Introduction to Internet Marketing
The business world is changing so rapidly, it can be a challenge just to keep up. But, we all know that Internet marketing is here to stay and anyone who is interested in doing business today, must be clear about what it is and how it works.
The purpose of this new series is to introduce or review the basics beginning right now with a simple definition of internet marketing: Promoting products or services over the internet.
This includes two important elements that are critical for any business: digital customer data management and electronic customer relationship management (ECRM), which according to Techopedia is:
The application of Internet-based technologies such as emails, websites, chat rooms, forums and other channels to achieve CRM objectives. It is a well-structured and coordinated process of CRM that automates the processes in marketing, sales and customer service.
An effective E-CRM increases the efficiency of the processes as well as improves the interactions with customers and enables businesses to customize products and services that meet the customers’ individual needs.
The internet has revolutionized the way of doing business. Marketing via the internet can extend a company’s reach to a global audience at minimal cost. As a result, internet marketing has become a vital component of almost every company’s business model
Internet marketing is a broad category with many segments to explore; but, all are designed to do one thing – increase traffic to a site for the purpose of increasing sales. It is simple – more visitors to a site = more exposure to the goods or services being offered = more potential sales = more profit. In other words, it increases the company’s bottom line.
The goal of an effective internet marketing strategy is to attract quality leads and potential customers to a website.
A primary concern is page ranking. Search engines are the source of information for people using the internet – so, individuals or business entities must make every effort to stay on top of competition – to be on page one of Google, preferably at the top of the page.
Because of this need, tools are continually being introduced to help people develop search engine optimization (SEO) for their sites in order to attract more visitors.
A professional, smart web design will also attract more visitors, and requires a balance between form and function.
Keyword research is another effective method. Research shows that targeting the right keywords will bring in more quality leads which translates to more profits. Check out Google’s free tool: Google AdWords Keyword Planner.
As with all marketing strategies, internet marketing requires careful research for the best results. You must do your homework, implement time-tested strategies, track your campaigns, and make adjustments when necessary. We will be talking more about this in later posts.
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