Internet marketing is fast becoming the preferred method to gain new customers and create brand recognition for a company, no matter how small or large the business. The new generation of businesses realise the importance of internet, not only to promote and market the company but also to make the brand visible and known to others.

In the business climate of today, it is essential for a company to take internet marketing seriously. Almost every company has a website today. However a professional company website is far from ensuring the website is able to generate new leads and customers on a regular basis. The competition to ensure a company’s website is indexed favourably by search engines and appears high on search results, has increased manifold with time. Nevertheless the rewards of a successful internet marketing strategy are priceless and can have a positive impact on growth and profits of the business.

Internet marketing is the fastest growing advertising method. An increasing number of businesses are using the internet to raise the profile of their company and promote its services.

Internet marketing has traditionally involved implementing a number of techniques that improve a website’s rank on search engines like Google and as a result drive targeted traffic to the website. Today, Internet marketing has evolved due to technological advancements and changing trends in consumer behaviour. Today almost half the world’s population has access to internet. Internet users today are not restricted to search engines like Google or Yahoo to find the information they are looking for. Today we use a number of mediums including social networking websites like My Space or Twitter to research information. As a result, an effective internet marketing strategy today focuses increasingly on social media websites to complement search engine rankings. Search engines especially Google still continue to command the largest share of total internet traffic. Search engines still form the key focus of most internet marketing campaigns. However there is an increasing involvement of social media in internet marketing. Today internet marketing offers many options. In order to be successful a company needs to use the right combination of techniques to promote the website on the internet. Some of the interne marketing options are discussed in detail below:

Set aside a budget for Internet Marketing

Like traditional marketing, Internet marketing is a vast field. Competition to be found on the internet has grown manifold in the last few years as more and more businesses realise its importance and start investing in marketing their business on the internet. Before you start internet marketing, it is advisable to set aside a budget. This can be either monthly or annual. Once you have an idea of the budget you will be able to liaise with Internet marketing consultant or agency who will be able to help formulate the best strategy to meet your needs.

Identify the right keywords

Keywords are search terms for which you would like your website to appear on search engines. Keyword analysis is a crucial step in any internet marketing campaign. It is important to identify the right keywords at the start as most of the optimisation techniques adopted in future will focus on achieving a high rank for the selected keywords. It takes a very long time to achieve a high rank for your website in organic searches. Selection of inappropriate keywords can put the entire internet marketing campaign in jeopardy. There are many methods tat can help you tio identify the appropriate keywords for your website. The most important factor to consider is of course the relevance of the keywords to your business. The keywords should be elated to the products and services your company offers. They should also be weighed against what users are actually searching for and competition from other websites. As far as relevancy goes, you will have to select keywords that relate to the service you offer to your customers. With regards to search volumes and competition, there are many free and paid tools that can help you with your decision.

Google Adwords offers a free Keyword Suggestion tool where you can enter the keywords (Search terms) that you feel are appropriate for you website and it will provide you with the following information:

• Average Monthly search volumes
• Competition from other websites
• Suggested variations together with search volume and competition

Optimise you website

Once you have identified the right keywords for your website, the next step is to start optimising your website for the selected keywords. This is often referred to as on-site optimisation within search engine marketing circles. In order for search engines like Google to return your website in its search results, it is crucial that your website is optimised approximately for the respective search terms. There are a number of onsite factors that Google uses to decide which websites are returned in search results whenever a user performs a search. On-site optimisation involves addressing these factors. Your web design company will be able to assist with optimising your website for your preferred keywords. If you have basic web design knowledge or if your website is built using a content management system, you will be able to perform most of these steps yourself with ease.

Some website optimisation tips include:

Use of Keywords in the Page name e.g. English-courses.html as opposed to services.html

Keyword density: Keywords should appear in the copy.

Position of Keywords in the content – Main keyword should ideally appear towards the start of the page as opposed to the end.

Headings or Bold Text – Keywords should appear as page headings.

Meta Tags – These are invisible tags used mainly by search engines to get information about the web page. Each web page consists of Meta tags for Title, Description and Keywords. Primary keywords should be included in each.

Organic Search engine optimisation

Search engine optimisation refers to the tasks aimed at improving a website’s rank on search engines like Google and Yahoo. Search engine optimisation is a vast field that includes many methods including website optimisation discussed above, link building, and other methods that lead to an improved rank n search engines. Organic search engine optimisation focuses on the free results in the main part of search results and not paid listings that appear on the right. Research shows that free organic listings have a higher click thorough and conversion rate than paid listings. Organic listings take significant time and effort to achieve however the results are relatively permanent.

Pay Per Click advertising

Pay per click advertising refers to the paid listings that usually appear at the right or top of search results. Most search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN offer pay per click advertising. In this form of advertising your website is listed under the paid listings section of search results.
Pay per click campaigns like Google Adwords produce immediate results however it can be expensive in the long run as you are charged each time a user clicks and cists your website. Moreover your website is listed in the results only for the duration of your campaign and your listing will disappear immediately when the campaign comes to an end.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is cost effective and has a wide reach. However the success of the campaign depends largely on the quality of the email list you market to. Quality should be given more importance than quantity of the list. It is better to send marketing mail-shot to a well targeted smaller list than to send out emails to hundreds of thousands of users. Although email marketing is popular, it tends t produce mixed results. A well planned email marketing campaign sent to highly targeted list can produce excellent results and boost your sales. Businesses should be careful not to spam as it is not only frowned upon but can also cause a legal issue.

Banner advertising

Banner advertising is another cost effective method to market your website on the internet. Banner advertising however can be risky at times as they usually tend to have lower click-though rates than search engine listings (both, paid and organic). It however provides you with the opportunity to select websites where your banner will be placed as such it can be highly targeted. Banners advertising can thus still be a good way to promote your business or website if the advertising budget fits the promotion.

Social Media Optimisation

Marketing and promoting your business or website using social media sites is probably one of the most effective methods in Internet marketing today. Social media marketing provides businesses, small or large with an opportunity to target an extensive audience quite quickly. In addition to being able to target potential customers, it provides an excellent method to interact with your audience. Social media sites also complement search engine optimisation as they provide a useful source for building links to your website, which can in turn improve the rank of your website on search engines like Google.