Introduction

Internet has given rise to the expansion of the concept of market. The seller need not look for a showroom to exhibit his products. At the same time the buyer need not rush to a brick and mortar shop to buy the products. Neither the seller nor the buyer will meet face to face. The buyer will not carry any money in his pocket. In the absence of all these elements, millions of dollars worth products are sold and bought every day through the market which in short is the function of Online marketing.

Function of e-market

This form of marketing which is also called e-market or online market is global in nature. A person sitting in one corner of the globe can buy products from an online stores situated in the other part of the globe. The very function of this e-market is very unique. The seller opens a website which gives the details of the products sold by him. He also gives clear images or video clipping of the product. He gives every bit of information or specification of the product. He will ensure that the details are given in a fair manner and without any kind of hype. The prices are displayed and so is the discount allowed. The terms and conditions like the delivery terms, payment terms, warranty including disclaimer, if any, are also notified by the seller in no unclear terms. From these facts, it is clear that internet marketing is a business of mutual trust and confidence. The buyer trusts the genuineness of the product displayed. Once the buyer clicks on  add to cart menu, the seller is expected to supply genuine product and the buyer must honor his commitment and take delivery of the product and pay for the same.

Role of SEO

Internet marketing being an online market, the seller must advertise for his product so that the prospective buyers would visit him to make the purchase. For this purpose, the seller builds a unique website wherein he would give details of all his products.  The crucial issue in the website is its ranking in the SEO. Normally, sellers take the help of web designers or SEO agencies and these agencies build the website for the seller. The website is now put on the search engines like the Google, Yahoo, as also on social marketing tools like the Face Book, twitter and so on. These web design agencies also ensure that the website of the client will appear within the first ten or at least within the first page of search engine. The concept is; higher the SEO ranking, higher will be the traffic to the website and that would be a positive step to convert the visits into sale. To achieve this web designers make the website attractive in design and also use fascinating key words.

Visit online store

In order to appreciate the working of e-marketing, you must visit any of the reputed online stores. Once you visit the store you are invited to open your account. This procedure is free and simple as well. Once you open the account, you would enter the market. You find the products are classified based on its nature like for example apparels, kitchenware, toys, stationery and so on. In each of these classifications you find innumerable varieties like for example in kitchenware you may find a group exclusively dealing with utensils, another group exclusively dealing with dish washing liquids and so on. If you are unable to get to the product you are looking for, you can search by the nature of product or the name of the product.

Advantages and drawbacks

The main advantage of internet marketing is it saves time. The buyer can buy after carefully going through the details of the product. He need not spend time on visiting the store in person. He can buy from any place; be it the office or home or even while he is on travel. He need not carry any money; he can pay online through credit or debit card or pay against delivery. The drawback would be the delivery of the product in e-market takes one or two days. If the product delivered is not as per the specifications or wrong products are dispatched, the buyer will have to take the trouble of returning the product and wait till it is replaced.

Online marketing is an innovative step and it would be very useful if both the seller and buyer perform their obligations without any demur.