Internet Marketing scope and why it is flourishing today

If you go by the definition, we can say that the Internet marketing is a process where buyers and sellers meet online. This is the marketing of products and services over the Internet. This kind of marketing is developing by the enhancement in the number of the active Internet users. You would be surprised to know that the number of the Internet users has increased to a great extent. The following data can be of great help to you.

There are currently an estimated 1,319,872,109 Internet users worldwide, according to statistics updated on 31st December 2007 by Internet World Stats. The number represents about 20.0% of the world population. This represents an increase of 265.6% compared to 2000. No other vertical has shown such a huge enhancement in terms of its uses in the recent times. This growth shows a clear picture of the prospects of the Internet marketing.

A question may arise as, to cater to the needs of such a huge customer base what are the tools Internet marketing is using. Any advertising system needs certain tools for brand promotion and brand awareness. Likewise, the Internet marketing has certain tools like search engine marketing, display advertising, e-mail marketing, blog marketing, affiliate marketing etc. Online marketing services educate the companies and websites regarding such advertising tools and how they can use these tools for gaining a great online presence.

Internet marketing is affecting several industries including music, banking, and flea markets. Advertisers are shifting more of their budgets online and it is now overtaking radio and newspaper in terms of market share. According to a study by Morgan Stanley in the U.S. only 4% of the total advertisement expenditure was spent for the Internet marketing in 2001 while in 2006 it is about 8%.

This situation is alarming as Internet ad spends is showing 100% increase in just 5 years. This kind of growth is due to the scope of the Internet marketing. Internet users are utilizing the facility for buying and selling products. They are buying products which may range from consumer goods to consumer loans.

Internet auctions have gained popularity and flea market sellers are putting their items up for sale online. We can say that all kinds of marketing activities are going on over the Internet and this is the right time to gain profit from the Internet marketing.

Author is associated with ePurple Media, an Internet Marketing Company that deals in services like Search Engine Optimisation, Pay Per Click, Web Development, affiliate marketing, email marketing etc, to promote your business online.

Successful Means of Internet Advertising

The Internet is today regarded as the most potent marketing weapon. All sorts of businessmen, big and small, are turning to this medium for higher revenue generation. Given its wide expanse and dominating ubiquity, the World Wide Web is now eating up the biggest portions of advertising budgets worldwide. There are numerous means of advertising on the Web. However, before getting into this field, you have to be very sure that your business is viable for online advertising, and that your prospective customers actually turn to this medium to buy things.

Listed below are a few easy and successful means of advertising your business through the cyber medium:

1. There are scores of websites offering space to classifieds ads, similar to the print advertising model. These ads are a great way of kicking off your ad campaign. Most of these sites offer free space and are extremely easy to start with, so post your ads on as many of them as possible. Even though you might not get as much traffic as you wish, you will be able to get your targeted audience diverted to your site.

2. Work on a comprehensive link exchange programme. When users see your links on other websites, they will be indirectly advertised about your product/service. Getting links on popular, high-traffic sites will stand your campaign in good stead in this highly competitive zone.

3. Use content to advertise your site. Write articles and submit them free of cost to websites and directories, post blogs and participate in online discussions. You can always insert your website's link in between the content, thus promoting your web business.

4. Invest in a Pay per Click campaign to boost your prospects at search engine marketing. It is a very lucrative Internet advertising service and can get you clicks and revenues almost instantly.

5. Create mailing lists with the help of user subscriptions and log files. Send mailers to your potential buyers, informing them about your product or service and updating them about industry news, as per your convenience. When they see your site's name in their email messages, they are most likely to think about it the second time around.

Weigh the pros and cons of the Internet before embarking on the use of this medium. Even though it is quick and inexpensive, its 'virtuality' creates doubts in the minds of uers. This domain is dynamic and expanding like none other. Make use of its expanse to garner profits for your business.

Source: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=727162

eBooks – A Prolific Online Marketing Tool

Reading can give immense pleasure and entertainment. Books, in some form or the other, have been a part of the world's culture from time immemorial, primarily as sources of information and knowledge. Whatever all of us know today is mainly because of our association with books at a young and impressionable age.

In this world of cyber dominance, books are fast losing their value. The present generation is glued to the Internet to satiate its curving for entertainment or fun. It is here that one feels the importance of eBooks. Simply put, eBooks are books that can be read online. Of late, these have become the new mediums of sharing information, ideas and discussing issues.

