 Online marketing and advertising is back with a vengeance. According to Forbes, 62% of the US population is already online, and is expected to attract $8 billion in advertising this year. After the explosion of the infamous "internet bubble" in 2000, companies are starting to get more savvy to the opportunities and capabilities online marketing can provide them: potential reach levels similar to cable television, and the ability to segment users down to their individual area codes.
Gone are the days where SPAM (or euphemistically-named "email blasts") is the centerpiece of a reputable company's online advertising strategy. Annoying banners, pop-ups and pop-unders have seen a sharp decrease in effectiveness as users tune them out, either mentally or literally, using software blockers.
Happily, the dismal age of the Internet's younger years is now past and the paradigm is changing. It's no longer a game of "impressions" (how many people see your ad), and the smartest online advertisers know it's not a game about "click-thrus" (how many people click your ad) either. The ultimate goal of an online advertising campaign is to drive a "conversion": be it a customer filling out a lead form, someone signing up for a service, or purchasing your product online.
 Today, there are many new tools to achieve this end. Unlike television or radio, where advertisers rely on a "mass marketing" approach, the internet allows advertising strategists the flexibility to "mass customize" their campaigns, based on "flags" (criteria) like geographical location (DMA), time of day/week/month, points of expressed interest and previous surfing behavior. Different surfers with different profiles see different pages, each with content specifically "tweaked" to maximize the chances of turning their visit to your website into a lead (i.e. lining up new potential customers). Leads are the key. Without a tangible and measurable return, your company's webmaster can talk about click-thru, traffic and impression rates until he's blue-in-the-face: but without generating a positive net return, it's all just hot air.
At Superfriends Marketing and Promotions Group our company focuses on the real goal: making your website profitable, not just pretty. We offer comprehensive solutions for website design/redesign and online marketing support aimed at turning your website into a viable money-making machine with a positive return, instead of a yearly cash indulgence for the sake of keeping up with the times. Your website can be much more than your company's extended business card. If you want to start transforming your website into a valuable sales tool and not just a line-item expense, give us a call, or contact us electronically for a free 15-minute marketing analysis.
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