Online Marketing: What’s Behind It?
Your target group is online — browsing the web, searching on Google, posting on Facebook, watching YouTube videos, and downloading apps on their smartphones. Online marketing uses these channels to acquire customers. It has never been easier to address customers directly than it is today. Compared to traditional advertising, which often struggles with high scatter losses, online marketing can completely avoid them. Online marketing is targeted, more cost-efficient, and, above all, measurable — offering several advantages over classic advertising.
Other commonly used terms include internet marketing, digital marketing, or simply digital. The most important measures include search engine advertising, search engine optimization, and web analytics, distinguishing between organic and paid advertising. Organic marketing includes SEO, content marketing, and social media, while paid advertising consists of SEA and paid social campaigns.
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But let’s start from the beginning — nowadays, a company’s online presence is its digital business card. That’s why it’s often surprising to see how many businesses still fail to take full advantage of digital opportunities, especially considering the impact these can have on their offline business as well.
The shift from a seller’s to a buyer’s market has brought about massive change. Consumers face an overwhelming number of options and are often paralyzed by the abundance of choices. This can lead to a situation where even a customer who intended to make a purchase ends up not buying at all, simply because they cannot decide between the many alternatives.
You may have experienced something similar yourself. That’s why it’s essential to provide clarity and show customers exactly what sets your product or service apart. Because we live in a digital world — one that will continue to grow — it’s vital to make these advantages visible online as well.
Most of us are familiar with the classic 4Ps of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion. In online marketing, especially in place (distribution), huge changes have taken place, with digital sales channels playing an increasingly important role. The traditional retail store is often replaced by an online shop, which is usually more profitable due to lower costs. Terms such as usability optimization (UX) and conversion rate optimization (CRO) have become crucial in this context.
Within promotion (communications policy), online marketing measures such as SEO, content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, PPC advertising, and more come into play.
Goals of Online Marketing
From the very beginning of planning, the goals of the chosen measures must be defined. Only then is it possible to measure results afterward and adjust implementation if necessary.
Possible goals can be divided into:
- Branding / Brand Building – e.g., increasing website traffic or social media mentions.
- Lead Generation – e.g., completed contact forms, email subscriptions, or phone inquiries.
- Engagement – e.g., page impressions, social media comments, or increasing the average time spent on your website while reducing bounce rates.
- Sales – e.g., increasing orders through your online shop.
Push and Pull Marketing
It is also useful to differentiate between various online marketing channels. A distinction is made between push marketing and pull marketing.
- Push marketing means “pushing” a product into the market, often used for new product launches. The goal is to grab attention, typically by interrupting someone in their current activity and redirecting their focus.
- Pull marketing, by contrast, requires that a potential customer already has an interest in a product or in solving a problem. Here, the customer is placed at the center — not the company.
When deciding between the two, it’s important to consider the stage of the customer journey your prospect is in. For example, in the early stages of the buying process, pull marketing strategies are generally more effective, while push marketing often provides the final purchase impulse.
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