Email Marketing, Search Engine Optimization to Include Email Marketing

Email marketing is considered as any promotion of products or services done via email. This form of direct marketing uses electronic mail (email) to communicate commercial, fundraising, or advertising messages to an audience of potential and current customers. Broadly speaking, every email sent to a potential or current customer can be considered email marketing. Usually, the term “email marketing” refers to sending emails that enhance the relationship between a merchant and the customer. Email marketing is also widely used to seek new customers.

Email marketing’s greatest strength comes from the medium of email being so versatile. Formats can range from HTML to simple text. Content can be one-size-fits-all or highly customized. The frequency of emails can be adjusted. Whether advertisements are to be sent at fixed, regular intervals or sent only when something newsworthy happens such as a price is lowered or an additional product is offered, email can achieve it. Both the sophistication and cost of email marketing can be very high or very low, depending on the needs of the advertisers and marketing plan specifications.

The abuse of email is commonly called spam. Spam email can be considered email marketing. However, spam becomes a major threat to other, more legitimate email marketing methods when the amount of messages makes the entire email medium less effective. Also, since the beginning of the Internet, its Terms of Service/Acceptable Use Policy of Internet Service Providers has prohibited the sending of spam, or, as it is sometimes referred to as, “junk email.”

Unfortunately, several Internet service providers lack the adequate personnel or technical skills to enforce spam prohibition. In the U.S., many states enacted anti-spam laws, which were pre-empted by the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. Spam is legally permissible as long as it has a truthful subject line, no false information in the technical headers or sender address, and a conspicuous display of the sender’s postal address.

Despite spam’s proliferation, email marketing remains effective and includes more than a few advantages over direct mail marketing. Email marketing is easily tracked and can be extremely cost-effective so long as clearly defined goals are kept and expectations concerning cost per lead remain reasonable. Furthermore, email marketing allows a user to resend undeliverable email messages quickly and inexpensively, cutting down on time and money. Email marketing also provides quick lead generation, fast and inexpensive testing, and an ideal forum for reliable customer dialogue.

In addition to its other advantages over direct mail marketing, email marketing has little to no production costs. Email marketers do not have to spend anything on paper or postage. Also, recent studies have turned up two interesting facts. First, almost every person connected to the Internet has made an online purchase at one time or another. Also, the first thing most Internet users do when turning on the computer is check their email.

Email marketing can distribute information to a wide range of potential customers at a relatively low price. Its reach and convenience make it the premiere medium and tool for marketing online. This strategy is an integral part of any well-planned SEO campaign.