Sign in

Courtesy navigation

Marketing on the internet

The Internet gives you access to a number of powerful marketing techniques.

Most of them involve driving visitors to your website to help you win new customers. This briefing assumes you already have a company website. This briefing covers:

  1. The opportunities for marketing online.
  2. Online advertising and affiliate schemes.
  3. Other online channels.

1 Email marketing

Email is an effective way to reach new and existing customers at a low cost.

1.1 You can build a list of email addresses to market to.

  • You can only send marketing emails to people who have explicitly opted in to receive them.
  • Encourage customers to sign up to your mailing list by providing a prominent 'sign up' option on your website.
  • When customers order from you, ask if they would be happy to receive your newsletter.
  • You could maintain a different list of supplier email addresses.

1.2 There are many ways you can use the email list(s) you build up.

  • Send regular newsletters containing information about your latest products and offers.
  • Include information about your company to build customer loyalty.
  • Send one-off messages containing special offers and voucher codes.
  • By collecting other information alongside their email address, you can send more targeted mailings.

1.3 Target new customers by renting email lists.

  • Only use lists where people have specifically agreed to receive unsolicited emails about a certain topic.
  • Use a reputable broker.

1.4 You may need to use specialist software to send your marketing emails.

  • You can use standard email software for small mailing lists (fewer than 20 addresses).
  • For larger lists, use an online email marketing service.
  • Some agencies can take care of the design, content and sending of your emails.

1.5 Think carefully about the design and content of your emails.

  • Make sure your subject line grabs the reader's attention.
  • Personalised, highly targeted content gets the best results.
  • Test your emails in common email systems like Microsoft Outlook and Hotmail.

2 Online advertising

You can pay to have adverts on other websites promoting your business. When users click these adverts, they are taken to your company website.

2.1 Display advertising involves showing banners or images which promote your website.

  • Banners are eye-catching areas on the screen which draw attention to your products or services.
  • They can include images, text, animation and even sound and video.
  • Adverts can have an interactive element which encourages users to engage with them.
  • Pop-ups are windows which open on the user's computer unprompted.
  • Overlays are graphical adverts which appear on top of the page.
  • Display advertising is usually charged by the number of impressions, or views your advert get.

2.2 You can advertise your website on search engines. This is called search marketing.

  • The most common form of search marketing involves displaying text adverts on search engine result pages.
  • This is called 'pay-per-click' (PPC) advertising, because you pay each time someone clicks one of your adverts.
  • PPC advertising is the most targeted form of online advertising, and therefore highly effective.
  • The cost of PPC adverts is normally determined by a bidding system.
  • Costs are controllable because you can set a maximum amount to spend.
  • The best PPC advertising campaigns target many search terms with specific ads for each one.
  • The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) has a comprehensive guide to PPC advertising on its website.

2.3 You may be able to sponsor pages or sections on other websites.

  • Sponsorship allows you to customise a page or section of a website with your branding and links.
  • You could approach complementary websites to your own.
  • Your business may benefit from being associated with other prestigious brands.
  • Sponsorship is usually a set price for a set amount of time.
  • As an alternative to paying for sponsorship, try and arrange a reciprocal deal.

2.4 New types of online advertising are being developed all the time.

  • Users tend to filter out online adverts, so new ways to attract their attention are constantly being developed.
  • The IAB regularly updates its advertising guides.
  • If you use a web-design agency, they may be able to advise on the different types of advertising available.

2.5 It can be difficult to decide which methods of advertising to use.

  • A mix is often best.
  • Test different types of advertising online.
  • Consider consulting a specialist online advertising agency.

2.6 There are some easy ways to get the most out of your online advertising.

  • Many advertising programmes allow you to run a few ads without any long-term commitment.
  • Try out alternative banner designs and measure the clickthrough rates to see which work best.
  • Be as targeted as you can.
  • Bring in the experts.

3 Affiliate schemes

An affiliate scheme rewards websites which send you new business.

