Internet marketing, also referred to as online marketing or Emarketing, is the marketing of products or services over the Internet. The Internet has brought many unique benefits to marketing including low costs in distributing information and media to a global audience. The interactive nature of Internet marketing, both in terms of instant response and in eliciting response, are unique qualities of the medium.
Internet marketing ties together creative and technical aspects of the internet, including design, development, advertising and sales. Internet marketing methods include search engine marketing, display advertising, e-mail marketing, affiliate marketing, interactive advertising, online reputation management and also Social Media Marketing Methods such as blog marketing, and viral marketing.
Internet marketing is the process of growing and promoting an organization using online media. Internet marketing does not simply mean 'building a website' or 'promoting a website'. Somewhere behind that website is a real organization with real goals.
An Internet marketing strategy includes all aspects of online advertising online activity that promotes a company online, including websites, blog sites, article and press releases, online market research, email marketing, and advertising (ppc/banners etc.)
There are a few important characteristics that differentiate Internet marketing from "off-line marketing":
- One-to-one vs. one-to-many approach: the targeted user is typically browsing the Internet on their own, and the marketing messages reach them personally. This can be very clearly seen in search marketing, where the users find advertisements targeted to specific keywords that the users asked for.
- Demographics targeting vs. behavioral targeting: off-line marketers typically segment their markets according to age group, sex, geography, and other general factors. Online marketers have the luxury of targeting by activity. This is a deeper form of targeting, since the advertiser knows that the target audience are people who do a certain activity (upload pictures, have blogs, etc.) instead of just expecting that a certain group of people will like their new product or service.
- Measurability: Almost all aspects of an online campaign can be traced, measured, and tested. The advertisers either pay per banner impression (CPM), pay per click (PPC), or pay per action accomplished. Therefore, it is easy to understand which messages or offering are more appealing to the audience.
- Response and immediate results: Since the online marketing initiatives usually require users to click on the message, go to a website, and perform a targeted action, the results of campaigns are immediately measured and tracked. On the other hand, someone driving a car who sees a billboard, will at best be interested and might decide to get more information at some time.
Since exposure, response and overall efficiency of Internet media is easy to track compared to traditional "off-line" media, through the use of web analytics for instance, Internet marketing can offer a greater sense of accountability for advertisers. Marketers and their clients are becoming aware of the need to measure the collaborative effects of marketing, i.e. how the Internet affects in-store sales, etc., instead of relying on the siloed approach to marketing. Internet marketing, as of 2007, is growing faster than other types of media.
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