Small Business Marketing

Mastering Internet Marketing

Written by Charles Mburugu for Gaebler Ventures

What is the secret to succeeding in internet marketing? First, it's all about the basics. Mastering internet marketing is about excelling in the basics. All internet marketers engage in the same activities, but some do it better and make much more money. So what are the secrets for mastering internet marketing?

What is the objective of internet marketing? Generating leads, period!

Currently on the internet, there are two main ways of getting leads or being found by them. Either offer direct advertising, such as PPC ads from providers such as Google, or you could provide content online and allow search engines to include you in their indexes so people looking for what you offer can find you. So what are the basics for mastering internet marketing?

If you are an affiliate marketer, you can produce leads by creating ads to tell the world that you have an "Affiliate Marketing Program."  With Pay Per Click (PPC) ad systems, you can advertise directly to those who are searching for what you have to offer and only pay for the clicks on your ad. You could also write articles about Internet Marketing Programs and let search engines index such pages so those looking for you can find you.

How do PPC ads and writing articles compare to each other? With PPC, you can spend money to secure top ranking for your ads. With article writing, the content is free but requires more patience. Many leading Internet Marketers use PPC to begin getting traffic to their site, and then switch it off when the traffic from search engines draws sufficient leads on its own.

Perhaps you are interested in Internet Marketing for a certain products. Where do you start? First, you need to come up with a website. Better still, have one designed for you. You could go to a site like elance.com and post want ad for someone to design for you a simple, content-based site. Forget about the movies, background music and animations. Create a site focused on content.

Here is another secret - when you are building an Internet Marketing website, many people will visit your site. But not all are going to get in touch with you as a lead.

Are you poor at writing content for your site? Hire a writer. There are numerous on elance and other sites. You don't need award-winning writers. Just create helpful content for your target audience.

Once your website is ready, go to FindWhat, SearchFeed, Google, and other PPC search engine services and produce classified ads for your website. However, read a little before you do that. There are some excellent tips on the internet for writing effective ads. Your ad should have a catchy title. The title is one of the most important parts of an ad. If using Google, you will have limited characters to convey your message. The other PPC services usually offer more space to write. However, the idea is to keep the ad simple and to the point.

Here's another big tip. Online, what you are doing is referred to as "direct marketing."  Direct to whom? To the person who is interested in your product. Address them. The internet is basically about direct advertising.

As your traffic builds up through PPC, you need to begin getting found through search engines. Monitor your logs and be aware of how many people are reaching you. When traffic from your search engine is about the same as your PPC traffic, you could consider cutting down on your PPC expenditure. The more you can do at no cost, the more profit you make.

Charles Mburugu writes for us from his home in Nairobi. He has a graduate degree in Business Management from Kenya Institute of Management. He is interested in writing about branding, CSR and intellectual property.

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