Online Marketing vs. Real-world Marketing

There are some fundamental differences between the marketing of web sites on the Internet and marketing for brick-and-mortar sites in the real world. One significant difference is that because it is so easy to leave an online site and simply go to another one, there is very little customer loyalty on the web. Therefore, when determining the acceptable cost for advertising, such as pay-per-click (PPC) search engine marketing, the only consideration should be the value of a single sale, without any value for customer acquisition that would normally be considered in the brick-and-mortar world.

On the other hand, brand recognition does have significant value in the online world, so advertising in online e-mail newsletters, web sites, blogs and podcasts as well as print media can have a positive effect, especially if advertising is placed in media targeted to topics related to the site being advertised.