Internet Marketing: The Basics, With Top Services and Strategies

The right internet marketing strategy can help you reach your target audience and gain traction in your industry. Additional reasons every business should create a winning internet marketing strategy include attracting new customers or leads and creating positive customer impressions. 

This article covers ideas for incorporating best practices in your internet marketing plan and gaining relevance in a highly competitive digital world. Click on any of the links below to find more information.

• What is internet marketing?
• Internet marketing vs. other types of marketing 
• Main reasons to apply internet marketing
• Types of internet marketing strategies
• Types of content for internet marketing

What is internet marketing?

Sometimes referred to as digital marketing, web advertising, or online marketing, internet marketing is a broad term that covers all aspects of online brand promotion. 

Internet marketing differs from other types of marketing techniques by including well-planned communication on digital channels, such as social media, websites, and email.

The primary purpose of internet marketing is to engage and influence your customers’ purchase decisions, but it may also be used to convey certain messages to consumers and establish your brand as an industry leader with informative content.

Internet marketing vs. other types of marketing

While traditional marketing techniques still matter—as we see with billboard, TV, and radio ads—most consumers are online, so it’s important to meet them where they are. So, companies typically use internet marketing if they’re looking to interact with audiences through digital media. It’s also ideal if your business is looking to target specific groups of people and have access to detailed analytics.

On the other hand, if your business is looking to reach a more local audience and ensure your products or services get in front of as many people as possible, traditional marketing can be better.

Internet marketing encompasses many types of paid and organic marketing tactics (generating traffic in a natural way), including email marketing, PPC ads, and blog content. Each targets consumers where they are. For instance, email marketing allows delivery of the latest news or product launch to customers’ inboxes. For a fee, PPC ads can put company placement in front of fresh eyes. Blogging about customer needs and interests may show your knowledge and commitment to solving problems. 

Digital marketing brings brand awareness to the consumer’s fingertips. Through relevant content creation in the scope of emails, PPC ads, and sharing relevant information, your business can boost its marketing efforts, build brand awareness, enhance user experience, and earn consumer trust.

Main reasons to apply internet marketing

You’ve learned the differences between internet marketing and other types of marketing, but why should you use internet marketing? Advantages of using internet marketing include:

Attracting new consumers

With such a high number of shoppers online, internet marketing strategies can help build brand awareness and generate new leads for your business. 

Content marketing strategies, such as blogging, email marketing campaigns, and social media—combined with paid advertising—extend your reach to the right people and get recognition for your brand.

Increasing brand loyalty

Online marketing may help potential customers see your business as an industry expert and add a human element to your brand. Consumers want to align themselves with authoritative brands that share the same values and mission. 

You can increase loyalty with your brand when you engage customers on social media and share news and information they want through your website blog or email newsletter. For instance, providing reminders about upcoming events or offering a special code for a customer’s birthday might be welcome. 

When you let your customers know you’re thinking of them and appreciate their business, they’re more likely to become loyal.

Reaching a global audience

Unlike some traditional marketing techniques (e.g., physical flyers or posters), internet marketing allows you to create global awareness of your brand from the comfort of your location. At one time you might have had to attract customers who lived physically close to your storefront, but now you are able to share information about your products and services online and people from all over the world can immediately purchase from you.

Targeting customers with accuracy

Internet marketing lets you gain insight into real-time consumer activity. Unlike traditional marketing techniques, you are able to see the effects of your marketing efforts instantly through customer comments and likes on social media, for example, or by the number of clicks on PPC ads. 

You can target customers who meet certain criteria—ensuring you reach the people who are actually interested in your products or services.

Tracking and measuring results to prove ROI more easily

Digital marketing metrics allow you to track, measure, and make adjustments to your marketing strategy. This is likely to help you understand what is or isn’t working with your customers so you can adjust your strategy accordingly. It can also help you make informed decisions on how your marketing dollars are best spent.

Personalizing the customer experience

How you interact with your customers can differentiate your brand from competitors and enhance user experience. 

