How to trade CFDs on stocks and cryptocurrencies

What is online marketing? Let's start with the basics

The term online marketing is on everyone's lips and yet doesn't seem to be tangible. What does online marketing mean? What does it include? Should companies do digital marketing? These are just some of the questions floating around in the minds of many.

We will provide you with clarity: The definition of “online marketing” is explained below and it is shown why online marketing is becoming increasingly important for companies.

Definition online marketing

Online marketing, also known as digital marketing, internet marketing, or web marketing, includes all marketing measures that are carried out on the internet. The various marketing instruments try to achieve certain company goals. Examples of these goals can be:

• increase brand awareness
• Sell ​​more products in the online shop
• Generate more registrations for an event

These goals are set individually by the companies. Online marketing is about positioning yourself attractively as a company on the Internet, asserting yourself against the competition, and successfully addressing customers to achieve the defined company goals. 

Summarized in one sentence: Online marketing includes all activities on the Internet to promote your company on the World Wide Web.

Online marketing measures and instruments

Often people immediately think of advertising when we talk about online marketing. But online marketing is more than just advertising on Google or social media platforms. If your company also wants to be successful in the online world, there is no way around making use of various online marketing measures. The measures and instruments include:

Search engine marketing: Search engine marketing includes the two tools SEO and SEA. With search engine optimization (SEO), your website is optimized in terms of content, images, authenticity, relevance, technology, and structure for users and thus for the search engine.

What is online marketing? Let's start with the basics

 The aim is to get your website as high up as possible on the first search results page to attract more users to your website. With SEO, you don't actively pay to appear on the search results page. This is an ongoing optimization process. Here comes the advertising activity of online marketing:

 In search engine advertising (SEA) you are aiming for the first positions above the organic search results (search engine optimized pages) with placed ads. So these ads are the first thing a user sees on the search results page. Unlike the organic results, with SEA you pay per click on the ads. 

Mobile marketing: According to the Federal Statistical Office, 56% of the Swiss population surfed the Internet on the move via smartphone in 2010, by 2022 the number had already risen to 98% of the Swiss population. This development underlines the importance of mobile marketing: if your company wants to position itself attractively on the web, the website must be optimized for use on mobile devices.

 Part of this optimization is the coordination of the responsive web design, the user experience and the user interface, loading speed, SEO, and SEA on the smartphone. Many of your customers find out about your company on the go on the Internet - be it through directions, contact details, offers, etc. A fast, informative, and attractive website optimized for the smartphone is essential to successfully attract potential customers.

Social Media Marketing: According to Statista, more than half of the Swiss population (4.4 out of 8.5 million) has a social media profile. Above all, the rate of social media users among 14 to 29-year-olds is very high at 84%. Your company can contact the target group directly on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, or LinkedIn.

 You will receive feedback after a short time and can adjust strategies immediately. It is essential to know which platforms your company can best use to reach the target group. You then get users to interact with your posts and follow you with relevant and creative content. Successful social media marketing increases your reach and level of awareness.

Affiliate Marketing: This part of marketing is also known as “affiliate marketing”. Your company pays so-called affiliates (partners) a commission if the affiliates successfully advertise one of your products or services on their website and users claim your offer through the partner. Affiliate marketing is performance-oriented and should promote the achievement of your goals.

Email Marketing: According to a study by Media Change, 84% of email users check their emails daily. Many companies take advantage of this fact. Companies send their customer lists newsletters with information about the company or product news. Appealing design, relevant content, but also frequency of dispatch are decisive for a successful newsletter.

What is online marketing? Let's start with the basics

Why is online marketing important?

Online marketing with a clear online marketing strategy is becoming increasingly important for all companies, because...

Increasing activity of Internet users

Marketing takes place where the target group is. With the smartphone as our constant companion in our pants or handbag, Internet activity is also increasing. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the number of Internet users across all age groups is increasing from year to year. Children, teenagers, adults, and the elderly: we all spend so much time on the internet, like never before.

 We surf from anywhere and can be reached at any time. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn and now also TikTok or search engines such as Google have become an integral part of our everyday lives. This means that it is essential for you and your company to be active where your target group, i.e. your customers, are located. 

Increased corporate presence

However, this growth in online activity is not only evident among private individuals, but also a large number of companies have established themselves in the online world with a website, e-shop, or various social media profiles. This suggests that the online marketing market is constantly growing. More and more companies are realizing that they can successfully address their customers on the Internet and bring them to sales.

 Because let's be honest - we all like to be inspired and motivated to buy by online advertising, as long as the advertising is relevant and not too intrusive. With this knowledge, the competition also increases. With this growing competition, it is important to have a clear online marketing strategy pursued and implemented the developed marketing measures to be able to celebrate success.

Measurement of success possible

How do you celebrate a sense of achievement if you don't know which marketing measure led to the achievement of the goal? How can one conclude past measures? With tools such as Google Analytics, digital measures can be measured and thus optimized.

 You get valuable insights into the performance of your online activities and can easily determine the return on marketing investment (ROI). Once you have gained a foothold in online marketing, you will learn something new with every measure and can align ongoing campaigns, strategies, and posts more and more precisely with your customers and goals.

Conclusion

Online marketing covers a wide range of measures and instruments that help your company to achieve certain goals. Due to the constantly increasing user activity on the Internet (Google, social media, apps, etc.) and the proximity to the end customer, the online marketing activities of companies are becoming more and more diverse and important.

 It is therefore essential that your company develops a precise online marketing strategy, implements it, and then measures the success of these activities. Only those who analyze the marketing measures can gain insights and integrate them into the following measures. Analyzed online marketing measures are essential for the success of a company.