SEARCH ENGINES

While search engines are far outstripped by
direct referrals, they can still prove useful
for attracting customers if you are in a very
price sensitive market or you provide a
niche product.
Over 90% of all referrals to e-commerce sites
come from the four largest search engines:
Google, Yahoo, MSN and AOL1. Competition
for a high ranking on these sites is intense
because only 10% of web users look beyond
the second page of results2.
If you are expecting your website to generate
significant commercial returns it may well be
worth spending the extra to engage the
services of a professional search engine
placement agency. If you are a small
company with a limited budget, and your
website is just one of several channels to
market, you may be better off with a DIY
approach. If things go well you can always
revisit your search engine placement
strategy at a later date.
Different search engines rank websites in
different ways – some by a site’s popularity,
some by relevance and some by quality.
Many also offer the option of paying for a
place on the first page.

The benefits e-marketing

GLOBAL REACH
If you build a website you can reach anyone,
anywhere in the world, provided they have
internet access. This allows you to tap new
markets and compete globally with only a
small investment. This can be particularly
useful for niche providers, companies whose
products can be posted easily, or businesses
who are looking to expand geographically
but cannot afford to invest in new offices
or businesses.

LOWER COST
A properly planned and effectively targeted
e-marketing campaign can reach the right
customers at a much lower cost than traditional
marketing methods. You can build a website
for as little as a few hundred pounds or send
e-mail for a fraction of a penny.

TRACKABLE, MEASURABLE RESULTS
Marketing by e-mail or banner advertising
makes it easier to establish how effective
your campaign has been. If someone clicks
on a banner advert, or a link in an e-mail or
on a website, you can see how they arrived
at your website. This detailed information
about customers’ responses to your
advertising allows you to assess the
effectiveness of different campaigns.

24-HOUR MARKETING
With a website your customers can find
out about your products even if your office
is closed.

SHORTER LEAD TIMES
If you have a website or an e-mail template,
you can react to events much more quickly –
giving your marketing a much more
contemporary feel. If one of your products is
in the news or something important happens
in your industry, you can capitalise on it
without having to print or post anything.

A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
With a well-designed website, you can show
yourself to be as professional and credible as
your larger competitors.

PERSONALISATION
If your customer database is linked to your
website, then whenever someone visits the
site, you can greet them with targeted
offers. The more they buy from you, the
more you can refine your customer profile
and market effectively to them. A great
example of this is Amazon’s website which
suggests products based on your and other
people’s previous purchases.

ONE-TO-ONE MARKETING
E-marketing lets you reach people who want
to know about your products and services
instantly – you don’t have to wait until they
come home from work and switch on the TV
or open their mail. People have a different,
more personal relationship with most new
technologies. For example, many people take
mobile phones and PDAs wherever they go,
and a surprising number feel lost without their
e-mail. Combine this with the personalised
aspect of e-marketing, and you can create
very powerful and targeted campaigns.

MORE INTERESTING CAMPAIGNS
E-marketing lets you create interactive
campaigns using music, graphics and
videos. You could send your customers a
game or a quiz – whatever you think will
interest them. One of the great successes of
e-marketing has been film companies letting
people download trailers for forthcoming
movies. Other small companies have picked
up this idea – a radio controlled car
company sends customers designs or
photos of new products in development
while clothing companies send out sneak
previews of the new season’s range.

BETTER CONVERSION RATE
If you have got a website, then your
customers are only ever a few clicks away
from completing a purchase. Unlike other
media which require people to get up and
make a phone call, post a letter or go to a
shop, e-marketing is seamless. The change
from reading an e-mail to buying on a
website is negligible – no special effort is
required, meaning that your call to action
can be much more direct.
Together, all of these aspects of e-marketing
add up to one thing: more sales. Read on for
more details of the different types ofe-marketing technology.

What is e-marketing?

Obviously these figures don’t tell the whole
Story – not all sales made online are the
Result of e-marketing and not every business
has benefited equally. What is certain?
though, is that many businesses are
producing great results with e-marketing and
its flexible and cost-effective nature make it
particularly suitable for small and medium
sized businesses.
It is no exaggeration to describe e-marketing
As a revolution for the marketing industry.
For the first time,
it gives businesses of any size access to the mass market
at an affordable price and, unlike TV or print advertising,
it allows truly personalised marketing. Specific benefits of

e-marketing include:

The benefits
· global reach
· lower cost
· trackable, measurable results
· 24-hour marketing
· shorter lead times
· a level playing field
· personalisation
· one-to-one marketing
· more interesting campaigns
· better conversion rate