Make your online activity like that of a good friend. Follow comments on social media and comment in return. You can also add live chat or chatbots and offer personalized suggestions based on customer purchasing decisions on your site.

Taking advantage of automation

Cost-saving automation tools are able to handle multiple marketing channels and repetitive tasks, thereby enhancing productivity. 

Ways to add automation include using welcome emails, customer quizzes, or email reminders about items left in a visitor’s cart.

Types of internet marketing strategies

Succeeding at internet marketing requires having effective strategies. This section reveals internet marketing strategies to consider for your business.

Have an internet marketing idea but not sure where to start? Project Catalog™ gives you access to ready-made projects built by experts so you can get your internet marketing initiatives off the ground right away and start seeing the benefits.

Optimize your website for search engines (SEO)

Get more traffic via search engine optimization by improving your website. To raise your ranking on the search engine results pages (SERPs), consider creating keyword-rich content that relates to your brand and the needs of your customers. Think about incorporating keywords in a variety of places, such as the URL, meta description, image text, headers, body text, and even the navigation bar. However, avoid overstuffing content with keywords. Make sure to simply sprinkle them organically throughout to sound natural. 

Search engines (and people!) appreciate a well-designed website, too. Make yours easy to use and incorporate the design elements of typography, color, and balance to create a visually pleasing experience. 

With over 400 million mobile phone subscriptions in the United States, you should try to adopt a mobile-first approach (i.e., designing a website for small screens before designing for tablets and computers). Google uses mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal on mobile searches, so this is another great way to optimize your website for search engines.

Use email marketing

Stay in touch with current or potential customers with email marketing. Using email marketing is a way to deliver a gentle reminder about your products or services right to the customer’s inbox. 

Much like direct mail, email marketing helps your business share new product releases, sales, promotions, or engaging content that establishes your brand as an industry leader. You can easily build an email list with website action buttons that encourage visitors to sign up for news and updates.

Publish a blog

Blogging can help boost your brand’s online presence because it allows you to post topics that interest your target audience. Researching keywords around customer pain points and industry-specific terms might improve your search engine ranking and help customers find your website. 

To reach more people and become a thought leader, share blogs written by other businesses or experts or link to authoritative sites. Sharing valuable information from other sources often adds credibility and builds trust with the audience.

Use PPC advertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising may help your business attract customers on search engines and various social media platforms. With this model, your brand pays when users click the ad link. Fees for these ads generally depend on the number of impressions (how often the ad appears), views (how long the visitor views the ad), or actions (how the viewer interacts with the ad). 

These types of online ads are often visible at the top or on the sidebars of SERPs, websites, and social media sites. Since these ads can be used to target your specific consumer segments through their online behavior, they may add value to your online marketing strategy.

Invest in CRO

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) can enhance the follow-through of an action, such as joining an email list, subscribing to a newsletter, and even just clicking around and browsing a site. When leads spend time on your site, they have a good chance of converting to real customers. 

Businesses take advantage of CRO and reap the benefits of conversions in several ways, including data-driven decision-making, increased lead generation, and improved search engine ranking.

Post on social media

Social media marketing is a must for today’s businesses. With so many eyes on social media, businesses that mistakenly overlook this strategy risk losing their target consumers. 

Using social media can be time well spent for your business—helping you build brand awareness, drive website traffic, and create a meaningful relationship with your target audience. This connection brings to the digital space a human element that consumers and influencers want from a brand. 

When posting content on social media, choose platforms where your customers are likely visiting regularly, such as Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, and learn their demographics. Engage users with a variety of content and include photographs or other visuals, testimonials, blog posts, and recorded or live-stream videos.

Types of content for internet marketing

Content is most valuable in attracting customers. Numerous content types are useful for internet marketing. They include:

Videos

Video marketing can be effective for gaining relevance with your target audience—allowing you to engage viewers in an entertaining way and build brand trust and loyalty. Additionally, this approach requires only a small investment of time from visitors and is easily shared across audiences. 

