Define Online Marketing

Since the Internet has now become a primary tool for the delivery of information, businesses of all sizes are using online marketing to increase awareness of their company's goods and services.

In its simplest form, the term online marketing refers to using the power of Internet advertising to generate a response from your audience. Also known as Internet marketing or web marketing, online marketing is used by companies selling goods and services directly to consumers as well as those who operate on a business-to-business model.

Common areas of interest within the field of online marketing include:

• Affiliate Marketing: In affiliate marketing, a business recruits associates to promote the company's products or services. The associates receive a commission or other similar rewards for every sale, visitor, subscriber, or customer they bring to the company. Amazon.com Associates Central is an example of an affiliate marketing program that Amazon.com uses to encourage private website owners to bring traffic to its site.
• Display Advertising: Display advertising involves the use of web banners or banner ads placed on a third-party website to drive traffic to a company's own website and increase product awareness.
• Email Marketing: Companies that use email marketing send promotional emails directly to customers. However, it can often be hard to distinguish between spam and legitimate email marketing messages.
• Interactive Advertising: Interactive advertising involves the use of animations and other graphic techniques to create ads that engage the viewer and invite participation.
• Search Engine Marketing: Search Engine Optimization (SEO), paid placement, and paid inclusion are search engine marketing techniques that companies can use to increase their visibility in the search engine page results from Google and its competitors.
• Viral Marketing: Viral marketing is a technique is which companies encourage customers to pass along information about their products or services. Company websites that let visitors email interactive games or funny video clips to their friends are an example of a viral marketing effort.
• Online marketing, regardless of the exact method a company chooses to use, offers several benefits. It's convenient, affordable, and provides the opportunity for companies to track results as a campaign progresses. In addition, Internet marketing allows even the smallest of companies to compete in a global marketplace. Online marketing is often related to public relations, customer service, sales, and information management. However, it is important to remember that these fields can be considered separate specialties as well. Glossary of Marketing Terms If you're interested in learning more about online marketing, there are many websites that offer glossaries of common marketing terms. For example:
• Marketing Terms is a comprehensive website for anyone interested in online marketing. This site features a dictionary with cross-referenced definitions and basic information for beginners, as well as links to in-depth articles that provide the information a marketing professional will need to succeed in today's business environment. For your convenience, this website also includes a printable list of commonly-used Internet marketing acronyms and abbreviations.
• Marketing Apprentice offers an easy-to-understand dictionary of terms related to the online marketing industry with a number of cross-references and related links. To use this dictionary, you need to scroll through an alphabetical listing of links and click on the term you wish to learn more about.
• Lazworld, an Internet marketing services provider, has prepared a brief glossary of common marketing terms website owners need to know. There is no search engine available, but the entire document can easily be printed for use as a desk reference.
• SEO Book is a dictionary devoted exclusively to the search engine aspect of online marketing. Some of the definitions can be a bit technical for the marketing novice, but the information is extremely useful for anyone who is determined to create a successful website.
• The American Marketing Association has a dictionary that contains definitions for several online marketing terms as well as general marketing information.