Internet Marketing
Digital marketing is defined as a broad term that refers to the various promotional techniques that are used to reach the customers through electronic media .
Digital marketing has the following benefits:
- Can be used anytime (24 x 7) and anywhere
Digital marketing can be done anytime and anywhere through digital devices the are connected to the internet. The customers can shop on the website using the internet at anytime and anywhere. The convenience of anytime shopping and selling is one of the main benefits of digital marketing.
- Quick transactions
The digital marketing involves quick transactions with the customers that save time and costs.
- Easy information
The information is easily available through the digital marketing channels such as social media, websites and email.
- Ability to compare products and prices
The customers have the convenience of comparing product features and pricing easily though digital marketing channels.
- Low entry costs for businesses
The costs of digital marketing are much lower in comparison to the traditional marketing costs. It is much easier for businesses to enter digital marketing in comparison to traditional marketing channels.
- Excellent ROI
The internet marketing offers much higher returns on investment in comparison to the traditional marketing such as print and broadcasting media.
- Cost-effective
Internet marketing is a cost effective marketing media that requires minimal investments.
- Interaction with consumers
Internet marketing media such as social media and websites allow businesses to directly interact with the consumers through comments, feedback, chat and forums.
- Higher reach
Internet marketing has a higher reach as the information shared through internet marketing media reach a large number of people located in different geographical regions in a short time.
Internet Marketing Tools
- Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing involves the use of social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter for the promotion of products and services online. Social media marketing is defined as the act of gaining website traffic or attention of customers through social media websites (Mashable, n.d.).
- Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a performance based marketing where the rate of advertisement depends on the performance of the advertisement (Bookboon.com, 2011)
Models:
CPM Cost per mil): Advertisers pay per 1000 impressions.
CPA (Cost per action): Advertisers pay per lead or per booking.
CPC (Cost per click): Advertisers pay per click.
- Search Engine Marketing
The techniques that are used by marketers to maximize the number of hits to the website through search engines is called search engine marketing (Moran & Hunt, 2008). Search engine marketing may be through organic search results known as search engine optimization or through paid placements in search engines and web directories.
Internet Marketing Mix
Figure 1 Internet Marketing Mix
The internet marketing mix varies with the target market and the product that is being marketed. The product element of the internet marketing mix usually includes the information about the core product and the augmented product. In the case of digital products such as an anti-virus software, the core product is the antivirus software, however the augmented product includes the software updates with new virus definitions and automatic renewal options and online support.
The promotions element of the internet marketing mix include marketing channels such as search engine marketing, affiliate marketing, website marketing, email marketing and social media marketing.
The price element of internet marketing includes a comparative pricing model as the online consumers can easily compare the prices of the products online.
The people aspect of internet marketing mix includes the online interaction with the customer executives via chat and email.
Process element includes the IT processes that are involved in the service and product delivery.
Physical evidence includes the website platform through which the products and services are delivered.
E-Commerce
Ecommerce is defined as the exchange of information, goods or services within business through the use of internet services .
Figure 2 Layers of Ecommerce
The C2C ecommerce involves websites that allow customer to customer interactions such as online communities and free personalized ad websites. The B2C websites allow business to customer interactions where consumers order products and services. The B2B websites allow business to business interactions.
E-Business
E-Business refers to all business activities that are conducted by a firm or industry over the internet .
Models of E-business include:
- Business to Business Model (B2B)
- Business to Consumer Model (B2C)
- Consumer to Consumer Model (C2C)
- Brokerage Model –Ebay.com
- Advertising Model –Yahoo.com
- Subscription, Pay per view and Membership Models- Forrester.com
- Distribution Channel Model
Social media marketing is defined as the act of gaining website traffic or attention of customers through social media websites .
Affiliate marketing is a performance based marketing where the rate of advertisement depends on the performance of the advertisement
The techniques that are used by marketers to maximize the number of hits to the website through search engines is called search engine marketing .
Importance of Interactive Online Order Processing System
An interactive online order processing system is important for online businesses to ensure effective customer relationship management and support . Such a system involves a robust website front end complemented by a strong back end to support the front end processes. The advantages of interactive online order processing system for customers is that it allows them to place orders anytime without any assistance and with speed and accuracy. The advantages for businesses include automation of the processes that saves effort and minimizes costs.