Video shorts are a great way to introduce your brand while keeping the average attention span in mind. You can also share longer-form videos that explain your products or services. For instance, a photo editing software company might create an explainer video showing how to use their program to edit photos, or a digital marketing firm might record a weekly short clip with a marketing tip. 

If you’re interested in creating live-action explainer videos that can keep your audience’s attention, look no further than Project Catalog™.

Podcasts

Reach busy customers via podcasts designed with their needs and interests in mind. Using a podcast, large and small businesses discuss industry topics that matter to their target markets. This adds a human element to your brand since they will hear your voice or that of a team member.  Invited guest speakers may also add authority to your brand. 

Because of their flexibility, podcasts make a great addition to your marketing strategy. From the podcast platform, you can link your business website, share episodes to your social networks, or post transcripts. Topics to consider might include interviews, how-to instructions, or a day in the life of someone in your industry.

Do you have a topic that you just can’t wait for others to hear? Project Catalog™ can put you in touch with professionals who have the skills to create a compelling podcast for your audience.

Blog posts

Use blog posts to share useful information for consumers. You can do this by talking about topics that matter most to them, providing links that back up claims, and practicing originality. 

For an even bigger impact, consider a variety of blog content. Long-form blogs typically run between 1,000 and 2,000 words, allowing you to go into greater detail about your products or services. If you’re giving step-by-step directions on using a product, you might include short text and infographics that help visitors easily scan for information. Finally, to show your expertise, some of your blog posts might focus on industry news and trends. 

To expand your reach, you need well-researched and planned blog posts. That’s where Project Catalog™ comes in — helping you find experienced blog writers with the skills you need.

Infographics

Enhance user experience and attract new customers with effective infographics. This powerful communication tool adds visual attractiveness to a website, grabs visitor attention, and breaks down complex information into something more digestible. 

Any time you see a pie chart, timeline, or comparison graph, you’re seeing an infographic. For example, your business might use an infographic to show statistics or a process of steps. 

Who doesn’t love an infographic? Keep your audience engaged with the help of a talented designer who can create infographics for your site. Check it out on Project Catalog™.

Case studies

A majority of consumers perform research online before making a purchasing decision. Case studies provide in-depth information on how a business’s product or service has helped customers and may encourage them to purchase a product or service from their brand. 

Add a case study section on your business website or purchase a case study template that is easily modified for email or website downloads. Case studies are an excellent tool for demonstrating product excellence to consumers. They may include a growth plan strategy, market entry or merger, or new product or project. 

Become a business that customers can trust with high-quality case studies. Project Catalog™ can connect you with professional writers who can share your product’s or service’s success.

Social media

Using social media is often a cost-effective strategy for online advertising. For little to no upfront cost, you can help improve engagement and boost brand awareness by meeting new and current customers where they already are. 

Depending on the platform, you’ll want to adjust your marketing approach accordingly. For example, your brand might have a more casual and informal tone on Facebook or Instagram but a more professional persona on LinkedIn.

Your business can engage social media users and attract new customers through relevant posts, games, contests, and personalized responses in the comments section. 

You’ve probably got a lot of things going on. Let a social media manager handle your accounts for you with Project Catalog™.

Email newsletter

Stay in touch with your customers with timely email newsletters. Over time, you can measure user activity and generate segmented campaigns aligned with their online behaviors and interests. 

Segmented campaigns are used to deliver a personalized approach. Some popular segmentation models include psychographics (like personality, interests, and options) and demographics (such as gender, age, and income). 

Email newsletters can help build brand awareness, drive website traffic, and build relationships with customers. Some examples of email marketing include a welcome note, a promotional discount for signing up, and a gesture of thanks for making a purchase.

Lead generation

Internet marketing helps generate traffic and convert leads into paying customers. Organic strategies—for example,  blogs, social media posts, and email marketing—can drive consumer purchasing decisions and lead to desired actions, such as making a purchase. 

Businesses typically follow a four-step process for lead generation: attract, convert, close, and reengage. You can attract leads when you offer solutions for their pain points. To convert leads to potential customers, you might provide an action to get their email or other contact information. You can then close the deal by convincing them that your product or service is superior to others. 

