Today, Internet marketing, or online marketing, is evolving into a broader mix of components a company can use as a means of increasing sales - even if your business is done completely online, partly online, or completely offline. The decision to use Internet marketing as part of a company's overall marketing strategy is strictly up to the company of course, but as a rule, Internet marketing is becoming an increasingly important part of nearly every company's marketing mix. For some online businesses, it is the only form of marketing being practiced.
Internet Marketing Objectives
Essentially, Internet marketing is using the Internet to do one or more of the following:
Communicate a company's message about itself, its products, or its services online. Conduct research as to the nature (demographics, preferences, and needs) of existing and potential customers. Sell goods, services, or advertising space over the Internet.
Even Though Internet marketing is a fairly self-explanatory term used to describe the ways by which businesses utilize the World Wide Web in order to promote their companies and their products or services. It is also sometimes referred to as web marketing, online marketing, or eMarketing. Despite the many terms in current use these are all one and the same thing.
The Internet offers unique advantages to the marketing arena, but perhaps its greatest value is that of offering global sharing of information and media at a low cost. Because of what it provides in terms of interaction, it means that the business of commercial communications is fast and therefore time-saving. Internet marketing blends creative factors with technical aspects; as a result websites with great artistic merit and functionality are born.
Of course the website is considered a chief component of Internet marketing and in years gone by having one was pretty much the only marketing technique being used online. But the times are constantly changing, and those changes take place with rapidity in the online environment. Technological advancements are continually birthing new concepts and most companies nowadays use a mixture of online marketing techniques and components that best suit their business and are designed to help them achieve their goals.
Some of the key components of Internet marketing are:
Setting up a website - consisting of text, images and possibly audio and video elements used to convey the company's message online, to inform existing and potential customers of the features and benefits of the company's products and/or services. The website may or may not include the ability to capture leads from potential customers or directly sell a product or service online. Websites can be the Internet equivalents of offline brochures or mail order catalogs and they are a great way to establish your business identity.
OnSite SEO – Search Engine Optimization — A technique or rather group of strategic methods used by Internet marketers or webmasters to enhance search results in favor of given sites. Onsite SEO ensures that content on websites is optimized in terms of the related keywords so a top slot in result pages on search engines like Google and Yahoo is more likely.
Pay-Per-Click Marketing — So called because the advertisers' costs are based on the amount of clicks their online advertisements receive. Fees vary and are often dependent on the popularity of subject matter, related keywords, and performance of the campaigns. Pay-Per-Click Marketing is exemplified by Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing, and other services in a similar vein.
Social Media Marketing — Social media marketing involves online activity within networking communities that engenders exposure, opportunities and ultimately business transactions. Think Facebook and YouTube, social media platforms that most of us have heard of, and you'll get the idea. Specifically for businesses there are sites like LinkedIn and many others. All operate on a similar basis and with a similar objective; that of creating interlinked communities and valuable connections with others on a global scale.
Email Marketing — Email marketing is an effective way to distribute information or solicit responses from clients. Opt-in newsletters and mass mail shots come into this category, where people are actively encouraged to take action to subscribe and engage proactively.
Link Building — The art, and it is seen by some to be an art, of creating inbound links to a site from other sites. Important aspects here are to focus on the generation of a healthy range of sites, both old and new, and from good online neighborhoods.
Ad Placements — Placing ads in locations online that will bear reference to the type of business being promoted is, once again, something that needs careful consideration. An ad in the wrong place, that appears at the wrong time, won’t reap the rewards the advertiser hoped for. Selecting the correct location, based on the demographic of the intended audience and the type of product being advertised are some of the basic aspects that are taken into consideration when structuring ad placement.
Article Marketing — Article marketing is a form of promotion based on the creation of written articles that relate to particular businesses and the industry they work within. This copy is then either freely distributed and published online or sent out to selected publishers like online magazines or relevant partner websites.
Online press releases - which involve placing a newsworthy story about a company, its website, its people, and/or its products/services with on online wire service.
Blog marketing - which is the act of posting comments, expressing opinions or making announcements in a discussion forum and can be accomplished either by hosting your own blog or by posting comments and/or URLs in other blogs related to your product or service online.