3.1 Your affiliates will be anyone else who runs a website.

  • This can include your existing customers, shopping comparison sites, bloggers and more.
  • Your affiliates place links to your site on theirs.
  • Each time somebody clicks the link to your site and buys something, the affiliate earns a commission.
  • Commission levels vary, but are generally a percentage of the order value.

3.2 Benefits of an affiliate scheme include:

  • You only pay when you make a sale, so your return is guaranteed.
  • The additional links to your website can improve your search engine ranking.

3.3 You can run an affiliate scheme through an affiliate network.

  • Using a network means you do not have to develop your own affiliate system.
  • A network can track sales and commissions for you.
  • Affiliate networks include TradeDoubler and Commission Junction.

3.4 Some affiliate programmes may be targeted by fraudsters.

  • Ensure you have some way of tracking unusual activity.
  • Affiliate networks usually have checks in place to protect against fraud.

Tread carefully

If you do not know the rules, marketing on the Internet can backfire.

Sending unsolicited emails to unwilling recipients can get you into serious trouble.

  • Regulations require that you obtain recipients' prior consent before sending commercial emails.
  • You must also provide a clear and easy opt-out mechanism in your emails so that recipients can easily remove themselves from your list.
  • Your advertising must comply with Advertising Standards Authority rules.
  • Always be genuine on blogs and discussion forums.
  • Do not expect to see sales increase overnight.
  • Spend some time reading forum messages before contributing yourself.

See Website and email law.

When creating web advertising apply the same rules and standards as you would for print media.

  • Your advertising must comply with Advertising Standards Authority rules.
  • Always be genuine on blogs and discussion forums.
  • Do not expect to see sales increase overnight.
  • Spend some time reading forum messages before contributing yourself.

The use of blogs and discussion groups is a sensitive area of Internet marketing. Rules of etiquette apply which rule out heavy-handed commercialism.

  • Always be genuine on blogs and discussion forums.
  • Do not expect to see sales increase overnight.
  • Spend some time reading forum messages before contributing yourself.
  • Do not expect to see sales increase overnight.
  • Spend some time reading forum messages before contributing yourself.
  • Spend some time reading forum messages before contributing yourself.

4 Word-of-mouth marketing

Word-of-mouth marketing is as effective online as it is offline. Building a buzz of personal recommendations may not cost much, but it can bring in lots of new business.

4.1 Generate positive online coverage for your business.

  • Consider encouraging relevent bloggers, websites and online magazines to try out your products.
  • It is impossible to guarantee positive coverage and reviews, but if your products are good then the chance of negative coverage is small.
  • However, always be upfront and genuine.

4.2 Start a blog of your own.

  • A blog is like an online diary.
  • It can demonstrate what goes on in your business - with pictures of staff, information about your processes and more.
  • You can generate interest in forthcoming products by writing about them, or offer tips on how to use your products in different ways.
  • Allow readers to leave comments to create a real dialogue with your customers, and elicit valuable feedback.
  • You can set up a blog for free using a service like Wordpress or Blogger.
  • There is a guide to business blogging on the Movable Type website.

4.3 Take part in online conversations.

  • You can raise the profile of your business by participating in online discussion forums.
  • Use search engines to find discussion groups or forums relevant to your industry.
  • Unsolicited advertising on forums is usually regarded as spam.

5 Measuring response

The usual test of marketing is the number of sales that result. Measure and analyse customer response to your site.

5.1 Track visitors to your site.

  • Online marketing is the most easily measured type of marketing.
  • You can see exactly where your visitors have come from, and what they do on your site.
  • Use web analytics to track visitors in detail.
  • Examine which keywords visitors use to find your site and amend your site accordingly.
  • Track how visitors find your site, so you can see which of your advertising methods is working best.

5.2 Monitor the number of website visitors who convert to customers.

  • It is relatively easy to create a large volume of traffic, but it is better to create a smaller number of relevant visitors with a high conversion-to-sale ratio.
  • You may wish to establish some other key performance indicators.
Add this

Rating

0
Your rating: None

Email a friend