Internet marketing

Internet marketing, Internet marketing, but also e-marketing or online marketing. All these terms refer to a set of methods aimed at promoting sales via the Internet.

The aim of marketing in general is to reach the target group, in the right place and at the right time.

With more than 4.8 billion people using the internet today, online marketing is one of the easiest and most accessible ways to reach potential customers - because they are very likely to be in the digital space.

So far everything is clear, but what exactly does it mean when the adjective "internet" is attached to the word marketing?

What exactly is internet marketing?

Internet marketing refers to the promotion of a company and its products or services through a wide range of online tools that generate leads, increase traffic and lead to better sales.

Internet marketing relies exclusively on digital channels to disseminate promotional messages. There are many strategies available, and the right online marketing specialist can help you choose the optimal one.

All possible internet marketing methods - from newsletters, to search engine optimization, to social media posts, to expert blog articles - have a common key element: they all convey a message.

Internet marketing today is about content

With the advent of content marketing, there have been big changes. Those there are times when sales pitch and traditional marketing disciplines were the best hope. Now, businesses can target their audience very precisely and provide highly useful information that doesn't go unanswered. Which is ideal, because that's exactly what today's consumers demand. People no longer want to hear about products and services that don't interest them. Today's customers are much more discerning and sensitive to the information they are willing to consume. They fight aggressive ads tooth and nail - from installing ad blockers to vehemently clicking "Skip Ads" buttons.

Content marketing delivers meaningful information that solves user problems and is available based on consumer demand.

Internet marketing objectives

We have indicated that internet marketing helps to promote sales. However, individual campaigns can also be directed towards branding or building customer relationships. The objectives of digital marketing are therefore always based on the business strategy of the company and its current needs.

How to learn internet marketing?

If you want to get started with online marketing, you can sign up for one of the many courses, or search for information in professional publications and on the websites of marketing specialists who willingly share some of their know-how in blog posts.

Keep in mind that getting to grips with internet marketing is not a matter of an afternoon. Real experts gather knowledge and experience for years. If you're interested in a career as a marketer, working at an established agency can significantly speed up your start.

Types of internet marketing

There are many ways to implement internet marketing. The methods often build on each other or overlap and complement each other. It is therefore not easy to clearly define categories. In terms of the method of outreach, we talk about outbound marketing and inbound marketing.

While the mainstay of outbound marketing is to reach potential clients directly (e.g. through e-mailing), inbound marketing relies on methods that lead to customers finding the goods or services themselves (e.g. through PR articles in magazines).

PPC advertising

The basic strategies of internet marketing include PPC (pay per click) advertising, for which the advertiser pays only when the user clicks on a paid link.

PPC advertising can be placed in a search or content network. The difference is that while ads in the search network are seen by users in the search results (i.e. as an answer and a specific query) and can therefore be targeted very precisely, ads in the content network take the form of banners (usually combining graphics with text) and targeting is possible e.g. as part of remarketing.

In order for a PPC campaign to be truly effective, it is important not to underestimate the quality of the texts (you can invite an experienced copywriter to help you) and graphics. A good keyword analysis is essential to ensure that your ads only appear for relevant queries.

SEO

Another pillar of internet marketing is search engine optimization, or SEO. It is a set of activities (optimization procedures) based on which a search engine ranks a website in searchable positions in search results.

The basic pillars of SEO include keyword analysis (the most relevant keywords must appear in the textual content of a given page), elimination of potential technical problems hindering indexing (so-called technical SEO), creation of a proper site structure, meaningful internal linking, tuning (optimization) of landing pages and linkbuilding (systematic creation of backlinks).

The advantage of SEO is the fact that a well-optimized website brings relevant traffic in the long term. You don't pay per click, traffic comes from the so-called organic results. Nevertheless, it is important to follow trends and respond flexibly to new search engine requirements.

At the same time, it is good to know that backlinks (links pointing to the web from other sites) play an important role nowadays. Backlinks increase the authority of a website from the point of view of search engine algorithms, and can also serve as an interesting source of traffic.

Social media marketing

Internet marketing could not do without social media activities. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, but also smaller, more narrowly profiled social networks can be used to promote services and products, to strengthen the brand and, last but not least, to interact with customers.

There are a number of ways to incorporate social networks into the marketing mix. The simplest ways include publishing relevant content with valuable information on a regular basis. The person in charge of social media marketing should communicate with the audience in a sensitive way and in the "right language".

E-mailing

While emailing customers has not been written about as often as more modern forms of internet marketing, it is still one of the main pillars of inbound marketing.

Newsletters (emails with promotional messages targeted to subscribers) remain the core tool of email marketing, while other types of emails include promotional emails, transactional emails and various special offers.

Email marketing allows you to communicate important information and promote new services or products with low cost and precise targeting.

Other types of internet marketing

In addition to the above areas, there are other ways to promote sales via the internet. For example, it is worth mentioning so-called web marketing, which is a set of methods to increase conversion on the website itself (usually this involves adjustments in line with UX and UI design).

A specific area of internet marketing is affiliate (commission) marketing, which consists of cooperation with merchants. They earn a commission for the customers they bring in or the conversions they make.