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By Neil Street
The Internet, like every other field, has a language all its
own. And when it comes to marketing on the internet, the
labels proliferate rapidly. Can you tell "search engine
marketing" from "search engine optimization?" How about
"website promotion" from "online promotion?" Can you tell
your Yahoo Yellow Pages from your Yahoo Local? Or
"pay-per-click," from "pay for performance," not forgetting
"paid inclusion?" Is it any wonder people are confused?
Adding to the confusionmentioned above, many of these phrases are shortened
to acronyms (SEO, PPC, SEM, to name a few). This rapidly
growing field is in dire need of simplification and
organization. As a starting point, it would be good to just
have a name for all of it. And that's where the term
"internet marketing" comes in.
Consider this: twice in recent weeks I have seen an online
press release turn into an offline publicity placement. In
the first instance, an online press release about an
antiques-related website was picked up by a leading consumer
magazine, who wanted to use images from the client's website
in an upcoming article. Full credit, of course, goes to the
client and their website.
In the second instance, an online
press release about marketing was picked up by a writer for
an offline business magazine. The writer wants to interview
the creator of the press release for an article about the
migration of local print advertising onto the internet. I
especially love the irony of the second one – an online
release is picked up by an offline magazine for a story
about how advertising is moving from the offline to the
online space.
But are these example of traditional P.R? Or is it online
P.R? Perhaps it's website promotion? The answer, of course,
is that in this amazing new world of interconnectivity, a
P.R. campaign can be any of these things, often more than
one thing, and it can frequently morph into something
unexpected. That's the beauty of the internet. And because
the internet is the cause of this phenomenon, the most
obvious choice for an umbrella term, under which a growing
variety of promtional techniques can be organized, is
"internet marketing".
The term "internet marketing" is still somewhat slippery,
and may mean different things to different people. But as an
umbrella phrase it is very useful because it's so
comprehensive. It is clear that a broad new discipline is
emerging, one which crosses media lines in many directions.
As this broad discipline emerges, its various subsets -
"search engine optimization," for example, or the equally
ambiguous "search engine marketing" - should be seen as
tools within the larger framework, components to be
utilized, with or without other components, depending on the
marketing needs of each project.
A working definition is that internet marketing is any kind
of marketing that begins on the internet and promotes
something. (Usually it will promote a website, as a
destination in itself or a gateway to further interaction,
but it doesn't have to follow that route.) And of course,
just because a promotion begins on the internet, doesn't
mean it will end there.
Under the umbrella term "internet
marketing," exists a wide array of options: search engine
optimization, pay-per-click, paid-inclusion, search engine
submissions, directory submissions, link campaigns, online
press releases, website copywriting, internet yellow pages,
email campaigns, newsletters and ezines, and recently,
blogging and RSS feeds. The list is by no means exhaustive.
These promotional methods all fit under the broad umbrella
term, internet marketing.
How does this help a typical marketer? To illustrate, let's
use the case of a client whose website is languishing on the
web – it needs more traffic. Should the website owner go
directly to a search engine optimization specialist? Not
necessarily. Search engine optimization may not be the
answer at all. The client is better served by having the
project assessed by a company with a broad approach to
internet marketing, rather than to a niche specialist. The
work may involve an email campaign, or development of a
newsletter, or an RSS solution, or an IYP ad, or whatever
the solution may be – and frequently the solution involves a
combination of activities. It all depends on the nature of
the website, and how that site may best be marketed.
Every
client is unique, and every project has a unique solution.
This is not to say that the search engine optimization
specialist is irrrelevant. Far from it. But the initial
assessment is best made from the broadest perspective.
Today, the field of internet marketing is a crazy patchwork
quilt of competing claims and shrill promises. This is not
good for anybody. As the internet matures, a true framework
will emerge giving structure and definition to the new
discipline of internet marketing. This will help to build
the trust of advertisers, and the process will eventually
weed out the fly-by-night outfits who are muddying the
waters today. In the end, for business and consumers alike,
that's a very good thing.
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