However, remember to keep in touch and reengage. For example, you might offer excellent customer service or send a thank-you note.

Websites

A professional business website lets customers find you. This is often the first introduction. To make the best impression, create an easy-to-navigate, well-organized, and visually appealing website. Apply this strategy to e-commerce sites, as well, to enhance the shopping experience. 

Well-designed websites follow effective elements of design and encourage user interaction. This may help reduce bounce rates (only one-page views) and improve search engine optimization (SEO). Some ways to help keep visitors on your site include improving site speed, having videos and high-quality images, and showing credibility with testimonials and awards. 

Have a vision for your website but not sure how to implement it? Project Catalog™ has the professional website developers and designers you need to help your business.

Landing pages

Online businesses often attract new customers with their landing pages. If you’re not familiar with the term, a landing page is the page where the customer arrives after clicking a link or ad. It provides specific information targeted to the user’s search and provides a call to action (CTA). 

Landing pages can help boost your search engine ranking and target a specific service or product that you provide. Effective landing pages start off strong with an attention-grabbing headline followed by subheadings, text, visual elements, and a CTA. 

You want your landing pages to look their best. Get strategic landing pages for your site by browsing Project Catalog™.

Webinars

Like traditional advertising seminars, webinars involve a host and participants, but the webinar is conducted using video conferencing software. Because people attend webinars from around the globe, businesses can increase brand awareness geographically and generate more leads. 

A variety of industries use webinars to engage and inform their target audience. All you need is a webinar software platform, such as Zoom, a reliable internet connection, a camera and microphone, and a compelling presentation. 

Webinar topics vary widely. Some you might try include demonstrating products or new features or sharing tips that help people improve their skills.

Search engine optimisation (SEO)

Search engine optimization (SEO) also generates traffic and leads. Because it doesn’t deliver immediate results, it’s more of a long-term strategy when compared to paid advertising. 

As an organic approach, SEO can improve a site with original, high-quality content with specific keywords and backlinks. With high-ranking keywords, a website may move to the top of the SERPs. For example, you might include long-tail keywords, a compelling title tag, and a meta description on your website and pick up authoritative backlinks elsewhere. 

SEO may sometimes seem like a foreign language. For help navigating the jargon and process, find professional SEO services through Project Catalog™.

Paid advertising

Businesses often purchase social media ads or online advertising spots, such as banners on websites or in specific emails. These may show up as display ads geared toward specific demographics or interests or appear on the SERPs.

Paid advertising sometimes generates traffic and converts leads more quickly than an organic SEO approach. Popular paid advertising platforms include Google AdWords, Instagram Ads, and Twitter Ads. PPC is an example of paid advertising.

Pay-per-click (PPC)

The pay-per-click (PPC) online advertising model charges a fee per click. Several online platforms provide PPC for businesses. They include Google Adwords, Facebook Ads, and LinkedIn Ads. Businesses choose their advertising budget, and the campaign ends once user clicks deplete the allocated funds. 

New businesses often benefit from PPC because it draws a lot of attention and gets many visitors to their sites right away. Businesses with smaller budgets may struggle to maintain this in the long term, but using PPC often provides a short-term boost.

Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing divides marketing tasks across a partnership of players. Affiliates, also known as publishers, market a brand across a network in exchange for a reward. 

Affiliate marketing eases some of the burdens of internet marketing since the third-party person takes on the duty of promoting your brand. You may notice this type of marketing on blogs that promote specific products and include purchase links. Any time a purchase is made from the product review, the blogger receives a commission.

Start developing your internet marketing strategy

A lot of thought should be put behind your internet marketing strategy. As a small business owner, however, you probably have many other things to worry about. The good news is that you can hire an independent professional to develop a comprehensive digital marketing strategy for your business. While you focus on other aspects of your business, let a freelancer draft a plan for promoting your brand the right way. 

Find talented internet marketers on the Upwork platform and give your business the online boost it needs to succeed.