What is Internet Marketing?
Internet marketing, also referred to as web-marketing, online-marketing, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) or e-Marketing, is the marketing of products or services over the Internet. Internet marketing ties together creative and technical aspects of the Internet, including: design, development, advertising, and sales.
Internet marketing also refers to the placement of media along many different stages of the customer engagement cycle through search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), banner ads on specific websites, e-mail marketing, and Web 2.0 strategies.
Internet marketing is associated with several business models:
 E-commerce — this is where goods are sold directly to consumers (B2C) or businesses (B2B)
Publishing — this is the sale of advertising
Lead-based websites — this is an organization that generates value by acquiring sales leads from its website
Affiliate marketing — this is the process in which a product or service developed by one person is sold by other active sellers for a share of
profits. The owner of the product normally provides some marketing material (sales letter, affiliate link, tracking facility).
Local internet marketing - this is the process of a locally based company traditionally selling belly to belly and utilizing the Internet to find
and nurture relationships, later to take those relationships offline.
There are many other business models based on the specific needs of each person or the business that launches an Internet marketing campaign.
Advantages
Internet marketing is relatively inexpensive when compared to the ratio of cost against the reach of the target audience. Companies can reach a wide audience for a small fraction of traditional advertising budgets. It allows consumers to research and purchase products and services at their own convenience. Therefore, businesses have the advantage of appealing to consumers in a medium that can bring results quickly.
Internet marketers also have the advantage of measuring statistics easily and inexpensively. Nearly all aspects of an Internet marketing campaign can be traced, measured, and tested. The advertisers can use a variety of methods: pay per impression, pay per click, pay per play, or pay per action. Therefore, marketers can determine which messages or offerings are more appealing to the audience.
The results of campaigns can be measured and tracked immediately because online marketing initiatives usually require users to click on an advertisement, visit a website, and perform a targeted action. Such measurement cannot be achieved through billboard advertising, where an individual will at best be interested, then decide to obtain more information at a later time. Because exposure, response, and overall efficiency of Internet media are easier to track than traditional off-line media—through the use of web analytics for instance—Internet marketing can offer a greater sense of accountability for advertisers.
Limitations
Internet marketing requires customers to use newer technologies rather than traditional media. Low-speed Internet connections are another barrier. If companies build large or overly-complicated websites, individuals connected to the Internet via dial-up connections or mobile devices experience significant delays in content delivery.
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