Question: What is internet marketing and how can it benefit businesses?
Answer: Internet marketing is a broad term that encompasses various online strategies to promote businesses, increase brand awareness, and drive customer engagement and sales.
Internet Marketing Your Way To The Top
The first step in internet marketing is your website. Before you begin implementing any new strategy or campaign, you must first be sure that your website is up to par.
You need to have a checklist available in order to identify any problem areas:
- UI – Is your user interface easy to use?
- Navigation – Is your website easy to navigate?
- SEO – Is your website optimized for search engines?
- CRO – Is your website optimized for conversions?
- Speed – Does your website load fast?
- Content – Is your web content expertly written?
- Errors – Is your web content error-free?
- CTAs – Are you employing clear and viable calls to action?
The answer must be a resounding YES to every one of these questions. Otherwise, any internet marketing endeavour will ultimately be met with failure. Why? This is because the goal of internet marketing is to bring visitors to your website. Once they get there, it’s up to your website to convert them to customers. If your website has failed to meet any of the above criteria, your website will fail to convert your new site visitors. Once you established that your website is ready to convert, you are ready to embark on effective internet marketing solutions for your business. Below are some of the most used internet marketing strategies that are easy to use and ready to begin immediately once your website is ready to receive visitors.
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SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) should be your first step toward a full internet marketing plan. Optimizing your website’s content will allow your website to be associated with keywords which target your particular industry. If your SEO is handled properly, your website will soon begin to rank high on search engine platforms. These are considered to be organic search results.
SEM
Search engine marketing (SEM) is another route you can take simultaneously while employing your SEO strategy. Search engine marketing is when a vendor, such as Google AdWords or Bing Ads, places your ad, which promotes your website, on search results pages for your target keywords. However, the difference is that this is a paid strategy. Each time a searcher clicks on your ad, they are taken immediately to your website. These are considered to be paid search results. Both SEO and SEM are effective and should work in tandem to collect the highest amount of search traffic possible.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is still as the efficient marketing tool today as it was 5 years ago. Email marketing has recently experienced a rise in click-throughs as of late, resulting in greater profits for those who use it as a marketing tool. You have direct communication with your lead, which gives you an immediate upper hand in any event. With proper links and CTAs, your email marketing strategy will see your site visitors – and your conversions increase.
Lead Generation
Using lead generators will also help you to gain a quick uptick in site visitors, and it also offers you a means to market those visitors who have not followed through with a sale. Using tools such as door mats or pop-ups that request that the visitor provides their email address in exchange for 1) a free gift, 2) an educational download, 3) a free sample, 4) and opt in, or 5) a subscription to a blog or other media updates.
