What is Internet Marketing?

Simply put, Internet Marketing is the advertising and promotion of Web sites and the products and/or services that they offer. While Jamaican individuals and companies have been speedy about getting their "DOTCOM" registered and establishing their online presence, Internet Marketing seems to have fallen way down on the list of priorities for the owners of many these Web sites.

Why should Internet Marketing be important anyway? The same rules that apply to "Offline Marketing" also apply to Internet or online marketing - (a) There is a desire to build buyer awareness of the product or service (b) There is a desire to make a sale and ultimately make some sort of profit. Internet Marketing is undoubtedly important because without it, Web Surfers will have no clue that a site with all its bells and whistles even exists. If no one knows the site exists and it gets no traffic, this will clearly translate to ZERO sales and no profit.

Even if you aren't selling something online, and you're simply using your Web site as an online brochure or business card, you still need Internet Marketing in some shape or form to help get the word out there and get some traffic coming to your site.

This is the first in a series of articles that will cover the basics of Internet Marketing, offering tips and advice on how to use various techniques to help promote your Web site.

The Basics - Make Sure Your Site Is Ready

Make it look as professional as possible

If you happened across a Web site that looked like someone's child created it using crayons, would you view them as being "serious about business"? The online image that you create is often the only contact a Surfer will have, so it needs to be as powerful and as clear as possible. Once a Web Surfer leaves your Web site, the impression you've created remains with them, just like a television commercial or clever radio jingle.

Make it easy to use and navigate

It's absolutely important that your site's visitors be able to jump to the different parts of your Web site from any page. Eliminate any unnecessary steps for the Surfer, especially steps that result in "traps" (A "trap" is a dead-end page with no links to other sections of the site, thus forcing the Surfer to hit the "BACK" button to go back to the page(s) that have the proper links). Additionally, an effective Web site has information that is laid out in a logical fashion; it doesn't make visitors struggle to find what they're looking for.

Keep it simple

If you want a Surfer to click a button, tell them to! Pretend that they're all dumb, and put the big "CLICK HERE" on that button. Not all Surfers are super-smart, so make things as easy to understand as possible and don't overcomplicate the simplest of tasks.

Put your contact information in plain sight

So the Surfer's at your site, she likes it, she's interested in what you're saying and now she'd like to contact you to find out more. So she clicks from page to page, reading the fine print, clicking every icon, but she can't seem to find your e-mail address or a phone number for that matter. Why make it difficult for a potential customer to contact you? Put your e-mail address on each and every page of your site. The most common place to put it is usually at the bottom of the page or add a "Contact Us" page with the link there.

Sandor Panton ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) is a Jamaican currently working as a Search Engine Optimizer for an Intenet Marketing Company in Ontario, Canada. He is also the owner of www.top5jamaica.com, a Jamaican search portal.