|
What Is Internet Marketing?
Internet Marketing is the art of connecting with your audience on the Internet by providing them with a compelling reason to visit your website and then providing them with compelling reasons to stay.
It involves a range of approaches including having a website, pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization, social network marketing, online contests, wikis, blogs, podcasts and many other strategies.
Whether you're selling something, providing information, or looking for resources, Internet marketing can help you connect with the people you want to reach.
OK, you say, but why should I think this isn't just another ploy to get me to spend money?
Well, first of all, we're not here to try to sell you search engine optimization, or pay-per-click, or newsletter services, or whatever. This site is here to provide information, and it really doesn't matter to us if you want to use someone's services in those regards.
And the fact is, the world is more and more shifting toward the Internet and online marketing. Here are some examples:
According to the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization, advertisers in the U.S. and Canada spent $5.75 billion on Search Engine Marketing (SEM) in 2005, a 44 percent increase over 2004 spending.
A comprehensive study conducted by Forrester Research on behalf of American Business Media found that
B-to-B marketers have shifted nearly a quarter of their budgets to digital media.
The amount of money spent on b-to-b online revenue is expected to grow an additional 20% to 22% in 2006.
Online ad spending will reach $18.9 billion by 2010, according to a forecast by Jupiter Research
What does this mean for you?
For the first time in history, small businesses have the capability to reach local, regional, national, and worldwide markets while staying within an affordable budget. The Internet has done a lot to level the playing field, letting small businesses compete with much larger companies.
• A recent study commissioned by Yahoo! Small Business discovered that about three-fourths of US adults believe that the Internet has made it easier to start a small business.
Why?
- Easy access
- Inexpensive cost of entry
- A "safe" environment for prospects and visitors
- Sheer numbers of prospects:
According to a May 24, 2006 study by Harris Interactive,
- 77% of American adults now go online,
- 70% of American adults go online at home,
- 61% of these Americans have a college education, and
- 86% of them make more than $25,000 per year.
According to the Forrester Research study, 34.4% of business marketers' advertising budgets was spent on online marketing in 2005.
According to TNS Media Intelligence, Internet advertising growth (excluding paid advertising) for 2006 is expected to be the second-fastest growing segment of the market, lagging only Hispanic Network Television.
Clearly, there are some powerful reasons to seriously consider Internet Marketing.
|
|
