what is online marketing

Internet marketing, or online marketing, refers to advertising and marketing efforts that use the Web and e-mail to drive direct sales via e-commerce as well as sales leads from Web sites or emails. Internet marketing and online advertising efforts are typically used in conjunction with traditional types of advertising like radio, television, newspapers and magazines.
Internet marketing can also be broken down into more specialized areas such as Web marketing, email marketing and social media marketing:

• Web marketing includes e-commerce Web sites, affiliate marketing Web sites, promotional or informative Web sites, online advertising on search engines, and organic search engine results via search engine optimization (SEO)
• Email marketing involves both advertising and promotional marketing efforts via e-mail messages to current and prospective customers
• Social media marketing involves both advertising and marketing (including viral marketing) efforts via social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Digg 
• Definition: Online Marketing is the art and science of selling products and/or services over digital networks, such as the Internet and cellular phone networks.
  The art of online marketing involves finding the right online marketing mix of strategies that appeals to your target market and will actually translate into sales.
  The science of online marketing is the research and analysis that goes into both choosing the online marketing strategies to use and measuring the success of those online marketing strategies.
  
  

  Types of online marketing include:

• Ecommerce
• Online Advertising
• Search Engine Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Social Media Marketing
• Article Marketing

And that's definitely just to name a few; more online marketing strategies are being invented all the time.
Online marketing is becoming increasingly important to small businesses of all types. In the past, marketing online was something that local bricks-and-mortar businesses could justifiably ignore. It didn't make sense to waste time and money on online marketing when all your business was local.
Now with increasing local search and people's new habit of searching on the Internet first, it matters. I would go so far as to say that all businesses should include some online marketing in their marketing mix.
If you're interested in online marketing, Online Marketing: Basic Strategies Any Business Can Use provides an overview of six of the most common online marketing strategies.

Also Known As: Internet marketing, marketing online.

Common Misspellings: Oline marketing, online markiting.

Examples:

Margaret was surprised to find that so many of her customers found her Sewgood Sewing Services store through searching on the Internet.

More Business Terms Glossary

• Email Marketing
• Social Media Marketing
• See All Business Terms

More on Online Marketing

• Online Marketing: Basic Strategies Any Business Can Use
• A 5 Step Online Marketing Plan
• How to Promote Your Business on Twitter

Additional Resources

• Internet Marketing
• Marketing
• Online Business

Related Articles

• Top Internet Marketing Strategies for the Small Business
• Top 10 Internet Marketing Strategies
• Online Marketing A Necessity Not Just An Option
• Top 10 Internet Marketing Strategies
• Internet Marketing Definition - Internet Marketing

• 
   

  Online Marketing

  Definition - What does Online Marketing mean?

  Online marketing refers to a set of powerful tools and methodologies used for promoting products and services through the Internet.
  
  Online marketing includes a wider range of marketing elements than traditional business marketing due to the extra channels and marketing mechanisms available on the Internet.
  
  Online marketing can deliver several benefits such as:
  
  

  • Growth in potential
  • Reduced expenses
  • Elegant communications
  • Better control
  • Improved customer service
  • Competitive advantage

  Online marketing is also known as Internet marketing, Web marketing, digital marketing and search engine marketing (SEM).
  

  Techopedia explains Online Marketing

  The broad online marketing spectrum varies according to business requirements. Effective online marketing programs leverage consumer data and customer relationship management systems.
  
  Online marketing connects organizations with qualified potential customers and takes business development to a much higher level than traditional marketing/advertising.
  
  Online marketing synergistically combines the Internet's creative and technical tools, including design, development, sales and advertising, while focusing on the following primary business models:
  
  
• E-commerce
• Lead-based websites
• Affiliate marketing
• Local search

Online marketing has several advantages, including:

• Low costs: Large audiences are reachable at a fraction of traditional advertising budgets, allowing businesses to create appealing consumer ads.
• Flexibility and convenience: Consumers may research and purchase products and services at their leisure.
• Analytics: Efficient statistical results are facilitated without extra costs.
• Multiple options: Advertising tools include pay-per-click advertising, email marketing and local search integration (like Google Maps).
• Demographic targeting: Consumers can be demographically targeted much more effectively in an online rather than an offline process.

The main limitation of online marketing is where goods are being sold, the lack of tangibility means that consumers are unable to try out, or try on items they might wish to purchase. Generous return policies are the main way to circumvent such buyer apprehension.

Online marketing has outsold traditional advertising in recent years and continues to be a high-growth industry.