Online Coupon Sites

Remember when coupons came in the Sunday paper and you would never contemplate clipping one. How about 60% off, Free meals, Free Lessons and 2x 1 on services you are already shelling our cash for?
In case you haven’t heard there is a recession and both online and social networks have influenced how consumers interact with merchants. Here is a round up of some interesting trends in online coupons and deal promotions that benefit both the local merchant + consumer.

GroupOn -They call it "collective buying power!" A city guide promoting deals and targeting avid consumers of social media. Groupon features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, eat, and buy in a variety of cities. The key to snagging the deal is getting a certain of number of people to also opt in for it – great tool to nudge your friends and spread the word ( viral). By promising businesses a minimum number of customers, Groupon get discounts you won't find anywhere else. They promote their website ( display ads) which is good as they are getting the word out to consumers. Definitely worth checking out! No monetary upfront cost for businesses.

Retailmenot- national online promotional codes for major retailer websites. I always go to Retailmenot before I buy anything online. They also offer an integrated search for local coupons by zipcode.

Living Social promotes themselves as connecting customers to cool places and things. They offer deeply discounted deals to the best places in your city! This is another major metro -city deal website – but they run deals in smaller markets like Austin, Raleigh in addition to the NYC, Chicago. Living Social offers one fantastic deal every day with step discounts at local restaurants, bars, spas, theaters, and more. Sign up for their Daily Deal Email- Purchase a deal- and use a widget to Share a Deal with a friend. A minimum number of consumers need to opt in for the deal within a given time frame or the deal is lost. Businesses benefit from the partnership and there is no upfront advertising cost for the merchant.
KGB Deals USA and EU footprint labels themselves as Shopping 3.0: Save 50-90% on all the things you love to do, eat, wear and enjoy your city. Similar to Groupon a minimum number of consumers need to opt in to secure the special deal. Consumers can sign up to receive a KGB email alerts . An example of deal on their website: $29 for $70 worth of dog grooming, boarding and daycare services- sweet!
More sites:
Yipit .com aggregates and recommends local daily deals from some of the sites mentioned above.
Valpak.com
Merchant Circle (free to upload coupon, after creating a merchant profile)
Citysearch (with a paid upgrade)

Many local merchants are now using Twitter and Facebook, and they use this free social media tool to offer discounts. If you have a favorite retailer chec out their page for special deals.

Links
http://www.groupon.com/
http://printable.retailmenot.com/
http://www.kgbdeals.com/
http://livingsocial.com/

Restaurant Marketing Online Coupons to read  review

Specialty Online Marketing and Alternative PPC Advertising

What is:
Contextual. Advertising – the targeting of relevant websites based on the page's content, keywords. • Fully transparent: know exactly where your ads will run on a specific site.
Ad Network – a method of purchasing ads across a select group of sites. Ad networks can be specialized based on demographics and by interest (contextual)

Google is the leader in search. Within Google you can target search results or the content network. A content network allows your ads to run across relevant “partner sites” content vs. Google search you are targeting search engine keyword results.

Placing ads on sites that reach your niche may cost less and deliver qualified traffic to your site. You can get a campaign running for as little as $100 on some specialty websites. Most offer pricing on Pay per Click, Cost Per Thousand or provide retailers with Coupon, Online Sponsorship, and Email Marketing to their database in that coveted niche.

As a former PPC Ad Sales Consultant at Citysearch I can attest to the power of local niche marketing for specific interests. Restaurants, Bars, Nightlife did extremely well on Citysearch which is primarily used by consumers to obtain user reviews, coupons, video, directions and trusted content. Advertisers paid on a CPC to have their enhanced business profiles displayed on Citysearch for keyword and neighborhood searches.

If you are looking for alternatives to search engine traffic or want to be more “engaged” with your prospective customer here's a idea list of sites that offer alternative PPC, banner, email marketing programs and some with local targeting by city:

Local Spa & Beauty Merchants

Spafinder, Spa Week , Pretty City, Citysearch / Spa, SPA-NYC.COM

Travel Business

Travel Zoo, SmarterTravel, AOL Travel , Luxury Link

Medical

Web MD, Health Grades, Good Health Network

Business & Finance Verticals

Marchex PPC Contextual, Business.com, NY Times PPC

Local Living

Yelp, Citysearch ,Superpages, Openlist ( Marchex)

Green Marketing

Sustain Lane Green Ad network, Goodsense

There are plenty of sites to choose from, such as individual sites or ad networks that target diffferent consumer interests.

You know your customer best – what specialty sites and newsletter do they opt-in or use? For a restaurant does your customers use Zagats.com, Menupages or Citysearch to decide on a place to eat? Take their pulse. Then fish in that pond. Sometimes a smaller pond may yield interesting results.