The question asked in the title of this article has become more important in recent years. With the 2008 economic downturn and slow recovery, advertising and marketing budgets have been greatly reduced. Not to mention the options for spending your significant marketing budget. After all, a lot has changed, not only because of the economy, but also because of technology. There was a time when getting an ad in the yellow pages was vital. Now, however, it is often a waste of money.

One marketing and advertising option that has really grown in popularity and power is the Internet. The term “internet marketing” is a fairly well-known term now, although it is often misunderstood.

So, let’s start by answering the question. Should You Hire An Internet Marketer? The answer is a resounding yes. Now, you might have the resources to hire them internally, or maybe the time to do the marketing yourself. But in most cases, this is not so. For smaller business owners, there is no budget or need for a full-time employee. Also in these cases, there is rarely enough time in the day to get the job done. If there’s one thing that can be said about internet marketing, it’s that it takes time. Long time if you want it to be effective.

So if you find yourself in this middle ground, hiring an independent internet marketing and advertising consultant can be a huge boon for your business. They will have the time and knowledge to get the job done and give you the care you need. And what’s also great about a marketing company is that they will only hire for the work that needs to be done. There is no additional cost associated with an employee.

Now, you may be wondering if you need this form of promotion. After all, you may not have an online store or something that generates revenue directly online. Well, think of it this way, it has been established that over 97% of all customers go online to research, find and decide on the companies they will spend their money on. Mobile web browsing apps make this even more powerful. So whether you sell online or not, you want to send people to your website. You want that website to actively promote you and guide the visitor to the point where they will make a purchase of your product or service. And this is what internet marketing does.

As for the second part of the question, does it really work? The answer again is a resounding yes. It’s a timely process and should be considered long-term, but internet marketing raises awareness of you and helps establish your brand, or even build it. And there’s another reason: your competitors are doing it. And the reality of business is that if your competition gets involved and gets results, so should you.

Before closing this article, let’s take a brief look at what Internet marketing is. Because it is not enough to know why you should do it, but what you are doing. Let’s start with this by dispelling a common misconception. Internet marketing is not search engine optimization. Or at least, this is not the full picture.

Perhaps the shortest explanation of what internet marketing is is that it is the placement of related content online that links back to you. This can take the form of articles like this, videos on YouTube, posting to your Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn accounts, answering questions on discussion forums related to your business, posting free ads, subscribing to link directories, blogs and of course using paid advertising such as Google AdWords, advertisements on other websites and affiliate programs.

Of course, while online marketing isn’t SEO, search engine optimization is important, and not just on your website. You want to optimize everything you post, your site, your ads, your articles, your content descriptions, etc.

The concept of Internet marketing is as broad as the Internet itself. The options available to you are virtually limitless. But keep in mind that your ultimate goal should be results and sales. And most of the time, as the old saying goes, it takes money to make money. Or time to earn money. And a good internet marketing company can make the most of these resources. They will actively care about you, your business, your goals, and your success. At the very least, it never hurts to have a consultation with someone who can answer your questions and provide some guidance. Good luck and good marketing!