What exactly is Digital Marketing?

23 July 2010

There are so many categories and subcategories of marketing today that you're bound to get dizzy trying to learn about it all in one shot. Internet marketing, as a concept, is extremely encompassing. Most people only bother to learn a few ins and outs just enough to get them by and to get their sites ranked. Part of Internet marketing is digital marketing, an equally confusing aspect.

If you know what digital marketing is, then it's relatively easy to understand. If you don't know, however, figuring out what qualifies as digital marketing can take some getting used to. Odds are you haven't heard of some of the methods within the digital wheelhouse.

In simple and plain English, the broad category of digital marketing contains search engine optimization (SEO), banner advertising, pay-per-click advertising (PPC), email, RSS, social networking, blogging, advergaming and other Internet-based digital aspects.

Basically, the overwhelming majority of Internet marketing qualifies as digital, but there are a few old marketing tactics online that don't fall in the category.

Digital marketing is more of a model when taken as a whole. It's all about the interaction between the marketer and the customer. This interaction can be personal or impersonal, as long as the digital interaction is taking place. It's also about targeting specific niche markets and demographics with effective advertising that caters to the customer.

One of the most important aspects of digital marketing is the ability to create quantifiable results. What this means, simply, is that the action of marketing should have a measurable reaction of traffic.

Any basic digital marketing technique mastered can easily bring an influx of traffic to a website or blog. Digital marketing techniques are employed by millions on the Internet, from people looking to push businesses to regular folks looking to have their social networking profiles noticed.

You don't have to be seeking a monetary profit to employ digital marketing. It's basically about using various methods to advertise directly to other Internet users and to drive people to a designated area. Simply sending someone a friend request via MySpace technically qualifies as digital marketing.

A couple of digital marketing's aspects are a little more difficult to get a grasp on. Many people try to use PPC ads to their advantage, only to have their accounts suspended for false clicks, or to have their ads go untouched even on heavily trafficked sites. Mastering the art of the ad is definitely something to seek further advice on.

RSS feeds and thorough search engine optimization are also confusing to some lacking the expertise. Many freelancers and specialty companies have emerged in recent years and have become prominent players in the digital marketing field due to their knack for driving traffic and earning high site placement.

If you're looking to operate a successful online business, then you need to understand what digital marketing is, what it's intended for and how to best use it to your advantage.