Social networking sites (such as Myspace, FaceBook, and Orkut) allow Internet users to form communities online quickly and easily, from groups of friends to business networking. These groups of networked individuals, often in similar demographic groups, have become a virtual gold mine for Internet marketers, who can place their message in front of members of their target market on social networking sites for little or no cost.

Social networking sites have also become an easily abused Internet marketing tool, forcing social networking sites to crack down on new types of spam (such as message spam and bulletin spam on Myspace). This spam is a result of people artificially inflating “friend” counts (the number of other members in their social network) through mass-adding and bots. The owners of these profiles will then sometimes market their own products, or charge others to have their URLs blasted to the bulletin board of thousands of other members. (more…)

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process by which webmasters and online business owners get their websites to rank highly in SERPs (search engine results pages) for keyword phrases that are both heavily searched for and related to their industry or niche. Two of the biggest types of SEO work are keyword optimization and link-building (increasing the number of incoming links to a website or specific page).

Here are a few SEO tips to keep in mind when thinking about keyword optimization for a new website or online business:

1. Use keyword suggestion tools to research keyword phrases related to the website’s or online business’ industry or niche topic.

2. Don’t focus exclusively on very general (often one-word) keywords or keyword phrases that would be very difficult to earn a high search engine placement for. At the same time, don’t focus on keyword phrases that no one is searching for. It’s sometimes better to be a “big fish in a smaller pond” than a “little fish in big pond” where you can’t likely rise to the top.

3. Include keyword phrases throughout a page, with particular emphasis on titles, highlighted subheadings, and early in any text areas. (more…)

Online advertising offers advertisers, both online and offline, an opportunity to reach very specific niche audiences and target markets that wasn’t previously possible outside of perhaps the niche and trade magazine market. The biggest difference between niche online advertising and niche print advertising is often cost. Online advertising options are often more affordable, and with new niche websites launched every day, online advertising opportunities are almost endless.

There are many different types of online advertising, from blatant advertising to subtle, seemingly natural links. Here are several common types of online advertising currently used:

1. Banner Advertising – Banner ads are image ads with a company’s or website’s logo, slogan, and advertising message (or something similar) included. Banner ads come in many different sizes, which would be determined by the space available on the publisher’s site where the advertising space is being purchased. Some banner ads are animated. (more…)

Online PR (online public relations) is about using the Internet to connect with a website’s or business’ key publics or audiences, to build awareness and increase exposure, to build and maintain an image and brand trust, and to communicate to solve crises. Online PR works much in the same way as traditional public relations, only with a different set of PR tools. Here are some of the benefits of adding online PR efforts to a company’s public relations strategy:

1. Messages can be disseminated (or sent out) very quickly, whether it’s breaking news or a response to a crisis situation.

2. Online PR tools can connect companies and websites directly with their target audiences, rather than having to communicate to massive groups through the media.

3. Direct target audience reach can make the evaluation of an online PR campaign easier, as data can be gathered immediately from viewers, listeners, or readers (online PR allows for direct interaction).

4. Online PR tools and methods can be more accessible to small and online businesses than offline public relations tools. (more…)

Drafting an Internet marketing plan is an important step in launching a website or online business. Understanding the site’s target market, competition, marketing budget, strengths, and weaknesses allows for the best Internet marketing tactics to be chosen to get the most visitors or profit with the least amount of time or money. Here is a sample Internet marketing plan outline:

I. Executive Summary
Just like in a regular marketing plan, an Internet marketing plan should have an overall summary, called an Executive Summary. This summary of the entire Internet marketing plan will be the first marketing plan element, but will be the last section written.

II. Situational Analysis / Market Analysis
Give background information on the market the particular website or online business is participating in, including target market demographics, a mention of the biggest competition and a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that the website will face). (more…)

Whether you’re launching a simple website or a large e-commerce website, identifying a website’s target market from the start is an important step in business planning. Successful websites put their effort into reaching a very specific target market, sometimes without even realizing it. A webmaster can increase their chances of success by identifying their website’s target market before jumping into any marketing tactics or online advertising to increase traffic and monetize their websites.

What is a Target Market?

A target market is the main audience or group of visitors (or buyers) that a webmaster or online business owner wants to visit their website. A target market can, and should, be identified and described in detail before launching a website. This is to help tailor the site’s Internet marketing plan and marketing tactics around that target group to maximize the return on investment (ROI), which basically means getting the most for your time and money. (more…)

Email marketing includes much more than just sending email newsletters to website visitors. Email marketing is an important type of Internet marketing, and allows webmasters and online business owners to use inexpensive direct marketing and relationship marketing tactics quickly and efficiently.

Here are some uses for email marketing:

1. Email newsletters
2. Email offers and coupons to past customers or visitors
3. Email surveys for market research and to measure customer satisfaction
4. Additional income stream with email advertisements or email list rentals
5. Marketing through ads purchased in others’ email marketing campaigns
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When running a website or online business, it’s important to choose the best Internet marketing tactics, which will offer the biggest reward in traffic or income compared to the amount of time or money invested. This is called getting a good ROI (return on investment) from your Internet marketing tactics.

There are many common, and general, forms of Internet marketing, and most can work for a wide variety of websites and online businesses through the different Internet marketing tactics available in each. These are some of the basic types of Internet marketing:

1. Email Marketing – email newsletters, coupons and offers, etc.
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – link-building, keyword optimization, etc.
3. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) – search engine advertising, etc.
4. Viral Marketing – video / file-sharing, tell-a-friend, etc.
5. Affiliate Marketing – having others sell your products for a percentage
6. Online Advertising – banner ads, text link ads, sponsorships, etc.
7. Online PR – online press releases, blogging, etc. (more…)

Branding, or brand marketing, is a basic concept in marketing. Essentially, branding involves marketing materials and tactics that help to build and maintain an image with a company’s, or website’s, target market. Branding on the Web is about building recognition of a website, and giving visitors or customers a specific feeling or attitude about the site, based on the message the owner wants to convey. Examples of online branding materials include:

1. A website’s official name.

2. A domain name.

3. A logo.

4. A color scheme.

5. Packaging materials on any products being sold.

6. Images on banner ads for the site.

7. A site slogan. (more…)

Article marketing involves the process of publishing articles to article directories, e-zines, or websites as a marketing tactic. The two biggest marketing benefits of article marketing are link-building and reputation-building within a niche. Here are the basic steps of article marketing:

1. Write a niche article (generally in the niche of the writer’s own website or industry in which they work), or hire someone to write a niche article.

2. Create a “resource box” at the end of the article, with the author’s or professional’s byline, and a short bio, which often includes one or more hyperlinks to the author’s website(s).

3. Distribute the article through article directories (for mass publication) or through e-zines and/or niche websites for links or exposure. (more…)