The Internet is a tool enabling businesses to reach literally millions of new customers each month. The Internet is redefining the relationship between businesses and consumers, a small to large sized company now can reach all over the globe to share information about it's products and services.
Affiliate marketing on the Internet works by driving traffic to affiliates' or partners' websites through links and advertising. The affiliate marketer receives rewards for helping to bring visitors to the website. The typical reward is a certain amount of income that varies depending on the company. Just as traditional marketers work to gain the interest of their target market, web marketing works to attract target customers to marketer's websites. These sites may be company websites, web magazines or e-tail catalog sites. Publishing-based web marketing contains informational material with advertising much like print magazines. Corporate or business websites generate sales leads to add value to their marketing goals. E-tail or e-commerce websites market products or services directly to customers. Internet or web marketing activities should support the business model of a company. For example, blogs and articles are ideal on corporate or business websites if they give expert advice that shows authority on a subject. To be specific, a potential client of an attorney may read a blog or article on the firm’s website, appreciate the advice and then contact the attorney.
An e-tail or e-commerce catalog type of website that sells products directly to consumers may feature a customer forum as part of its web marketing activities. Seeing positive comments from other customers that have purchased an item the web visitor is considering may help the visitor decide to go ahead and purchase the same item. Web marketing is much more than just information on a website. It should consist of well thought-out strategies that support the business model and attract potential customers.
1E-commerce:
A model whereby goods are sold directly to consumers (B2C), businesses (B2B), or from consumer to consumer (C2C), consumer to business (B2C).
Lead-based websites: a strategy whereby an organization generates value by acquiring sales leads from its website.
2Affiliate Marketing:
A process wherein a product or service developed by one entity is sold by other active sellers for a share of profits. 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.
3Local 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. Local Internet marketing uses tools such as search engine optimization, social media marketing, local directory listing, and targeted online sales promotions.
4One-to-one approach:
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.
5Appeal 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. These marketers typically segment their markets according to age group, gender, geography, and other general factors.
6Niche Marketing:
Niche and hyper-niche internet marketing put further emphasis on creating destinations for web users and consumers on specific topics and products. Niche marketers differ from traditional Internet marketers as they have a more specialized topic knowledge. For example, whereas in traditional Internet marketing a website would be created and promoted on a high-level topic such as kitchen appliances, niche marketing would focus on more specific topics such as 4-slice toasters.
Niche marketing provides end users of such sites very targeted information, and allows the creators to establish themselves as authorities on the topic or product.s.
7Geo-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.
Advantages:
Internet marketing is inexpensive when examining the ratio of cost to the reach of the target audience. Companies can reach a wide audience for a small fraction of traditional advertising budgets. The nature of the medium allows consumers to research and to purchase products and services conveniently. Therefore, businesses have the advantage of appealing to consumers in a medium that can bring results quickly. The strategy and overall effectiveness of marketing campaigns depend on business goals and cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis.
Another advantage to advertising on the internet is the fact that the it is always on. Your businesses image is shared 24 hrs a day 7 days a week. Shoppers can visit your site at their Convenience from the comfort of their own homes. It is like having your doors open 24 hrs a day 7 days a week.
The Internet is enabling consumers to purchase from companies outside their geographical location; many items that were once available only in certain areas now are available worldwide thanks to the Internet. I believe the Internet will dramatically change the way we purchase and use the products and services we use daily. But don't take my word for it here is a recent quote from Alan Greenspan to the senate Budget Committee 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. 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. 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.
Limitations:
However, from the buyer's perspective, the inability of shoppers to touch, to smell, to taste, and "to try on" tangible goods before making an online purchase can be limiting. However, there is an industry standard for e-commerce vendors to reassure customers by having liberal return policies as well as providing in-store pick-up services.
Security concerns:
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 the database, 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.
Another major security concern that consumers have with e-commerce merchants 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. 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. 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.