Internet marketing, also known as web marketing, online
marketing, webvertising, or e-marketing, is referred to as the marketing
(generally promotion) of products or services over the Internet. Internet
marketing is considered to be broad in scope[citation needed] because it not
only refers to marketing on the Internet, but also includes marketing done via
e-mail and wireless media. Digital customer data and electronic customer
relationship management (ECRM) systems are also often grouped together under internet
marketing.
Internet marketing ties together the creative and technical
aspects of the Internet, including design, development, advertising and sales.
Internet marketing also refers to the placement of media along many different
stages of the customer engagement cycle through search engine marketing (SEM),
search engine optimization (SEO), banner ads on specific websites, email
marketing, mobile advertising, and Web 2.0 strategies.[citation needed]
In 2008, The New York Times, working with comScore,
published an initial estimate to quantify the user data collected by large
Internet-based companies. Counting four types of interactions with company
websites in addition to the hits from advertisements served from advertising
networks, the authors found that the potential for collecting data was up to
2,500 times per user per month.
Contents
1 Types of Internet marketing
2 Business models
2.1 One-to-one approaches
2.2 Appeal to specific interests
2.3 Niche marketing
2.4 Geo-targeting
3 Advantages and limitations of Internet marketing
3.1 Advantages
3.2 Limitations
4 Security concerns
5 "Internet marketing" scams
6 Usage trends
7 Effects on industries
7.1 Internet auctions
7.2 Advertising industry
8 Film and Television Marketing
1 Types of Internet marketing
Internet marketing is broadly divided in to the following
types:
Display advertising: the use of web banners or banner ads
placed on a third-party website or blog to drive traffic to a company's own
website and increase product awareness.
Search engine marketing (SEM): a form of marketing that
seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in search engine
result pages (SERPs) through the use of either paid placement, contextual
advertising, and paid inclusion, or through the use of free search engine
optimization techniques.
Search engine optimization (SEO): the process of improving
the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the
"natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic")
search results.
Social media marketing: the process of gaining traffic or
attention through social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Email marketing: involves directly marketing a commercial
message to a group of people using electronic mail.
Referral marketing: a method of promoting products or
services to new customers through referrals, usually word of mouth.
Affiliate marketing: a marketing practice in which a
business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought
about by the affiliate's own marketing efforts.
Inbound marketing: involves creating and freely sharing
informative content as a means of converting prospects into customers and
customers into repeat buyers.[citation needed]
Video marketing: This type of marketing specializes in
creating videos that engage the viewer into a buying state by presenting
information in video form and guiding them to a product or service[citation
needed] Online video is increasingly becoming more popular among internet users
and companies are seeing it as a viable method of attracting customers.
2 Business models
This
section does not cite any references or sources. (January 2011)
Internet marketing is associated with several business
models:
E-commerce: a model whereby goods and services are sold
directly to consumers (B2C), businesses (B2B), or from consumer to consumer
(C2C) using computers connected to a network.
Lead-based websites: a strategy whereby an organization
generates value by acquiring sales leads from its website.[citation needed]
Similar to walk-in customers in retail world. These prospects are often
referred to as organic leads.
Affiliate Marketing: a process wherein a product or service
developed by one entity is sold by other active sellers for a share of profits.[citation
needed] The entity that owns the product may provide some marketing material
(e.g., sales letters, affiliate links, tracking facilities, etc.); however, the
vast majority of affiliate marketing relationships come from e-commerce
businesses that offer affiliate programs.[citation needed]
Local Internet marketing: a strategy through which a small
company utilizes the Internet to find and to nurture relationships that can be
used for real-world advantages.[citation needed] Local Internet marketing uses
tools such as social media marketing, local directory listing, and targeted
online sales promotions.
