Which methods are you currently using to help promote your business or organization over the Internet?

There are many Internet advertising ”channels” you can use to give your business online visibility. Here is an overview of some of the most popular ones.

SEO - Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via organic search results based on the search engine’s spider and indexing algorithm. In practice this often involves writing special purpose articles (pages) which target certain search phrases.

SMO - Social Media Optimization is the practice of generating publicity through social media, online communities and community websites. Some of these sites include Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, Ryze, Xanga, and many others. Methods of SMO include adding RSS feeds, social news buttons, blogging, and incorporating media other than text including images and videos.

SEM - Search Engine Marketing is a form of Internet marketing that promotes websites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages (SERPs) using both organic and paid listings, including keyword placement bidding.

PPC - Pay-per-click, also known as keyword placement bidding, is Internet advertising on search engines, advertising networks, and content sites including blogs, where advertisers pay only when their ad is clicked by a visitor. On the search engines, such as AdWords on Google, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market.

Directories - Directories are Web sites  which specialize in linking to other web sites and categorizing those links. The largest of these is Yahoo!, and shouldn’t be confused with Yahoo! Search. There are local, national and vertical market directories where your business or organization can be listed.

Links - The secret to attaining a good Google placement is back-links. Several of the prominent search engines believe that back-links are an important factor in ranking your site. There are several ways to solicit and obtain links which go back to your site, and preferrably not just to your home page.

Affiliate Programs - Affiliate marketing uses one website to drive traffic to another. This is a an online marketing channel which is frequently overlooked by businesses. SEO  e-mail, and SMO capture media attention, affiliate marketing is lower profile, but can still be very effective for certain types of businesses.

Online publicity - Publicity can help your business rise above the “noise level” on the Internet, but it takes planning and preparation to do it effectively. Publicity can be an ongoing part of your marketing program, not a one-shot effort you make when you launch your business. With a proper publicity plan, you formulate an image for how you want your company portrayed in the media. Then you establish your methodology and benchmarks that will help you achieve those goals.

Syndicated Content - In the age of blogs, news sites and RSS feeds, syndicated content is growing in popularity. Web syndication is a form of syndication in which your unique website material is made available to multiple other sites. In practice this involves making RSS web feeds available from a site in order to provide other people with a summary of your site or blog’s recently added content.

Web site Awards - There are many different so called organizations giving out awards for web site design and content. However the best ones can still serve a useful purpose in giving some level of recognition to your organization’s Web site. The best ones are the Webby’s and for online advertising (interactive category) the Clio Awards.

Email Marketing - In this age where direct mail and catalog marketing are declining, email marketing is a form of direct marketing which uses email as a means of communicating business oriented or informational messages to your particular audience. In its broadest sense, every e-mail sent to a potential or current customer could be considered e-mail marketing, however it often refers to segmented broadcast email campaigns.

Offline Integration - It is always important to integrate your Internet marketing with your traditional branding, sales, promotions and advertising efforts. if you’re not integrating your online marketing efforts with offline materials, you may be doing more than just losing a potential advantage – you may be doing damage to your brand.