The Internet as a marketing tool

As a marketing tool, think of the Internet as a combination of yellow page ads, billboards and print ads, all of which have no specific incremental cost.

There's a catch, though. Much like a toll-free telephone number, a Web site does you no good if you don't get people to use it. You have to tell them about it. That opens up a whole new field of Internet marketing related to traffic as a result of content, search engines, search terms, banner ads, associated links, etc.

The value of Internet marketing also depends on the nature of your business. Some companies actually deliver products or services over the Internet -- software, for example, and information services. Others take orders over the Internet, for products or subscriptions. And still others -- accountants and attorneys, for example -- use the Internet as an information resource and infrastructure extension.

The Internet is a very powerful tool, but like all tools, is only as effective as the user employs it.