ONLINE MARKETING

Next   »


Overview

Reaching out to consumers and establishing your business' brand is an important aspect of a successful business. Without proper marketing solutions, your business will never grow and has a high chance of failure. Online Marketing, also called Internet Marketing, refers to tools, strategies and methodologies used for increasing a business' visibility online in order to build its reputation and promote its brand. It involves a wider range of marketing elements than traditional forms of marketing due to the extra channels and marketing mechanisms available on the internet.


The way potential customers interact with businesses has evolved in recent years. Most will initially do an internet search for a business, product or service which they are unsure about obtaining, before calling or going into a store. But a potential customer may not always know the name of your business or your website address. So they type keywords into popular search engines (Google & Yahoo/Bing) or turn to social media websites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to find information on the products or services they want. Having an effective online marketing campaign can enhance your business' visibility on these search engines and social media websites, which will in turn direct potential customers to your website.


Search Engine Marketing

Search engine marketing (SEM) is the process of getting website exposure and increasing traffic to your website using internet search engines. It is probably the most important part of an online marketing strategy and involves two main aspects: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising.


Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization is the process of improving the quality and volume of web traffic to a website by using organic (no money is paid to the search engines) techniques and strategies. It involves optimizing website content and navigation, using relevant and correct keyword analysis, and link-building as some of its core aspects.


When people use search engines they normally would not go through multiple pages of results. They often only consider the first page of results, so where a website ranks in a search is essential for directing more traffic to the website. The goal of SEO is to achieve a higher ranking placement in the results pages of major search engines, when keywords and phrases are put into the search field. The higher a website ranks the greater the chance it will be visited by a potential customer.


Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising

Pay-Per-Click is the process of directing traffic to a website using non-organic or sponsored links. Advertisers pay a fee each time their ads are clicked on the search results pages and the potential customer is directed to their website. Bids are placed on specific keywords in order for the ads to appear on results pages, hence the success of a PPC ad campaign depends on bidding on the right keywords. One of the biggest benefits of a PPC ad campaign is that if done correctly, it can allow for near immediate online exposure.


SEO vs PPC Advertising



SEO (organic results) and PPC (sponsored links) as seen in a Google search for Luxury Watches (keyword)



Social Media & Content Marketing   »