With the number of web users having grown substantially over the years, eBooks are now being increasingly used for Web marketing purposes. The electronic publishing industry is touted to have a huge stake in this market in the times to come. Online books come with the following benefits:

1) They are very easy to produce – the production cost is extremely affordable because it does not involve a publisher, printing press, paper, ink, or anything else that is needed for a printed publication. You just require the appropriate software to upload a book online.

2) It is quite convenient to update an eBook. You just need to modify the text or graphics on the original one, unlike a general book which would require a second print run to display updates.

3) eBooks are more interactive in comparison to print publications. As a publisher, you can add various fun quotients like surveys, quiz contests, order forms, videos, et al to invite users' comments and viewpoints. You can also direct links from your eBooks to other network sites that are relevant to your subject.

4) Finding an eBook on a particular subject is a simple and easy process. You do not need to stand in queues or scan endless bookshops to get the book of your choice. A popular book site will offer you books pertaining to an extensive range of topics.

5) eBooks have a unique 'shelf life'. You can download a book and save it on your computer's hard disk or a Compact Disc. You can even take print-outs of the same and place it along with other books on your shelves. Therefore, they are permanent in their own way, and thus more viable for your Online Marketing Campaign.

If you have a subject that can be compacted in the form of a book and sold online, go ahead and publish an electronic book on the same. It is sure to bring you web readership and also enhance your website's traffic inflow.

Source: http://www.greatarticles.co.uk/articledetail.php?artid=1003

Influence Influencers to Boost your Web Traffic

In the online world, the only thing that sells is appeal. If your website is appealing and optimised to entice web visitors, you are quite likely to have high sales figures. In the virtual world, product quality and customer satisfaction are elements that come into the picture at a later stage. The primary phase is to get visitors to your site and retain them in order to make a conversion.

Just like Public Relations, website promotion means reaching out to the public with information that is useful for them and relevant to your business. However, the difference lies in establishing trust. In the online marketplace, sellers and their products are neither visible nor tangible, and that is why buyers find it difficult to trust them with their money.

Here lies the role of 'influencers' who are capable of casting an impression on people due to several reasons. These elements can be members of your immediate family, work group, friends, celebrities, etc, or even online platforms (websites, forums and blogs) that are extremely popular.

As a marketer, it is imperative that you appeal to the mindset of the influencers before proceeding on to woo the actual target segment. For this to happen, you first need to identify the personalities that have the ability to charm buyers. The following tips can help you in this regard:

i) As a business owner, you have to be very clear of your target demographic. Even though this seems to be the most obvious thing to do, a good number of businesses actually have no idea about their 'best' customers. Undertake research and even surveys to find out what kind of customers are most likely to make a purchase from you.

ii) After identifying your target audience from amongst thousands of online shoppers, you need to figure out their favoured platforms on the Internet. These people are most likely to be found on online communities and social networks. And if this is not the case, you are simply wasting time and money on online marketing services.

iii) If your prospective customers use the Internet for shopping purposes, the next step here is to identify the influencers. The best way of going about this task is by scanning online forums, blogs and social networking sites where the high and mighty of the WWW come together for knowledge-sharing. Pick and choose the ones that you think can work best for your business.

After the selection is done, contact these influencers in a personalised manner and help them help you. Remember to be in constant touch with them, also ensuring that you follow up if they are actually keeping their promises.

Source: http://www.365articles.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=70133

Internet Marketing Services

Internet marketing has become a sought-after tool for entrepreneurs looking at strengthening their position in the market. A must-try for all kinds of businesses, it has proven to be highly effective, both in terms of costs and results. The number of businesses going online is on a steady rise. The lure of better ROI and brand awareness have increased the demand for this service.

Some of the most important services that form a part of the online marketing business are:

Website Marketing - If you have decided to create a website for your company, it is important that you market it properly. Only when people know about your site will they be interested in visiting it for purchases.

Website Designing – A major portion of online success is determined by your website's appeal. This includes alligning it with multimedia features, choosing the right colour combinations, fonts, and leaving room for customer interface. All these important points go a long way in deciding the conversion rate of your website's traffic. Although you might be able to get diverted traffic from other sites, you can retain them only if you manage to hold their attention through your landing pages.

