What is Internet Marketing
It seems that everyone
wants to be on the Internet. And for good reason. It is safe to say it
is the most important new method for conducting business in the last 50
years if not longer. Unfortunately, many marketers jumped in with little
knowledge of how to do it right. Internet marketing experts agree that
anyone who is interested in doing business on the Internet should take
time to learn about what it is they are getting into. Well before you
take the leap you may want to take a look here.
The term
Internet Marketing is commonly used to mean marketing your
web site over the internet. It is important to remember, as well, that
your web site is marketing your products or services over the internet.
In order to be successful at marketing a web site, you must first create
a web site capable of successfully marketing the products or services
offered.
Area Coverage :
Get up to speed on the internet with information on internet basics,
internet history and current internet news.
See how search engines are quickly becoming the most powerful
information and marketing tool on the internet.
Learn basics for building a web site and also the techniques for
promoting a web site.
Read about effective
marketing strategies for doing business on the
internet.
Locate affiliate programs on the internet and find out how this can be a
source of revenue for a web site operator
Basics of electronic commerce including explanations of the key terms
and technologies
extensive coverage of
electronic transactions including internet payment
methods such as smart cards.
Research issues in electronic commerce.
Internet Marketing Service :
Good Results Require Good Content :
Content is very important to the success of marketing both your product
and your web site. The content of your site should be interesting and
compelling, with one or more "call to action" statements to interact
with your visitors. At the same time, the content of each page should
focus on one area or topic, allowing for a greater concentration of the
search terms you are using to market your site. Properly written, your
visitors will be unaware of your optimization efforts.
Keep Your Message Focused :
Optimization refers to the process of placing the focus of a page on
specific terms for Search Engine results. Utilizing "Meta Tags" hidden
in the page header in conjunction with the copy on the page, focus
should be kept to two or three key phrases. Attempting to
optimize a
page for too many terms will result in poor search engine positioning.
Directories And Search Engines Are Different :
Directories are much like the telephone yellow pages. You submit the
information and, if accepted, your site is listed under a category with
a title (or site name) and short description. Directory searches return
results for matches within the title and description. Searchers can also
view all listings within categories and sub-categories.
Search Engines "crawl" the internet, going from one page to another by
following links found in a page, and indexing the textual content of
each page. Search results are determined by algorithms and the content
of indexed pages. Search algorithms vary from one search engine to
another, and are continually evolving to prevent abuse by the
unscrupulous. Attempts to "trick" the engines into ranking a site higher
eventually backfire.
Buying Web Site Traffic :
There are still many free Directories and Search Engines. However, many
of the larger, better known search sites are going to some form of a
paid model: Pay for
Submission, Pay for Inclusion, and
Pay for Performance (better know as
pay-per-click
or cost-per-click ).
With Pay for Submission, you pay the
Directory /Search
Engine to review your web site. They do not guarantee to
include your site. Yahoo, perhaps the best known directory, charges
$299.00 to review your commercial site. Once included, you will need to
renew your submission annually, paying the then current submission fee,
again without any guarantee that your site will be included once
reviewed.
Pay for Inclusion guarantees your web site will be included in the
search site's database. Inktomi, another well known search engine, uses
paid inclusion, and they spider the paid URL at least weekly. They also
index sites their crawlers find, and still have free submission
available. Pay for Inclusion sites generally charge an annual
maintenance fee.
Pay per Performance sites allow you to choose which keywords or phrases
will return your URL in search results and, using a bidding process, how
much you will pay for each click-through. The different sites have
different features. Overture, for example, allows you to set up a
maximum monthly cost so that your monthly billing never goes over your
budgeted amount. At $0.10, they also have the highest minimum bid rate.
Google Adwords
is a variation which combines factors such as bid price and popularity
to influence results.
While design
considerations will vary depending upon what you offer and the
demographics of your target market, many traditional advertising rules
still apply: Stress benefits ("Save Time And Money!"), not features
("Available in Red and Green."); Include call to action statements
("Don't Wait, Order Now!"); Make your product easy to order;
Contact
information should be prominent.
