Understanding the nature of the net will make you a better online marketer

by David Callan

Published on this site: August 17th, 2005 - See more articles from this month

One of the biggest obstacles to successful online marketing is a failure to understand the new World Wide Web medium. Quite often this has proved to be extremely expensive especially where online marketers have failed to fully appreciate the fact that the World Wide Web is not an advertising medium. This means that online promotion has to take a very different direction from traditional advertising in other mediums like Television and newspapers.

Huge fortunes have been spent trying to advertise all sorts of stuff online. The results have always been mediocre and disappointing. Recent efforts at pushing conventional advertising down the throat of the web include the annoying pop up ads and the so-called pop-under ads. This advertising has proved to be so unpopular that software designed to block these ads have become hugely popular online.

Understanding that the web is not an advanced Television The whole problem starts with the fact that many people still think of the World Wide Web is an advanced Television when it is in fact an advanced telephone. Understanding this simple fact is bound to tremendously change the fortunes of any online marketer.

Only with this truth in mind can one begin to see clearly why those famous prime time TV spots did not transfer well to the World Wide Web and produce the same results. It explains why folks get so upset with all those pop-up and pop-under advertisements.

You see when you make a telephone call seeking information; you do not want any interruptions of people soliciting you for all sorts of products and services. You do not make telephone calls to be advertised to, just as people do not come online to be advertised to.

This does not mean that you cannot promote on the net. It just means that the most effective methods of promotion are very different and must appreciate the fact that the net is a telephone rather than Television.

How do you advertise to somebody making a telephone call?

When we begin to carefully examine the really successful advertising methods for websites we quickly realize why the web is the most advanced telephone in the world and not a development of the Television.

Over 75 per cent of the traffic that websites receive comes from traffic engines. Traffic engines have many similarities to the old offline telephone directories. The other really successful promotional method online is to have a link at a popular site that leads to your site. These are the only promotional methods that work extremely well online. Pay-per-click ads fall under the category of having a link to your site displayed at another site.

These methods work because they do not intrude on the prospect. Rather the prospect is the one who shows interest by taking action to visit the site. Just the way somebody would use a telephone after seeing an advertisement in a directory or somewhere.

Why offline ads work miracles for websites

This would also explain the reason why offline ads always seem to work so well for websites. Radio in particular has proved to be very effective in driving traffic to websites. Newspapers and Television also work pretty well. Although the colossal cost of TV advertising has kept many webmasters away.

It makes sense that after seeing an interesting advertisement in the newspapers or hearing something on the radio that is of interest, you would pick up the telephone to try and get more information. Only that the web is the most advanced telephone in the world in that it is easy to get all the information in the world without an aggressive tele-sales person pushing you to make a purchase on the other end of the line.

Why articles are such an effective online promotion tool

It also becomes clear why well written articles posted at different websites, including article directories and announcement groups can be powerful online promotional tools. Articles provide information which is exactly what the vast majority of people using search engines are seeking. When they come across informative articles with detailed resource boxes indicating the website source, a good percentage will end up visiting the sites.

Online marketing becomes a breeze when you understand the web With a clear understanding of what the World Wide Web is, you will never be a victim of hype again. In fact you will be able to make online marketing decisions with a clear understanding of what is bound to work and what is bound to fail miserably. The result will be better and hugely more effective online marketing.

David Callan is an Internet Marketing professional and is the webmaster of http://www.akamarketing.com. Visit his site for articles, tutorials and discussion on Internet Marketing and search engine optimization