Search Engine Marketing – The most significant Internet marketing service, SEM deals in optimizing your website in accordance with search engine guidelines. The easiest way of reaching out to a huge audience is through search websites like Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. Web users usually do not care to surf beyond the first 20 listings on a search engine results page (SERP). Thus, to get noticed, you need to ensure that you are one of those 20 listings. Consisting of Search Engine Optimization (unpaid) and Pay per Click advertising (paid), SEM has become one of the sure shot recipes of growth in the online marketplace.

Result Tracking – Just like all other forms of advertising, Internet Marketing also demands constant monitoring. As an entrepreneur, you need to keep a track on the results borne by your campaigns. The Internet is an evolving sphere, with new concepts being introduced almost everyday. Therefore, it is necessary that you keep updating your knowledge base and make alterations when required.

The choice of Internet marketing services lies with you. Experts insist that a fair balance in all the aforementioned means can guarantee success. Hence, try and incorporate these aspects in your online business to make a difference.

Source: http://www.acmearticles.com/Article/Internet-Marketing-Services/44495

The Effect of Consumer Multitasking on Internet Marketing

There are a variety of people who visit the World Wide Web for varied purposes. Some look for information for academic purposes and some for commercial or business purposes. Cashing in on the second group of people, the e commerce industry and Internet marketing solutions have become extremely popular. It has become almost a necessity to take up Internet marketing services in order to get noticed and beat competition in the e commerce industry.

The main aim of Internet marketing solutions and services is to catch the customer's eye so that he buys the websites products and services. But, people planning and implementing the advertising campaigns have to bear in mind that the attention span of netizens is very short. They indulge in what is called 'media multitasking'. This means that they do not concentrate on only one task at a time, but try to do many tasks together.

This phenomenon can be attributed to the influx of digital media and technology into the everyday lives of consumers. According to data available on the Internet, consumers multitask around 25 to 30 percent of the time while surfing on the Internet. These tasks may include, watching television, talking on the phone or listening to music. Hence, consumers are distracted when they are viewing online advertisements and promotional campaigns on the Internet.

This factor that the consumer might be distracted due to multitasking must be kept in mind while conceptualising a campaign for an online product or service. Consumer distraction between the various media must be taken into consideration while putting together Internet marketing solutions. This distraction element can also be advantageous to the advertisers. They can find out which media is the most that leads to distraction and plan for accordingly for media allocations in the campaign.

The flip side of this finding is that Internet marketing solutions providers and advertisers will have to work doubly hard to increase the attention span of the consumer when he is online and find means of reducing distraction. They can probably make their campaigns more interactive and provide exciting discounts and packages that will attract the customer, or they can reduce the duration of their advertisements and campaigns to fit into the attention span of the consumer.

Source: http://www.ideamarketers.com/library/article.cfm?articleid=245350

Writing the Content of the Website

The importance of content is evident, more so these days when there are a number of similar sites espousing or promoting similar themes. It is the content that helps in differentiating among these similar websites. Content is the tool that adds value to a web page and helps it in surviving competition.

Content that is unique, fresh, informative and relevant adds life to a website. No amount of graphics, images, animation, designing and layout can replace the importance of the content. Content, properly written, is also an excellent search engine optimization tool if interspersed with proper keywords. Hence content not only adds value to a web page but also affects its ranking on the search engine. Search engines are always on the look out for content that is rich and different, along with gelling with the basic theme of the web page.

Good and proper content can bolster website promotion tremendously. Content writing and development is not just about writing one's thoughts on the Internet randomly. Instead online content should be organised and systematic in order to attract traffic and appear on the SERP (Search Engine Results Page). The language should be flowing and easy to understand, and should have the ability to hold the reader's attention. At the same time, the underlying concept of online content is to advertise and promote the web page, hence the use of appropriate keywords. The content should also be able to aptly describe the product or service that the website is dealing in. It must make sure that the visitor is prompted to buy the products or service being offered.

In order to achieve all the above objectives, websites need to adopt a proper plan for content development. The most important part of this plan is to determine what all content needs to appear on the website. One thing that needs to be kept in mind is that the content on different pages of a website must not get repetitive. Planning is also necessary for website content development to ensure that the content does not get waylaid from the main theme of the website. Constant updation and additions to the content are also essential to provide a dynamic look to the content.

Content development is not as easy as it sounds. It requires a lot of innovation, planning and creativity. Incorrect and unplanned content can have negative and long term repercussions on the website's business and reputation.

Source: http://www.amazines.com/article_detail.cfm/312062?articleid=312062