fully customized e-commerce site. If you have a client in need of a web site, contact your Sales Director for more information.