The internet has completely revolutionized the way in which consumers shop for products and services, which has meant that businesses in all industries have had to adapt and embrace the digital age. Failure to do so will see you left behind whilst your competition thrives. Internet marketing has become an integral component of business in recent times as this is how you create a powerful online presence, boost your profile and stand out in a fiercely competitive industry. Unsurprisingly, the internet marketing realm can be a complex and intimidating one, so here is a quick guide to the basic forms so that you can see how it will be of great use to your company.
What is Internet Marketing?
So, what exactly is internet marketing? It can be defined as any online effort to advertise your brand and/or products/services to consumers. This can take many different forms, with the key types outlined below.
Search Engine Optimization
The majority of consumers find products or services by using a search engine like Google. Crucially, consumers rely heavily on the top five listed results and rarely venture onto the second page, statistically, less than 6% of all website clicks. This means that you need to appear at, or near, the top of these lists if you are to succeed. SEO is the practice of improving ranking through optimizing content that uses words and phrases used by those that search for your products/services. There are both on-page and off-page SEO best practices to use which can have a huge impact on search visibility and it is a powerful tool as consumers see those listed on the first page as authoritative sources.
Pay Per Click
PPC advertising involves placing adverts in highly visible spaces online and then paying only when the advert is clicked on. When used correctly, this is cost-effective as clicks should result in sales (provided you have a high-quality, easy-to-use website). Search engine advertising is the most common form of PPC where adverts are placed in the sponsored results section on search engine results pages. SEO can be a slow process, but results begin to show immediately with PPC as you become highly visible as soon as the advert goes live.
Social Media Marketing
is the practice of using social media channels like Facebook and Twitter to promote your business and engage with customers.
Content Marketing
Content marketing involves generating and distributing a constant stream of valuable content to your target audience with the goal of attracting attention to your brand and generating leads.
Affiliate Marketing
This effective form of advertising allows individuals to profit through promoting the products services of a particular business online. It can be challenging to promote your own products/services effectively as the consumer expects you to advertise yourself, but a recommendation from an external website appears unbiased and can have a huge impact on brand reputation.
Internet marketing is a powerful tool and the above can all be used to help a brand to thrive in a marketplace which can be hard to stand out in. It can be daunting at first, but once you understand the basics, you can learn how it will be of use to your organization and help you to achieve your goals.
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