subject: All About Internet Marketing [print this page] Internet marketing is a varied and multi-faceted mode of business. The process of Internet marketing entails conducting business over the World Wide Web, using the Internet as a medium of communication. It has gained a great deal of popularity since the onset of the widespread recognition of the Internet, with the result that almost all companies are using some form of Internet marketing for the everyday needs of their organizations.
On a broad basis, Internet marketing is roughly divided into three major categories. These are only some of the areas covered by this medium of communication, as it is too vast and varied to be encompassed in any limited number of areas.
The three types of Internet marketing, or as it is also known, iMarketing, are as follows:
-PPC/I (Pay per click/impression)
-SEO or Search Engine Optimization
-SMM or Social Media Marketing
Pay per click/impression or PPC/I is one of the most basic and rudimentary forms of Internet marketing. It often includes advertisements such as banner ads or links which lead to another website. It also consists of pre-planned ad campaigns for different products and brands, targeted to generate leads and publicity for the brand in question.
The second techniques used for Internet marketing is slightly more complex than pay per click/impression, and requires expertise and logic. It is called Search Engine Optimization, and is often known as SEO for short. As the name suggests, it is the process of optimizing keywords, phrases and websites for search engines so that a specific result shows up in the first two or three results. It can also be defined as the process of increasing the visibility of a web page, by using algorithmic techniques which do not require payment. These are known as organic, natural or un-paid methods of generating publicity.
The third technique we will discuss is known as Social Media Marketing, or SMM. It has gained a great deal of popularity with the advent of social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. It basically means conducting the business of Internet marketing on these networking sites, but it requires a different game plan and method in order to make sure that the strategy used succeeds under any set of conditions. It also requires an analyst with a moderate to expert level of understanding of these mediums.