Ebay
Ebay is an online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers across the world through an online website interface. Ebay has a brokerage model as sellers need to pay listing fees for selling of products and also pay a commission fees on final selling price of products. The website includes B2C and C2C interactions. Ebay has introduced B2C retail model that includes the sale of new and high quality products to the customers by the sellers at fixed prices.
Marketing Mix of Ebay
Product: Services such as listing, buying and selling available on Ebay website. Customers can search for products and listing.
Place: The various product listings fall in different categories such as apparels, digital products, kitchenware, etc.
Promotions: Ebay uses promotional emails (email marketing), search engine marketing, social media marketing and website advertising for promotions of products and services.
Price: The price of the product varies with the seller and the type of product.
Internet Marketing Tools Used by Ebay
Ebay utilizes the technique of internet marketing through various tools such as search engine marketing (SEM), social media marketing, affiliate marketing and email marketing.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Search engine marketing involves the advertising of Ebay for keywords related to Ebay and online shopping on search engines such as Google using Google AdWords program. The advantage of this tool is that it is cost effective and it allows brand promotion involving paid placements in search engines that increase the probability of brand recognition with respect to the competitors.
Social media marketing
Social media marketing on websites such as Facebook and Twitter are an efficient and cost-effective methods of brand promotion as they need less investment and offer much higher returns in comparison to the other marketing methods.
Affiliate Marketing
The affiliate marketing is an attractive internet marketing tool used by Ebay as it allows the brand to increase the sales through affiliates thus making the venture much more profitable for the company.
Interactive Order Processing at Ebay
2.1 Demonstrate the mechanics of search engine marketing
Search Engine Marketing is defined as the set of activities that are used by marketers to drive traffic towards their websites through search engines .
The technique of getting natural or organic traffic from search engines is called search engine optimization (SEO) .
Kinds of Search Engine Results
Organic Results: These include the natural search results that are obtained when consumers type or search for a product or service or any information online through a search engine (Carter, et al., 2011).
Paid Results: These include the paid placements on search engines and web directories for websites on certain keywords (Carter, et al., 2011).
Search Engine Optimization
The technique of getting natural or organic traffic from search engines is called search engine optimization (SEO) (Searchengineland.com, 2014). Popular search engines include Google, Yahoo and Bing. The various factors that affect search engine optimization include Title tag, URL structure, Page rank of web page, Relevance of content and Keyword Density. The top SEO tools include Google Analytics, Google Keyword Planner, Google Trends, Page Rank Checker, Page Optimizer and Link Checker.
SEO for Ebay
Search engine optimization for Ebay shall include the use of techniques such as using organic keyword rankings to improve the visibility of Ebay in leading search engines such as Yahoo and Google. Ebay can benefit from SEO as it shall help to increase the brand visibility in search engines, it is long lasting, it shall improve the website traffic and it will enhance the user experience on the website.
Three different ways in which Ebay shall use SEO shall include:
- Website Optimization: On page optimization of the website shall involve the optimization of the website title tags, Meta description and Meta keywords. The website navigation, layout and menu items shall be optimized for superior user experience.
- Website Loading Time: The website loading time shall be reduced to minimum by optimizing the website code. A faster loading website is much more likely to reduce bounce rate and improve user experience on Ebay.
- User Engagement: The website Ebay shall have user engagement factors by integrating comments and sharing through social media thus allowing users to share and post content on the website thus increasing the user engagement and reducing the bounce rate.
2.2 Write the copy for a suitable opt-in email marketing newsletter
Opt in Email Marketing Newsletter
Get SEO tips online!
Here is your chance to gear up you knowledge on search engine optimization through easy to follow online web mails on our website.
You get the chance to access thousands of SEO tools on our website a2zseo.com for free as a subscribed member.
Many more benefits may come your way by subscribing to our newsletter!
Click here to subscribe now. You can also visit a2zseo.com/subscribe for details.
