Internet Marketing

By Rajitha Dahanayake
Posted Wednesday, September 1, 2004

Internet Marketing is application of Internet and related technologies to achieve the organization's marketing objectives.

Internet Marketing is about….

Internet is a distribution channel. The Internet can be used as a PLACE to promote a product or service, provide information to prospective customers and to reach different geographical regions and niche markets.

CUSTOMER centered marketing is the key for success of any organization. Concentrating on customer needs and wants will help a business to satisfy actually to delight its customers more effectively and efficiently. Building close relationships and retaining existing customers is very important because acquiring a new customer is costly than keeping the existing customer.

Internet marketing is best used in CONJUNCTION with other marketing media. Coordination between online and offline marketing activities is very important.

Internet Marketing Tools

Search Engine Marketing

Search Engine marketing is important because 85% of Internet surfers use search engines to find new websites. Research reports show that the majority of online purchases originate from search engines. Top 5 Search Engines Google, Yahoo, Msn, AOL and Ask Jeeves account for 80% of search engine traffic

E-mail Marketing

E-mail is the most popular online activity. According to the research findings 96% online users use E-mail. E-mail marketing can be used to drive sales, provide customer service and to build close relationships with the customers. E-mail marketing is a cost effective Internet Marketing tool and the results can be easily measured. We can expect a higher response rate around 10 - 15% from an in-house E-mail list. If we are to rent an E-mail list from an outside source the response rates will be around 1 %.

Affiliate Marketing

This is called the revenue sharing business model. Affiliate marketing is one website (An Affiliate) is promoting another website (Merchant) in exchange for a commission. Affiliate marketing is risk free and cost effective advertising because you pay only for performance. Affiliate marketing enables businesses to reach niche markets in a more cost effective manner.

Banner Advertising

Banner advertising was very much popular and click through rates were around 25% when its introduce for the first time in 1994. At present we can't expect a conversion rate above 2 % from a banner advertising campaign (Click through rates 0.5% untargeted banners and for targeted banners between 1-2%). Although the conversion rates are not satisfactory banner advertising still considers as an effective branding tool.

Viral Marketing

This is the "e" term for word of mouth. This medium could be used to spread the word about your business among the target audience. Viral marketing messages receive 5 -15% click through rate. 57% say word of mouth or viral marketing is their main source of information about new websites. Hotmail is one of the first examples of Viral Marketing.

Publicity

Publicity is about creating awareness, building trust and credibility. Online press release distribution plays the main role in this.

About The Author
Rajitha Dahanayake is the Senior eMarketing Analyst of a company engages in providing eMarketing solutions. He has over 3 years experience in Internet Marketing. He is an Associate member of The Chartered Institute of Marketing UK and a professional member of eMarketing Association (eMA) as well as International Internet Marketing Association (IIMA). Rajitha is a Certified eMarketer from eMA and holds the Certified Internet Marketing and Business Strategist (CIMBS) designation from IIMA. rajitha1978@hotmail.com