2.1 One-to-one approaches
In a one-to-one approach, marketers target a user browsing
the Internet alone and so that the marketers' messages reach the user
personally. This approach is used in search marketing, for which the
advertisements are based on search engine keywords entered by the users. This
approach usually works under the pay per click (PPC) method.[citation needed]
2.2 Appeal to specific interests
When appealing to specific interests, marketers place an
emphasis on appealing to a specific behavior or interest, rather than reaching
out to a broadly defined demographic.[citation needed] These marketers
typically segment their markets according to age group, gender, geography, and
other general factors.[citation needed]
2.3 Niche marketing
In conventional niche marketing, clusters of consumers (the
niche) are identified in order to more economically and efficiently target
them. Similarly, niche internet marketing attempts to create a more direct
advertising message for those who are seen as most likely to buy the product
being advertised (see Target audience and Conversion rate).[citation needed]
Niche internet marketing focuses on marketing products and
services which are, or can appear, tailor-made for a specific subset of
consumers who are expected to buy the product or service with a specific
motivation. The online advertising message (or product web site) can then be
similarly tailor-made to target that assumed motivation.[citation needed] In
combination with Search Engine Optimization, the niche internet marketer can
attempt to increase the likelihood that their product's advertisement (or site)
will be seen by customers in the relevant niche.[citation needed]
For example, if one sells designer dog sweaters, one might
first consider the prospective customer who would be interested in these dog
sweaters. One would then consider the motivation that this customer would have
in buying a designer dog sweater (e.g. "My dog needs to look
stylish.")[citation needed] One can then attempt to determine using
keyword research which keywords might be best suited to weave into the page or
advertisement (see Search engine optimization copywriting) in order to maximize
the likelihood that it will be seen by people who are searching for a product which
fulfills the targeted motivation (resulting in, for example, "Your dog
deserves to be the best dressed on the block. Hendley Sweaters, 'Black Tie' for
Dogs.")[citation needed]
2.4 Geo-targeting
In Internet marketing, geo targeting and geo marketing are
the methods of determining the geolocation of a website visitor with
geolocation software, and delivering different content to that visitor based on
his or her location, such as latitude and longitude, country, region or state,
city, metro code or zip code, organization, Internet Protocol (IP) address,
ISP, and other criteria.[citation needed]
3 Advantages and limitations of Internet marketing
This
section does not cite any references or sources. (January 2011)
3.1 Advantages
Internet marketing is inexpensive when examining the ratio
of cost to the reach of the target audience.[citation needed] Companies can
reach a wide audience for a small fraction of traditional advertising
budgets.[citation needed] The nature of the medium allows consumers to research
and to purchase products and services conveniently.[citation needed] Therefore,
businesses have the advantage of appealing to consumers in a medium that can
bring results quickly.[citation needed] The strategy and overall effectiveness
of marketing campaigns depend on business goals and cost-volume-profit (CVP)
analysis.
Internet marketers also have the advantage of measuring
statistics easily and inexpensively; almost all aspects of an Internet
marketing campaign can be traced, measured, and tested, in many cases through
the use of an ad server.[citation needed] The advertisers can use a variety of
methods, such as pay per impression, pay per click, pay per play, and pay per
action. Therefore, marketers can determine which messages or offerings are more
appealing to the audience.[citation needed] The results of campaigns can be
measured and tracked immediately because online marketing initiatives usually
require users to click on an advertisement, to visit a website, and to perform
a targeted action.[citation needed]
3.2 Limitations
One of the challenges that internet markets face (as does
the general public) is that many internet products are outright scams or
promoted with deception making it difficult to know what one is buying. This is
especially the case with products that are supposed to train or aid internet
marketers in making money. While the quality of products has improved in the
past few years, ethics is still often missing in internet marketing. Many
so-called money making products are "empty boxes" in which there is
essentially nothing there yet a buyer is to make money by reselling this empty
box to others. Pyramid schemes are also still prevalent.
The consumer is unable to physically feel or try on the
product which can be a limitation for certain goods. However a survey of
consumers of cosmetics products shows that email marketing can be used to
interest a consumer to visit a store to try a product or to speak with sales
representatives.
Marketer will not be able to use the x-factor/personal touch
factor/human touch factor to influence the audience as the marketing is
completely based on the advertisement and the information that the
advertisement might lead to [websites, blogs and other channels].
