To me, internet marketing is comprised of 3 kinds of optimization. I’ve built Portent around these three areas – if you’re considering working with us, this is another way to look at our approach.
The three types are:

Site Optimization

This is the least-known, at least by this name. We practice site optimization when we analyze how visitors use your site, and then make changes that will increase sales, or leads, or some other conversion rate.
Site optimization includes:

• Analysis: Reviewing what’s attracting visitors and what’s driving them away.
• Creative work: Writing copy and designing pages that will welcome those visitors, and make them more likely to convert to customers, leads or subscribers.
• Development: Fixing problems that might be turning your site into a brick wall. Examples include that login form in your shopping cart, or form validation that drives visitors crazy.
• Strategy: Watching what content, trends and changes in the market affect your site’s performance and how, and then planning tactics that can capitalize.

Internet marketing fails without site optimization: If you generate lots of traffic but no one can buy, what’s the point?

Spend Optimization

Spend optimization is the work we do to make sure every dollar you invest in internet marketing generates a return.
Spend optimization includes:

• Pay per click marketing management.
• Media planning and measurement.
• E-mail marketing management and optimization.
• Value tracking.

The last item is particularly important: Not all internet marketing generates an easily-measured return on investment. We want to help you measure forms of marketing that may be valuable even if they don’t demonstrate clear ROI.

Media Optimization

Media optimization is everything else. Our work to improve your unpaid search rankings, manage your reputation, build buzz and attention in the blogging and networking world and distribute news are all part of media optimization.
Internet marketing cannot succeed without this discipline, which includes:

• Search engine optimization.
• Blogging.
• Blogger outreach.
• Optimized press releases.
• Reputation monitoring and management.
• So-called ‘viral’ marketing.
• Video and rich media marketing.

There are others, but these steps cover the major items.

Internet Marketing is a Blend

A successful internet marketing company pulls all of these forms of optimization together. If you don’t, you’re probably missing an important piece of the puzzle.