In North America alone almost 75% of the population have access to the Internet. Almost 2-billion people around the world are online. There are new markets out there just waiting for you to tap into them.

To reach online audiences ten years ago all you needed to do was put up a static website and wait for the visitors to come. These days it’s not so easy. The Internet is a busy place and to be effective marketing to your intended audience you need to consider six different factors for online marketing success. These are: 

1. Website – a great website is foundation of effective online marketing. If your site doesn't resonate with visitors then any social media or search engine marketing efforts will be in vain. It should be clear, at first glance to a visitor, what it is that your company does. Make sure to put yourself in your customers’ shoes and determine which phrases and terminology they might use so that your content resonates.

2. Email - with the buzz around social media, don't forget that email is still one of the best ways to reach your audience. A regular newsletter that adds value for your audience is a key component of your online marketing efforts, not only does it serve to remind prospects and clients of your presence – building loyalty – but it also serves as a great forum to introduce new offerings, provide updates and generate sales leads. Just remember never to spam.

3. Internet Advertising – a great ad campaign not only drives targeted traffic to your site but it also allows you to refine the keywords on the copy of your site to make it more effective, too.

4. Search engine positioning and optimization (SEP / SEO) – make sure that you site is submitted to all of the major search engines, tweak the keywords and meta data on your site and commit to an ongoing link-building campaign. Links are like gold online – the more you have the higher the ranking is likely to be.

5. Social media – determine which social media tools best fit your audience, brand and resources and use these to effectively reach out to your audience, to connect and interact with them and to drive traffic to your site. Search engines like sites that are updated often and a blog is a great way to do this.

6. Analytics – last but not least, what is the use of implementing any marketing campaign if you can't measure the results. Be sure to install a web traffic analysis tool like Google Analytics to monitor the effectiveness of your efforts.

Internet marketing is an ongoing effort. It takes time and commitment to be effective but if you consider these six components and factor each into your mix, your chances of driving the right traffic to your site and building an effective online presence will be much higher.