Key take-aways
Today’s internet marketing, or online marketing, is rapidly evolving. No longer limited to the constraints of print, companies are finding new, innovative and most importantly, inexpensive ways to reach potential customers. Clients expect a business to have a website. From social media to Google Ads, it’s your job as a small to medium business owner to help them find it. But what is Internet marketing, exactly?
1. What is Internet marketing?
2. Why is Online Marketing Important?
3. Types of Online Marketing Strategies
“With the right online marketing strategies, small and medium businesses are finding new ways to compete against the Goliaths.”
1. What is Internet marketing?
Internet marketing refers to any form of advertising or marketing on the web. It’s an all-inclusive term to define promotions via emails, social media posts, paid advertisements on search engines, etc. As user demographics get younger, companies of all sizes are switching their focus from the traditional television, radio and newspaper ads to the Internet, where they can reach a larger, more relevant audience for less money.
Contrary to what some may believe, companies don’t need a never-ending budget in order to participate. With the right online marketing strategies, small and medium businesses are finding new ways to compete against the Goliaths. Even with a limited budget, companies are able to get creative and reach customers at each stage of the purchasing cycle. Whether a searcher is first considering a purchase or at the final stage before checkout, they will see your brand at every step of the way. Learn more about what is partnership marketing.
2. Why is Online Marketing Important?
There is an entire marketing platform with consumers just waiting to discover your brand. Using data analysis and refinement tools, you can reach the most relevant and qualified customers. This means less wasted money and a higher rate of return on your online marketing investment. And with computers and tools doing most of the work for you, finding those qualified customers is just a click away.
3. Types of Online Marketing Strategies
In order to make the most of your online marketing budget, you first need to lay out your strategy. Set realistic goals and start small. Once you’ve tested your strategies to find what works and what doesn’t, then you can consider expanding. Here are just a few of the most common types of online marketing strategies:
Content Marketing
A trending buzzword, content marketing refers to the creation of “natural content” in order to increase brand awareness. By natural content, we mean any form of shareable media that entices customers to interact with the brand. Types of content can include videos, blog posts, infographics, etc. This online marketing strategy is generally less expensive and is used primarily to expand brand awareness and establish a business as a thought leader in their field.
Display Advertising
Every time that you’re on a website and you see an advertisement with an image or video, this is display advertising. This form of online marketing is a great way to increase product awareness and get your brand in front of a significant amount of people. Display advertisements are generally very eye catching and can be easy to create using Google’s Ad Gallery. Find out more about how to create an image ad in just a few simple steps and easy tips for success.
Email Marketing
The name says it all. Email marketing is simply the process of reaching out to your customers via email. These emails can range from promoting a special sale or limited time email to sending a weekly email with industry updates and thought leadership articles. For email marketing, it’s important to let your customers provide their information willingly, rather than finding users based on external email lists. Emails sent to people who have not voluntarily signed up have a higher likelihood of being considered spam.
Paid Search Advertising or PPC
This online marketing strategy uses services such as Google Ads to promote businesses through advertisements that appear on search engine results page. Companies can pay to have their specific text ads appear whenever customers search for a designated term on Google. Often made to seem complicated, paid search advertising can be simple to use and allows your company to tap into that market of 3.5 billion searches every day.
Search Engine Optimisation
Search engine optimisation, or SEO, is often referred to as “organic marketing” and uses natural processes to promote your website on the search engine results page. SEO ensures that your website is in compliance with search engine best practice to deliver the most relevant content and best user experience. This can range from including certain keywords on a page to making sure that your website is organised in a clear and easy-to-use structure so that users don’t get confused. Get more information on steps to creating a Google-friendly website.
One important aspect of SEO is building backlinks, which are links to your website from other reputable sites. The quality and quantity of backlinks to your site can significantly impact your search engine rankings. While some backlinks occur naturally through content sharing and organic linking, it is also possible to buy backlinks to improve SEO. However, it is crucial to ensure that all the links are from reputable and relevant sites like from www.buybacklinks.club, as low-quality backlinks can have a negative impact on your SEO efforts. Ultimately, a combination of both natural and purchased backlinks, along with other SEO strategies, can help improve your website’s visibility and ranking on search engine results pages.
Social Media Marketing
This online marketing strategy includes both paid and unpaid features on social networks like Google+, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and more. Brands can choose to post interesting and engaging articles from their own site or others for free or pay to position their posts in front of a very specific audience. Social media networks are extremely valuable resources as they allow customers to easily share interesting content with other like-minded individuals.
Online marketing strategies vary based on the type of business and ultimate goal, however, one thing is for certain: Internet marketing is becoming a necessity. No matter your business type or size, online marketing provides a valuable way to connect with relevant customers for less. Don’t be scared off by the marketing Goliaths. The first step to success is to understanding what Internet marketing is and how your business can participate. You don’t have to be an expert to get started. With the right online marketing strategy, your company will be thriving in no time.
I’d be against metered usage. Not that I use a great deal of bandwidth, but I don’t want to subject to the kind of usage fees that you mention above.
Also, the question you pose about the cable companies having too much control over the distribution of media is an interesting one. It does seem that they are trying to clutch at retaining profit or generating more based on the trends you describe.
I might have to give NetLimiter a try just to see what kind of bandwidth I’m using. Interesting article!
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the comment. I don’t think metered usage is necessarily a bad idea but the pricing has got to be reasonable. The prices that Time Warner is proposing are too expensive for too little bandwidth. Time Warner apparently has terrible service too – worse than Comcast. I didn’t mention that in my article but the quality of service and speed should increase as well if you are paying for metered access.
I don’t know if NetLimiter is the best program out there but it was free, doesn’t use up much memory in the background and provides a simple view of the data in which I am interested.
You know, I am totally against metered usage. I upload and download huge files regularly. And I also backup my computer via an online ‘drive’, like many other people. (But yes, I do suppose that certain people who use an excess do ‘drive up’ the prices for everyone else.) If they charged users in such a way, it could alter usage of the internet.
Additionally, I have Comcast right now, and I already pay a premium for their faster service. By charging for access, they might discourage use of their premium service.
Anyway, I am going to install that program to gather my internet consumption stats, and see if I should be worried. And fortunately, there has been no evidence that Comcast is poised to change its pricing structure anytime soon.
Shirley´s last blog post – What’s Up With The Wikipedia Plea for Donations?
@Shirley – Backing up to an online drive could really increase the usage. It is interesting to monitor – you probably don’t use as much as you think you do.
Comcast started a 250GB limit in October.
http://gigaom.com/2008/08/28/comcast-makes-metered-broadband-official-beware-what-you-download/