Internet Marketing and Beginner's Guide to PPC Advertising
By: James A. Warholic
Marketing basics: Involves the process of promoting goods or services, with the objective of placing sellers in touch with buyers or facilitating the exchange of ideas. Advertising and sales are different components of marketing.
The Technical Tools
The Internet
A virtual world. It is not something that can be held in your hand like a brochure or newspaper. Because of this, I believe a large number of CEOs from small to large Brick-And-Mortar companies have a difficult time with the concept of how to market and advertise on the Net. Most companies have Web sites, but a large percentage are not promoting themselves properly, with the full utilization of the technical tools at their disposal.
The Web site
This is a reflection of the company. How well a company is portrayed online can help or hurt their brand.
Search engines
Where a company comes up in the search engine results page (SERP) can be a huge factor in helping or hurting the bottom-line sales.
Pay-per-Click Advertising (PPC)
I believe this is one area that is still being overlooked by a large percentage of companies. The cost factor for this type of advertising is extremely small in comparison to other types, plus the ROI can be very good. There is research that shows there will be an increase in online spending and a reduction into Network TV ads. ¹"Forty-two percent said they would shift dollars from network TV, with six in 10 targeting cable TV and the Internet."
E-mail marketing
Here is an area that continues to evolve. Email campaigns should be targeted to a select audience. B2B and B2C are different and should be approached with a slightly different tact.
Affiliates, alliances, and strategic partnerships
Do not forget about developing these
three. But, choose carefully and make sure they will complement your
business and not detract from it.
Blog Publishing
Publishing a Blog is a great way to share information with customers about current company news and events. See: Marketing And Advertising. Blogs are easy to create & maintain and can be developed to include great technology content. A customized web blog can be set up for your brand and either hosted separately or on your own server. Additionally, notification alerts and Atom or really simple syndication site feeds can be a strong way of promoting your company online. ProfessionalWebServices. Blogspot.Com, Difference Between B2B B2C, B2B and B2C Marketing Strategies, and Computer Techster. Subscribe to our other Internet marketing XML Feeds.
Each of the tools above can be broken down further into subsets. For example: What type of landing pages are you using when doing PPC advertising or email marketing? Are you even using a proper landing page? Landing pages are links provided from the ad or email link to the web site. It is a good idea to use a page that is key to what is being promoted in the ad or an email campaign. Do not link to the home page and expect a large conversion if your visitors have to wade through a ton of stuff.
With the advent of the Net, companies have the ability to improve their overall brand and market reach. It has been shown that ²18 to 34 year-old users are spending significantly more time online especially as broadband connections have shot up. Given the fact that this group has grown up with the Internet, it would be wise for companies to pay particular close attention to how they can promote themselves and their products better on the Web.
Some of the interesting findings from the research report are, that the 18 to 34 year-old users are interested in, and spend more time on:
- Entertainment sites with interactivity.
- Content sites showed dramatic increases.
- Gaming and sports sites.
- Large increase in news sites.
- Spend more time on business and finance sites.
While these results were a comparison between broadband versus dial-up connections, the report gives indications that BB (broadband) access is moving up especially in this age group. Given these findings, the overall impact and the time spent online of this group is significant and should not be overlooked.
While these results were a comparison between broadband versus dial-up connections, the report gives indications that BB (broadband) access is moving up especially in this age group. Given these findings, the overall impact and the time spent online of this group is significant and should not be overlooked.
I believe this is extremely important from the small to midsize companies to have a good web presence because their brand is not as well known as their larger size counterpart. While the large companies may have an established brand and consumers or businesses are likely to remember their names when shopping online they should not overlook the potential to increase market share with a good web presence and online advertising campaigns.
The most important factor for any B2B, B2C, or C2C business on the Internet is to get found Online. Understand the eBusiness brand factors of what to place on a web page from your unique business brand perspective.
For more information on the overall B2B and B2C Internet marketing picture take a look at the information on our site. Our marketing and advertising resources page has comparisons and helpful links. Our home page gives a very good overview along with another Web page of what is involved in the whole realm of Internet Marketing.
Contact Us Today For Internet Marketing Services, Online Advertising Strategies, and Web Branding Solutions For More B2B or B2C Sales For Your Business.
Technical References
Honesty, Integrity, and Trustworthy
Business Marketing And Advertising Ethics B2B + Ethics Values To Live By On The Net
Honesty
"Honesty the best policy" When dealing with customers and clients, not following this policy comes back to bite people time and time again.
Integrity
Do not be swayed by shortsightedness. If you see a potential for a quick buck, ask yourself if this really is a proper way to go about doing something. Businesses have been guilty of shortsightedness themselves. They have extracted a quick buck at the expensive of their integrity and consumers' wallets.
Trustworthy
Remember, when working with clients, he or she is placing web site trust in you. Hold onto that trust dearly and don't do anything that would harm it. They are trusting you to help them out on the Net. Remember this saying: Tell it like it is and do it with style! Customers will appreciate it. See: Business Ethics
We provide a great Internet solution for companies. Contact Professional Web Services today about Internet marketing services, online advertising strategies, ethical SEO - Search Engine Optimization, and Web branding solutions.
*Note: This site automatically logs the browser's domain name, and IP address. No info is ever released & used strictly for our internal use only. View entire importance of web ethics, & our insurance of online privacy policy.
Advertising And Marketing On The Internet - Honesty by PWEBS's James A. Warholic -- Is your business website information out of date? If so, you may be guilty of false advertising especially when it applies to the consumer market place. Read why, from a B2B and B2C legal standpoint about the importance of having your website up to date.
Your Business Can Become A Bright Internet Star
