I have been asked this question several times from the newbees, techies, web designers and those who have seldom idea what Digital or Online marketing is all about. So have put up some ‘very’ basic points. These are just on an intro basis and will discuss more later on in depth.
Online Marketing refers to the use of the internet as a medium of marketing. Ever since the Internet came to being in the early 90s, online marketing gradually began to emerge and has now become prevalent today. The World Wide Web now serves as a veritable tool for reaching out to the global market. The efficiency of the internet however depends on the marketing strategy used.
An effective strategy is one that gives more profitable returns on investment by increasing sales. There are lots of strategies used to increase the exposure of a product or service, by increasing traffic to your site. However, traffic without sales or conversion is useless. Therefore, there is a need to combine strategies to maintain traffic and also convert visitors to actual customers.
Strategies for Promotion on the Internet:
Organized Website:
Your website is the basis for online marketing. A website needs to be informative and well organized. It is imperative to choose a suitable domain name, as this will serve as the identity for your website. A domain name should be easy to remember and short in length. It should also reflect the product or service you intend to sell.
Search Engine Optimization:
This involves optimizing your website to increase traffic through improving its ranking in a search engine’s result. Website traffic can be improved by providing suitable content, using keywords with high search volumes and by using back links to relevant websites. Adequate HTML coding will also help in this direction.
The Social Media has become a very popular means for marketing, as people of any age bracket can be reached through these sites. The social media which was restricted to university students at the initial stage, is now being used all members of the public and age groups as a tool for interaction, and for sharing opinions and views. Information about your product can be provided through, blogs, articles and advertisement to reach millions of people through the social media.
Banner Advertising:
Banner Advertising is also effective in online advertising. Search engines can display your banner each time a particular keyword is entered. The banner which is made attractive with images will be displayed at the top of the web page to attract the attention of potential clients.
Article Posting:
You need to constantly post informative articles to present yourself as an authority in your field. Your audience should be put into consideration when writing content for your website. Emphasis should not be placed on profit alone. Always provide value to visitors to your site. Add links to relevant web pages to improve on your articles.
There are many areas not touched in this article which are also important. Advice to the new learner – Keep reading and don’t stop experimenting.
