Internet Marketing Levels The Playing Field

While it is fair to say that Internet marketing has without a doubt had an effect on offline trading numbers, the comparison is not directly proportionate for the simple reason that the Internet has brought about untapped new markets that were not plausible before. The interactive nature of Internet marketing, and the low expense involved in distributing information, content and media to a worldwide base, makes a very appealing platform for any business, regardless of size. The latest data from credit card companies report a 15 billion dollar turnover from Web sales in the last year, and quickly rising. So it is not a surprise that budgets for IM are taking a larger piece of the advertising pie and the number of individuals earning a living directly from Internet marketing are exploding.

Internet marketing brings together all the creative and technical aspects of the Internet, which include design, development, advertising and sales, and the techniques used in Internet marketing include search engine marketing, email marketing, affiliate marketing, online advertising and social media marketing methods as employed in blog marketing and viral marketing.

Internet marketing is the ongoing task of building, growing and promoting a business, individual or organization through a variety of online activity including websites, blog sites, article marketing, press releases, online market research, email marketing, and online advertising. In order to fully comprehend the huge benefits of Internet based marketing, it is difficult not to draw comparisons to offline marketing , but it has to be remembered that one is not a replacement for the other. Online marketing and offline marketing will both have an important part to play in the future of any business, assuming it is not purely Internet based. Let us now look at the benefits that Internet marketing has to offer..

Low Costs

Since the Internet can be regarded as a mostly free activity center where information is shared freely with all interested parties, the cost involved in the overall Internet marketing strategy is relatively low. Apart from the obvious expenditures in operating a web site, a large portion of the budgets set aside for Internet marketing will most likely be swallowed up by services and resources offering expertise in the various marketing techniques that fall under the Internet marketing umbrella. For example, Search Engine Optimization plays an important role in the positioning of a web site in search engine rankings and the larger organizations will often contract the services of a search engine optimization company to maximize these results. Equally there are Internet Advertising Agencies available to handle all aspects of online advertising. Smaller companies or sole proprietors may use their own search engine optimization strategies. Either way, the overall cost of Internet marketing is much lower than the cost of a similar offline campaign.

Work From Any Location

Just about all Internet marketing activities can easily be organized from a home PC or laptop computer. Most communications are accomplished using online contact forms, email or instant messenger, and payments for items such as web site hosting, internet marketing software tools and resource fees can all be paid online using a credit card. Web site design and management is also another area of Internet marketing easily managed from a computer. The versatility of the 'laptop' means that these duties can be carried out from any location and therefore those involved in the Internet marketing world can easily work from a simple home office, or even when away from home.

The Level Playing Field

Unlike offline businesses, the practice of Internet marketing now makes it possible for an individual or sole proprietor to compete with larger organizations. Larger companies who with an easily recognizable have a head start in the marketing of their web site, and a larger presence in the search engine pages, beyond that the doors are wide open and it's pretty common to see smaller commercial businesses finding more success than their much larger competition in search engine results. Yes, the online advertising budgets would be much bigger for the larger corporations, but there are many Internet marketing techniques and resources available to the solo marketers that would help them to stay in touch. There are literally hundreds of new Internet millionaires developed on a daily basis.

There are also many niche areas with good benefits derived from Internet marketing, but generally the process is attractive all round as a method of promoting any business, recreational or personal projects across the Internet. Internet Marketing is where the future lies for businesses large and small. The Internet has arrived and no-one can deny it!