If you understand your presence on the Internet only in the form of having your own website or profile on a social network, then you are mistaken, and your business viability is also not guaranteed. The fact is that your profile or website can be compared to a boat in the ocean of business, the boat alone is not enough for you to sail, you need oars or sails. Those instruments are marketing.

“If your business is not on the Internet, then you are not in business. Not all entrepreneurs have adopted this maxim, which was formulated long ago by Bill Gates, but for the majority it becomes obvious. Those who do not understand this either already went out of business or soon will.”

Bill Gates – Founder and Owner of Microsoft Corporation

The benefits of internet marketing

Any commercial project begs a constant expansion of activity. Creating a network resource, be it a blog, website or a social network page, does not provide a spontaneous increase in sales and popularity growth. Every site requires focused work to promote it and increase conversion. Internet marketing is an activity aimed at making this promotion. This activity has several significant advantages that distinguish it from classical marketing:

1. Interactivity. The Internet allows you to directly interact with the audience and constantly keep in touch with your customers.
2. Targeting. A mechanism that allows you to select your target audience out of all of the possible ones and show advertising only to that specific one.
3. Web analytics. It will allow making an assessment of actions to attract potential customers, select the most effective ones and minimize costs.
4. Market without borders. Internet marketing has no boundaries and allows customers to use the services of companies around the world, and for companies to explore new potential markets.
5. Speed of action. The launch of advertising campaigns can take only a day or two, while the consumer’s response is quick to appear.

As a result, Internet marketing is becoming the most effective tool for attracting consumers and promoting goods.

It is especially important that its advantages allow using the advertising budget in the most optimal way, making sure to obtain the maximum benefit. Nowadays, most of the  advertising 

budget is invested in the Internet.

Sales growth in online marketing is based on attracting visitors, increasing the efficiency of the network resource and returning customers. Attraction alone is not enough, visitors need to become customers. A specific strategy was developed to achieve this goal.

Internet marketing strategy

Internet marketing strategy is a long-term action plan aimed at achieving the goals and objectives of each part of the sales system. This model is usually described as a funnel, which in a simplified form is a sequence consisting of several stages:

Attraction. Impacting potential clients in a way that would make them actual clients. Identifying distribution channels to spread company information. The goal is to increase site traffic.

Involvement. Using various methods of communication with site visitors. The goal is to induce certain actions.

Conversion. Gathering information about visitors, and developing principles of further interactions. The goal is to convince potential clients to leave their personal information by performing certain actions.

Retention. Stop customers from leaving your web resource.

Main tasks of Internet Marketing

Internet marketing solves a large number of tasks, which, with a high-quality implementation, provide an increase in sales. Among them:

• Analysis of the needs and desires of potential customers;
• Increase in visitor traffic to the company’s network resource;
• Providing quality and relevant content;
• Attracting attention and ensuring customer confidence in the brand;
• Formation of increased interest in visiting the Internet resource;
• Analysis and selection of advertising channels based on their effectiveness;
• Ensuring the transition of potential customers to consumers;
• The introduction of additional services to ensure competitiveness in the market;
• Monitoring the implemented strategy and correcting errors in case of their detection;
• Creating a memorable image of the company.

Each problem’s solution requires its own strategy, its own channels and tools.

Online Marketing Tools

Most of the tools for online marketing are taken from the classic marketing model and are adapted for trading on the Internet.

Among the main tools of Internet marketing are:

Contextual advertising

Contextual advertising is one of the most effective and sought-after formats for attracting potential customers who are looking for your product or service on Google. Tweaking according to the requests of your target audience, as well as relevant and interesting announcements provide quick results.

SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the website’s fine-tuning that helps it appear on the top lines in Google search results for key queries. Investing in SEO is a long-term investment, which results in an additional steady stream of visitors, increasing awareness and the level of trust in the company from customers and partners. You can read about one of the techniques – link building – here.

SMM

SMM (Social Media Marketing) is promotion through social networks. To ignore these streams of revenue is, to put it mildly, a mistake.

Content marketing

Content marketing allows potential customers to learn more about your company and form a positive attitude towards it. As a result of the work on the site and the distribution of branded content, the loyalty and attention of the audience increase. Content marketing is a significant contribution to future sales.

Online Targeting

Targeting is an advertising mechanism that allows you to select a target audience and show advertising only to that specific one.

Email distribution

Mass mailing of advertisements through email. Letters remind clients of your company and may contain interesting offers that encourage them to re-use your services.

SERM

Search engine reputation management is a constant job that involves monitoring opinions and feedback about your company online, generating positive reviews and building a positive reputation. Allows you to quickly identify and eliminate the causes of customer dissatisfaction, which will positively affect the company’s image and improve customer service.

Online Banners and Teaser Ads

Large pictures with graphics and text description, made by analogy with street banners.

You can use all the tools at once or separately. To ensure the achievement of the goal, whether it is a brand promotion, or selling a product or service, it’s best to use the full spectre of integrated Internet marketing. That way you use all the necessary tools to achieve the goals and provide your business with the quickest possible promotion.

Conclusion

Internet marketing can be represented in the form of a tree, the roots of which are strategy, branding, research and content, the trunk is the site, and the branches growing from this trunk are marketing tools.

As you understand, the fruits are not collected from the roots or the trunk of the tree, but only from the ends of the branches. In order for the tree to produce fruit, it should be taken care of. Water and fertilisation mean allocating money for promotion. Process means to provide technical support. Removing dead branches means applying current methods of promotion. Without all of this, no quality crop can be collected