Sneak Peek

Study Internet Marketing, become more effective at making online sales

Internet marketing is complicated but necessary in any modern business. Every business is expected to have a web site and social media presence.  Having a presence though is not the same as having an effective presence that supports and grows your business.

This course can be your first step to understanding marketing possibilities on the internet, laying a foundation for knowing and using the internet effectively.

The Internet Marketing Course covers the following topics:

LESSON 1 THE SCOPE AND NATURE OF DIGITAL MARKETING

• Digital marketing
• Building, and effectively using, a mailing list
• Lesson 1 additional reading
• Reasons for using digital marketing
• Review what you have been learning

LESSON 2 SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

• Keywords
• Search engine optimisation for your website
• Other factors that influence SEO success
• Seo and being successful online
• Lesson 2 additional reading
• Review what you have been learning

LESSON 3 CONTENT MARKETING

• Digital content
• Creating a content strategy
• Designing content
• Identifying customer pain points to provide direction for content marketing
• Lesson 3 additional reading
• Review what you have been learning

LESSON 4 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

• Why social media?
• Social media for business - starting out
• Ways of using social media
• Supporting tools for social media management
• Evaluation and adjustment
• Can influencers really help your business?
• Evaluating social media marketing
• Lesson 4 additional reading
• Skills required to be an effective digital marketer
• Review what you have been learning
  

LESSON 5 WEBSITES AND WEB ADVERTISING

• Websites
• Web advertising
• Monitoring and analytics
• Get the marketing mix right
• Customer focused websites
• The challenge of the marketing mix in a digital world
• Lesson 5 additional reading
• Review what you have been learning
• Final assessment

SCOPE OF INTERNET MARKETING

There are many different forms of digital marketing that can be used to reach new customers or re-engage and maintain current customer relationships. These include:

Online Marketing
Online marketing may involve anything that promotes or sells goods or services over the internet.

Social Media 
Social media is an internet-based computer technology that facilitates the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information through virtual networks and communities. It provides  opportunities to network with a target audience.

Building Networks
The internet is an excellent way to reach potential new customers and maintain existing customer relationships.

Maintaining customers can be achieved by using email, blogging and social media tactics to increase brand awareness, cultivate a strong online community and retain customer loyalty. 

Mobile Application Software (App)
An app is a specifically designed software program that is created to work on a smart phone or tablet. App development plays a key role in digital marketing. Apps can be used for information, education, entertainment, or as a mobile platform for customers to access a company’s website. Apps can be used to engage customers or attract new customers.  

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Search Engine Optimisation or SEO is way of ensuring that a company’s website performs well in terms of search engine ranking and where the website appears when somebody types in a search term. There are many factors that can affect a website’s SEO, and many ways in which a company can optimise their website to ensure that it achieves a high ranking. SEO is an evolving process that changes regularly. Algorithms are released monthly that can change the way websites are ranked.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Search Engine Marketing or SEM is paid advertising that can ensure that a website appears towards the beginning of the search results on a search engine. The search results to a search engine search return with paid and unpaid search results. Advertised webpages usually appear in the top two to three lines and may also appear along the side of a web-browser (this also depends upon whether the potential customer is using a computer, tablet or smart phone). Ultimately, companies bid for the highest place based on key words that people are searching for. This will be discussed in more detailed later in this e-book. 

Direct Marketing via Email
Email is a way of delivering a message to a targeted audience that can be specific or personalised to the customer. With the help of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) databases and web platforms, direct marketing can be customised to the customer, delivering messages based on their needs. Collecting, storing, and using data can be sensitive. Direct marketing practices are governed by the laws and ethics of the country where they are located. These laws must be followed, to ensure that information is used correctly and not misused. Information that can be sent via email can be informative, such as a blog or a news feed or of a promotional manner. 

Behavioural Retargeting
Behavioural retargeting, also called retargeting, is a way of reaching out to customers who have previously visited a website. This is a great way of bringing a brand back into customers’ minds after they have searched a website without making a purchase. Retargeting allows the company to re-engage with the customer and encourage them to make a purchase. Consider how online email accounts often have advertisements related to websites the user has recently visited.  This is retargeting. There are many companies that specialise in retargeting and can arrange retargeting campaign activities.

Display Advertising
Display advertising involves placing advertisements on different websites and blogs where the target audience may be visiting. The advertisements often have catchy images and contain a link back to a relevant landing page. 

Paid Directories
There may be some paid online directories that may help a company to reach their target audience. Conduct research and select the directories carefully. Measuring a company’s ROI (return on investment) is important, especially when they are placing their business on a site that will provide a link back to their website.