Marketing Team at a2zseo.com
2.3 follow guidelines for best practice in online public relations
Popular online public relations platforms include:
- Press Releases
- Podcasts
- Newsletters
- Comments
- Online Surveys
- Videos
- Photo sharing
- Social Media
Best practice in public relations involves a high level of transparency and user engagement where the customers can post their feedback on the business updates and express their opinion. Practical examples are seen in the form of product reviews on websites such as Amazon.com where customers post their feedback. Online surveys conducted by Microsoft.com are also an efficient means of customer interaction. It is important for companies to value the user feedback and respond to user queries on time for healthy online public relations.
PR Activities by Ebay
Three PR activities that can be used by Ebay to enhance the brand reputation can include:
Social Media: Ebay can use social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter to post information about the brand and its products and keep in touch with the customers. Social media shall also allow the customers to post feedback about Ebay services through the official channels.
Video sharing: Ebay can use video sharing websites such as YouTube and Daily motion to promote the brand advertisements and information video online. Such promotions shall serve as brand promotion models.
Blogs: The press releases on the official Ebay blogs can help in the brand promotion and also provide timely information to the Ebay customers about new website features and discounts and offers.
2.4 demonstrate how businesses can use new digital media communities, e.g. file-sharing sites
Businesses can use digital media communities such as file sharing websites for brand promotions and customer engagement practices. Some examples include use of YouTube by brands for brand promotions, file sharing websites such as slideshare.net that allows businesses to share formal presentations online. Ebay uses YouTube and slide share for brand promotions.
Digital Media Communities by Ebay
Ebay has been using online video sharing websites such as YouTube in order to showcase videos promoting the website services online. These allow Ebay to provide engaging content to the target audience.
Ebay can also use slide share website in order to share corporate presentations related to the company performance with the customers that inform the customers about the brand and also help them to develop trust in the brand.
Also, Ebay can use online discussion forums on the website that allows the users to discuss key issues that are related to the company. Ebay communities have been a strong and popular service that involves discussions by users on Ebay products and services.
3.1 conduct secondary market research
The market research conducted during the e-marketing campaign included the secondary research on the data from websites, books and journals for the purpose of concept clarity and data research. The definitions of various concepts presented in ppt were based on secondary research from the books and websites.
3.2 design an online survey
A sample online questionnaire that was used for collecting information:
User Experience Survey
Rate your website experience.
Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor
Did you face any difficulty in browsing the website?
Yes No
Any suggestions or feedback?
3.3 demonstrate the use of electronic customer relationship marketing
E-CRM software is a very powerful tool for Internet marketing. Those functions are designed and developed to automate and streamline marketing operations.
An e-CRM software system is the one that is used by websites such as Ebay.com to engage customers and also provide them an interactive user interface.
Stage One: Customer visits the website Ebay.com. The customer either searches for the product in search bar or shops through various categories.
Stage 2:
Customer selects clothing and accessories category and is presented with products in the selected category
Stage 3
Customer selects a product to be bought and adds it to shopping cart. Customer may continue further shopping or buy the item in cart. Customer can also remove items in cart later.
Stage 4 Customer may continue as guest or login.
Stage 5
Customer may login and pay to check out and confirm the order.
4.1 produce an outline internet marketing plan
Internet marketing plan for Online SEO Tutorial Website
- Objectives of Plan
The main objectives of the internet marketing plan for online SEO tutorial website a2zseo.com (dummy) are:
- Brand Awareness: To increase customer awareness about the website and its offerings among the target audience through various internet marketing tools.
- Increase Website Users: To increase the number of website visitors through various internet marketing techniques to about 1 lakh page views and 3000 visitors on a monthly basis in the next 4 months.
- Increase Newsletter Subscriptions: To increase the number of email subscribers for a2zseo.com to reach 1000 users in the next 4 months.
- Search Engine Traffic: To position the website among the top websites in leading search engines such as Google for keywords such as SEO tutorials and increase the organic traffic by 20 percent in the next 4 months.
- Target Audience
The target audience for the internet marketing plan shall include the online users that shall be based in the geographical parts of USA, UK, Australia and Asia that have the desire to learn the techniques of search engine optimization and spend their time looking for search engine marketing concepts. These users shall be either online marketing professionals or search engine optimizers that are looking for online sources to expand their knowledge. The demographic profile shall include males and females in the age group of 25-50 years.
