What Is Internet Marketing?

Internet Marketing is the science and art of selling products or services over digital networks. These include cellular phone networks and the internet. The success of digital marketing lies in your online marketing mix (search engine marketing, email marketing...)

The art of online marketing involves finding the right online marketing mix of strategies that appeals to a targeted audience. Finally, this online marketing mix will translate into sales. Examples of strategies include search engine marketing, email marketing and promotion on various digital networks.

The science of online marketing lies in the analysis of various digital marketing strategies. Hence, the second step is measuring their potential success to eventually choose the best online marketing mix for your business.

Types of Online Marketing Mix

Search Engine Marketing, Email Marketing and More...

• Inbound Marketing.
  1. Search Engine Optimization. SEO enables your business website to rank higher in search results from potential customers. Most noteworthy, your website will appear on top of the page when someone looks up terms that match your product or service offerings. In addition, SEO is free.
  2. Search Engine Marketing. SEM is paid search marketing. Pay-per-click (PPC) is a typical example of search engine marketing. How does it work? Google will display your ad when a user enters a search containing your keywords. Statistics can provide excellent feedback on your ad's effectiveness. For example, you'll know the click-through rate. This is the number of times someone has clicked on your ad vs the number of times someone has viewed the page. To conclude, search engine marketing is a great way to reach your target audience.
• Online Advertising. While there are still banner ads on the internet, there are also myriads of other options available. These go from interstitials (web pages displayed before / after some content) through text ads and other digital networks. In addition, various social media networks, such as Facebook, offer their own advertising platforms.
• Email Marketing. Email marketing is an incredibly effective method to get the message out. First of all, you need to build a subscriber email list of potential customers. Then keep them up to date with special offerings, upcoming events, and company news. Send out newsletters and customized product or service offerings specific to their needs.

Social Media Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Blogging...

• Marketing on Social Media. Social digital networks such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest are all great ways of online marketing. Furthermore, social media is a conversation. It requires active participation instead of just posting ads for products and services.
• Mobile Marketing. Phones are quickly becoming the ultimate item which people carry at all time. Consequently, this makes text messages and other forms of mobile advertising a great way to reach your potential customers.
• Blogging. Another effective way to start a conversation with your customers is through a business blog. Keep them informed about your products and services. Also, use your blog to get relevant feedback and to provide advice. Microblogs are a subset of blogs. They usually consists of short text updates sent by email, instant messaging and tweets.

And that is definitely just to name a few... more online marketing strategies are being invented all the time!!

Online Presence and Digital Networks

Online marketing is becoming increasingly important to small businesses. In the past, internet marketing was something that local bricks-and-mortar businesses could justifiably ignore. In fact, it didn't make sense for them to waste money and time on local online marketing.

Nowadays, people have developed habits such as searching on the internet before making a decision. Given increasing local search volumes, building a consistent online marketing strategy matters. I'd go as far as to say that online marketing should be included within the marketing mix of ALL businesses.

Aside from advertising on the Internet, your online reputation is important. It is likely that potential customers will look online for reviews before visiting your business. This is why keeping a good reputation and a quality customer service is crucial. To conclude, choose the right online marketing mix of online products & services to achieve the best results!

Want to know more on how to use social media in your business? Social Media Management for small businesses.

In addition, learn more on digital marketing tactics and strategies to help your business stand out!