Internet marketing is synonymously used with the words e-marketing and online marketing. Internet marketing means marketing products over the Internet. Marketing essentially means selling the product and involves various functions and units like advertising, presentation, promotion, distribution, wholesalers, stockiest and retailers. With the advent of Internet, the concept of marketing has changed dramatically. As with any other industry, the marketing segment took full advantage of the technology of Internet and helped develop new ideas.
Internet marketing includes methods like display advertising, e-mail marketing, search engine marketing, interactive advertising, interactive advertisement, viral marketing and affiliate marketing. There are many business models like the e-commerce and web 2.0 strategies. It may vary for different situations and conditions. Internet Marketing has various advantages. It is easy to advertise products cheaply and to a huge global market The cost of Internet marketing is very cheap compared to the traditional systems with respect to cost per lead or conversion.
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The Internet itself acts like a distribution medium which bringing the customer directly to the manufacturer and bypassing the traditional distribution system. It makes the products easily accessible twenty four hours a day and convenient to purchase directly and instantly using online payment methods. The customer also gets plenty of information on the product online. While targeting the online audience, the marketing company has the added advantage to targeting an audience based on various categories like region, gender, age and groups based on activities.
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The distinct disadvantages of internet marketing are that the customers are exposed to a huge number of products making competition very tough. The users are required to understand the new technologies and aware of online shopping safety rules and fraudulent websites. Low speed internet connections are also a problem especially pronounced when either the website is loaded with graphics or while using mobile devices. Another major concern is the online security. Personal and confidential banking information may need to be shared while making the purchase. There are various solutions to these problems but the customer need to be aware of these dangers before making online purchases safely. There are certifying bodies which does the background checking of websites and their associated companies so that the customers can rest assured that they are visiting an authentic company website. Strong encryption system ensures that the information passed between the website and the customer PC remains confidential and secure. The potential of Internet marketing can be understood when we observe that 44 % of Internet users actually perform online baking activities.
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