4 Security concerns
This
section does not cite any references or sources. (January 2011)
Information security is important both to companies and
consumers that participate in online business. Many consumers are hesitant to
purchase items over the Internet because they do not believe that their
personal information will remain private. Some companies that purchase customer
information offer the option for individuals to have their information removed
from their promotional redistribution, also known as opting out. However, many
customers are unaware if and when their information is being shared, and are
unable to stop the transfer of their information between companies if such
activity occurs. Additionally, companies holding private information are
vulnerable to data attacks and leaks. Internet browsing privacy is a related
consumer concern. Web sites routinely capture browsing and search history which
can be used to provide targeted advertising. Privacy policies can provide
transparency to these practices. Spyware prevention software can also be used
to shield the consumer.
See also: Browser security, Internet security, Spyware, and
Internet Privacy
Another consumer e-commerce concern is whether or not they
will receive exactly what they purchase. Online merchants have attempted to
address this concern by investing in and building strong consumer brands (e.g.,
Amazon.com, eBay, and Overstock.com), and by leveraging merchant and feedback
rating systems and e-commerce bonding solutions.[citation needed] All these
solutions attempt to assure consumers that their transactions will be free of
problems because the merchants can be trusted to provide reliable products and
services.[citation needed] Additionally, several major online payment
mechanisms (credit cards, PayPal, Google Checkout, etc.) have provided back-end
buyer protection systems to address problems if they occur.[citation needed]
5 "Internet marketing" scams
In May 2012, The Verge writer Joseph L. Flatley reported
that the terms "Internet marketing" and "Internet marketer"
have been co-opted by a loose association of confidence artists running online
get-rich-quick schemes.
6 Usage trends
Technological advancements in the telecommunications
industry have dramatically affected online advertising techniques.[citation
needed] Many firms are embracing a paradigm that is shifting the focus of
advertising methodology from traditional text and image advertisements to those
containing more recent technologies like JavaScript and Adobe Flash.[citation
needed] As a result, advertisers can more effectively engage and connect their
audience with their campaigns that seek to shape consumer attitudes and
feelings towards specific products and services.[citation needed]
7 Effects on industries
The number of banks offering the ability to perform banking
tasks over the internet has increased.[citation needed] Online banking appeals
to customers because it is often faster and considered more convenient than
visiting bank branches.
7.1 Internet auctions
See also: Online auction business model
Internet auctions have become a multi-billion dollar
business. Unique items that could only previously be found at flea markets are
now being sold on Internet auction websites such as eBay. Specialized e-stores
sell a vast amount of items like antiques, movie props, clothing, gadgets, and
so on.
As the premier online reselling platform, eBay is often used
as a price-basis for specialized items. Buyers and sellers often look at prices
on the website before going to flea markets; the price shown on eBay often
becomes the item's selling price.[citation needed]
7.2 Advertising industry
In addition to the major effect internet marketing has had
on the technology industry, the effect on the advertising industry itself has
been profound. In just a few years, online advertising has grown to be worth
tens of billions of dollars annually. PricewaterhouseCoopers reported that
US$16.9 billion was spent on Online marketing in the U.S. in 2006.
This has caused a growing impact on the United States ' electoral process. In
2008, candidates for President heavily utilized Internet marketing strategies
to reach constituents. During the 2007 primaries, candidates added, on average,
over 500 social network supporters per day to help spread their message.
President Barack Obama raised over US$1 million in one day during his extensive
Democratic candidacy campaign, largely due to online donors.
Several industries have heavily invested in and benefited
from internet marketing and online advertising. Some of them were originally
brick and mortar businesses such as publishing, music, automotive or gambling,
while others have sprung up as purely online businesses, such as digital design
and media, blogging, and internet service hosting.[citation needed]
8 Film and Television Marketing
Industries such as film and television were somewhat slow
when it came to putting content on the Internet. Film trailers, television show
schedules and "interactive" press kits came on the scene quite
quickly as the content that promoted such products. This major media platform
was developed with investments of millions by the film studios and television
networks because it was a valuable marketing tool.