- Activities
The main activities involved in the internet marketing for online SEO tutorial website involve the following:
Opt in Email Marketing Newsletter
Get SEO tips online!
Here is your chance to gear up you knowledge on search engine optimization through easy to follow online web mails on our website.
You get the chance to access thousands of SEO tools on our website a2zseo.com for free as a subscribed member.
Many more benefits may come your way by subscribing to our newsletter!
Click here to subscribe now. You can also visit a2zseo.com/subscribe for details.
Marketing Team at a2zseo.com
- Search Engine Marketing
Search engine marketing shall involve SEO techniques to rank the website for keywords such as “Online SEO tutorials” on leading search engines such as Google and Bing through organic results. SEO shall include complex mechanisms such as website optimization that may include HTML coding, SEO friendly titles and URLs, user friendly navigation and links.
Steps for Website Optimization:
- H1 tag or heading 1 tag shall be Online SEO Tutorials.
- All pages shall have correct HTML codes.
- The website shall have a clear and user friendly navigation.
- The color of the text shall include easily legible fonts and a user friendly color scheme shall be applied on the website. Use of eye catchy colors shall be avoided.
- The website load time shall be as low as possible.
- User feedback shall be collected on the website through online surveys.
A sample online questionnaire that was used for collecting information:
User Experience Survey
Rate your website experience.
Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor
Did you face any difficulty in browsing the website?
Yes No
Any suggestions or feedback?
Pay per click advertising through Google AdWords shall also be used to promote the website in Google.
- Social Media Marketing
The social media marketing shall involve the promotion of the website on Facebook and Twitter. Facebook fan page shall be utilized to engage the target audience. In addition, the promotions on blogs such as WordPress and BlogSpot shall be conducted through blogposts. Also, social bookmarking websites such as Delicious and Digg shall be used to promote the website services.
- Evaluation Criteria
The evaluation variables shall include the following metrics:
Bounce Rate of website: The bounce rate of the website is an indicator of the level of effectiveness of the website to engage the user. A higher bounce rate indicates a low level of user engagement and a poorly optimized website.
Traffic Statistics: The traffic statistics such as number of page views and number of website visitors are a direct indicator of the effectiveness of the internet marketing campaign. A higher number of returning users shall be an indicator of website loyalty.
User Engagement Metrics (Social Media): The user engagement metrics such as number of likes, shares and comments on social media websites indicate the brand engagement.
- Digital Marketing Tools
The digital marketing tools such as Google Analytics, Google AdWords, Google Keywords tool, Page speed checker, Link checker and other SEO tools shall be used to measure the performance of the internet marketing campaign and also to make changes as and when needed.
4.2 create a presentation –Refer PPT on PPC
Bibliography
- Behl, R., 2012. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR MANAGEMENT. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education.
- Bookboon.com, 2011. Affiliate Marketing. s.l.:The Internet Marketing Academy.
- Canzer, B., 2006. E-Business: Strategic Thinking and Practice: Strategic Thinking and Practice. USA : Cengage Learning.
- Carter, B., Brooks, G., Catalano, F. & Smith, B. E., 2011. Digital Marketing For Dummies, UK Edition. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons.
- Dave, C., 2008. E-Business and E-Commerce Management. 3rd ed. New Delhi: Pearson Education India.
- Mashable, n.d. Social Media Marketing. [Online] Available at: mashable.com/category/social-media-marketing/[Accessed 2014 November 2014].
- Moran, M. & Hunt, B., 2008. Search Engine Marketing, Inc.: Driving Search Traffic to Your Company's Web Site. s.l.:Pearson Education.
- Searchengineland.com, 2014. What Is SEO / Search Engine Optimization?. [Online] Available at: http://searchengineland.com/guide/what-is-seo[Accessed 29 November 2014].
- Sun, Z. & Finnie, G. R., 2004. Intelligent Techniques in E-Commerce: A Case Based Reasoning Perspective. QLD: Springer Science & Business Media.
- Techopedia, n.d. Digital Marketing. [Online] Available at: http://www.techopedia.com/definition/27110/digital-marketing[Accessed 29 November 2014].
