Online web site owners know that buyers don't just come to their sites, they must be enticed to visit and purchase.

For many, the sum total of promoting their website revolves around "advertising." But... did you know that there is much more to pulling in customers than advertising alone can do?

According to Wikipedia, a simplified definition of marketing is:

"...the ongoing process of moving people closer to making a decision to purchase, use, follow... or conform to someone else's products, services or values."

In a nutshell, "... if it doesn't facilitiate a "sale" then it's not marketing."

Does advertising facilitiate sales? There's no doubt that an effective online or offline ad works. However, the difference between advertising and marketing, especially online, is advertising involves a cold market process. You must be persuasive using text and graphics to create an interest in someone, an interest they were not actively aware they had. You must create that interest from scratch to get that all-important site visit.

Marketing, conversely, seeks out the warm market. Your warm market is in the mood, it is actively searching for what you have to offer.

Bringing the two of you together is the sole focus of a great marketing campaign.

Philip Kotler's definition explains:

"Marketing is human activity directed at satisfying needs and wants through exchange process."

Simply put, your buyer was already looking, now all you need to ensure that purchase is a sales-converting web site.

So does advertising alone cover enough ground to accomplish this goal? Not on its own.

Market research, product development, the management of the life cycle of that product, pricing, and promotion are but a few aspects defining the term "marketing."

Strategic internet marketing is geared toward defining, creating, growing, developing, maintaining, defending, and "owning" your market.

How does one "own" their market?

On the 'net the one surefire way of dominating any market is exceptional placement in the search engines. When an internet shopper heads to Google, Yahoo!, MSN, AltaVista... wherever... they have one goal and one goal in mind... find what they are looking for.

Web site owners who know what they want to accomplish know they must strive to rise to the top of the search engines, and do so quickly.

Hundreds of thousands of new web sites pop up daily. Millions if not billions of web pages already exist - before your site even hits the launch pad. Conquering and butting your competition out of the prime search engine positions needs to be your focus.

"If you build it, they will come" only works in the movies. Take the steps needed to make your web site a success.

Advertising is necessary. Marketing is critical!

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Copyright 2006 - All Rights Reserved

About the Author:

Theresa Cahill has over two decades of online and offline marketing experience. Teaming up with Jeff Greer of Everenterprise, they put their talents and experience to work assisting business, home business, and store front owners in promoting their websites. You are invited to receive a preliminary and free strategic internet marketing site evaluation at Market-for-Me.com.

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