What Is Internet Marketing? The Basics of a Booming Business

In the new information-age economy, the dream of working at home is more prevalent than ever. The rise of e-commerce and technological developments that make working virtually easier than ever has allowed countless entrepreneurial individuals to make their living with nothing more than a computer and an internet connection.

Unfortunately the work-at-home dream remains just that for many more. It’s not that they don’t have the skills or drive to do it, it’s just that they don’t know how. In truth, there are a myriad of ways to make money from home. Internet marketing is perhaps the best one. So, what is internet marketing? In short, internet marketers act as intermediaries between web users and product/service providers. They find ways to direct potential customers to companies’ websites or landing pages, and earn a commission when that company makes sales. Internet marketers are facilitators of transactions – finding the best routes to link businesses and customers.

What is internet marketing’s advantage?

There are several reasons why internet marketing beats out other money-making methods for working at home. Below are three of the most significant.

1. Low start-up costs. In comparison to other work-at-home business models, internet marketing is bargain-basement cheap. While craft businesses require inventory materials and high initial investment, you only need to buy a domain and hosting (which can be under $20 per month together averaged out). Later, fees for certain types of advertising (most notably pay-per-click ads seen in search engine result pages) will apply. But most internet marketers reinvest profits from their first few ventures to do this, in effect ramping their already successful business model up in scale instead of paying just to get it off the ground. Other effective advertising methods involved in internet marketing – especially those that use social networking – are virtually free.

2. High return on investment. One of the more important things to understand when asking “What is internet marketing?” is the fact that few other work-from-home business models can match its return on investment. With low start-up costs and potentially high profits, it’s possible to have an ROI of many times your costs within just a few months, or even weeks if you dedicate a lot of time to the venture.

3. No scams or dependencies on other organizations. There are dozens of legitimate companies that pay regular commissions to internet marketers. So, unlike multi-level marketing plans or risky high-yield investment programs, the internet marketer’s skills and talents have an inherent value once developed.

What is internet marketing legwork like?

It wouldn’t be exactly right to say that internet marketing is a breeze. While it’s not conceptually difficult, it takes persistence and effort to be successful. When real marketers are asked “What is internet marketing?”, they’ll likely delve into the painstaking details that make a successful campaign. Once a marketer becomes a company affiliate, they’ll have to begin an incremental process to draw traffic and direct them to targeted products or services. This includes keyword research, building a website or social networking page with content that can be found in search engine results, and creating a network of links to their webpage throughout the internet. This process, placed in a neat nutshell here, can take weeks and even months to develop. Constant maintenance is required to make sure that targets for profitability are met.

As you move on from asking “What is internet marketing?” to creating and implementing your own campaigns, you’ll discover its final important differentiator from other businesses. When a good page is built for a keyword that a lot of people search, it will guide traffic and generate sales for a long period of time. To the marketer, that means that once a site is set up, it will generate steady income with only minor tweaks necessary from time to time. This advantage, along with all the others detailed above, demonstrate how this investment of time and resources can pay off in the long run.