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Marketing
a business on the Internet requires a wide variety of skill sets both in
depth and breadth. No matter how we approach it, the web is a medium through
which we communicate to our customers, distributors, employees and other
important stakeholders. Though it may be the most important arena for this
communication; it is not the be-all and end-all to our business. Behind it,
your business must be supported by the same types of knowledge and talent
found in successful businesses in the physical world.
The dot com
roller-coaster we have all witnessed over the past few years have taught us
a few important lessons about the world-wide-web. Some of these include:
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Successful
online businesses don’t just happen. There are few overnight successes
and even then, disaster can strike if you don’t have a good balance
between your revenues and expenses. Sooner, rather than later, your
business must be profitable.
About This
Series
First, let’s
begin with what this series is not. It is not a step by step process for
earning a million dollars with your computer in your spare time. There are
no hidden secrets divulged, or proven steps that will make any site
successful. Rather, it is a thoughtful review of what makes the web tick
based on sound, practical analysis of why people visits sites and why they
ultimately become customers. Along the way, we will introduce many specific
suggestions on how to take advantage of attracting a targeted audience to
your web site. We will introduce many proven techniques for marketing your
site both on and off the web. We will focus some specific energy on the
search engines as an important vehicle for promoting your web site. And, we
will also provide you with design recommendations as it relates to marketing
on the web.
With this in mind,
we will go forward into the first of this twelve part series on marketing a
business on the internet.
Let’s Begin
In order to fully
appreciate the concepts we will discuss in this series, it is first
necessary to lay some groundwork. Having a common understanding of some of
important marketing terms and being exposed to the current demographics of
the internet will prepare us better for what lays ahead. Here then are some
concepts, terms and statistics to better understand.
What Makes The
Web Tick
The exponential
growth in popularity of the web since the mid-90’s is the result of
several key factors. Here are some of the most important:
HTML: Hypertext
Markup Language, the basic code behind almost every web page, is easy to
use and easy to learn. The fact that the HTML coding of any web page is
"open" and available literally to make self-taught experts a
daily reality.
HyperLinks:
The links on web pages we follow from text and images make it possible for
us to be transported to any Internet Host computer file anywhere in the
world, without first having to know the address.
Search Engines:
Paper Directories were once produced and available for purchase in book
stores, never mind the fact that they were obsolete the second they were
published. Search Engines provide us with the sometimes frustrating
ability to locate web sites, through complex algorithms of categorization,
popularity rankings and relevancy to your searches.
Browsers:
The software you use to view web sites makes it irrelevant what type of
computer you are using. With browser software (typically from Microsoft or
Netscape), MacIntosh and IBM PC’s can see the same web site anytime
anywhere.
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