Fundamentals of Digital Marketing
What digital marketing is (and isn't), its four objectives, why people go online, the seven key components (website, SEO/SEM, social, paid ads, remarketing, affiliate, email), Kaushik's measurement model, and metrics vs KPIs.
1What is digital marketing?
Marketing changed more in the last 10 years than in the previous 100: from TV spots and print ads to apps, social media and Google. Facebook, Uber and LinkedIn didn't exist a few years ago and now shape how we interact, communicate and travel.
Digital marketing is the promotion of products or brands via one or more forms of electronic media. It is also called online, internet or web marketing. More precisely, it is the strategy and processes that connect advertisers with audiences across digital channels.
| It includes | It does not include |
|---|---|
| Banner ads, SEO, pay-per-click, email, RSS, voice/fax broadcast, blogging, podcasting, video streams, SMS, instant messaging | Radio, TV, billboards, print: traditional media that don't give instant feedback and reports |
Key ideas:
- Digital inventory is the space a publisher makes available for ads on its platform.
- Channels: display, search, mobile, social, video, each serving different stages of the conversion funnel.
- "Inbound" and interactive: audiences can interact with ads and respond to advertisers.
- Precise targeting: by demographic, behavioural and psychographic attributes, by device, even by individual user, without losing scale.
- Measurable: impressions, clicks, site hits, leads, purchases can all be tracked, so ROI is easier to measure than with traditional media.
2Objectives of digital marketing
Objectives differ by business:
- An online apparel store sells completely online.
- A car dealer uses online as a first contact point; the purchase happens offline.
| Objective | Explanation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Increase direct sales | Campaigns bring visitors who buy online, so revenue per $ spent (ROI) can be measured. Not every campaign sells directly (there are assisted conversions and awareness too) | An online dry-fruit store runs Facebook ads; customers pay online and get courier delivery |
| 2. Continuous flow of new leads | For offline businesses, generate qualified leads online for sales staff to convert. It also increases walk-ins | A car dealer runs search, social and email ads to gather leads |
| 3. Reduce customer-acquisition cost | Reach a large, highly targeted audience faster and cheaper than traditional media | An FMCG firm targets one town with social or search ads instead of newspaper ads, billboards and kiosks |
| 4. Keep customers engaged | Acquisition alone doesn't bring repeat buys. Stay connected through social media and retargeting | An apparel store shows a browser the exact items they viewed |
3Why people go online
Nine reasons, from research:
| Reason | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1. Information | The largest library ever: text, images, video, audio |
| 2. Communication | Email, voice and video calls: cheaper and faster relationships |
| 3. Entertainment | Games, virtual worlds, music, video (watch for addiction) |
| 4. Work | Telecommuting; earning a living online (IT, web, internet marketing) |
| 5. School | Curricula from primary school to university require the internet |
| 6. Relationships | Find, maintain or end relationships; social networks |
| 7. Market | Research, find, buy and sell, 24/7 |
| 8. Self-expression | People create content: politically, artistically, socially |
| 9. Ask for help | Privacy and anonymity: emotional support, medical advice |
Each reason is a touchpoint: informative content, communities, entertaining videos, e-commerce, user-generated content, and help or support forums.
4Key components of a digital marketing strategy
1. Company website: "your storefront"
The website is the mother of all online real estate and your best marketing asset. Driving leads and sales through company-created content is inbound marketing. A successful site must be:
| Must be | Why |
|---|---|
| Fast | Visitors must see something within 3 seconds. After that, 53% of mobile users press "back" |
| Secure (HTTPS) | Consumers know about hacks; any form collecting personal data must be secure; security is a search-ranking factor |
| Mobile-friendly | Mobile traffic outpaces desktop; screenless (voice) searches are growing |
| Clean, easy design with contact info | Contact details top-right, clear calls-to-action, tappable navigation: good UX |
| SEO-optimised | People mostly find sites through search engines |
2. Search engine optimisation and marketing
Optimise your online presence so your site ranks at the top for relevant keywords, e.g. "computer repair shops in San Francisco".
- On-page SEO optimises your web pages.
- Off-page SEO builds backlinks (other sites linking to you) and social signals.
- SEO takes time: rankings don't change overnight. That's why it may not be effective in the short run.
The PDF uses SEM and SEO as if they were the same. Strictly:
- SEM (search engine marketing) = SEO (organic) + paid search ads (e.g. Google Ads).
- SEO is the unpaid part.
3. Social media marketing
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X) and others. 7 in 10 consumers expect a business to have a well-maintained social presence, and 17% use social networks to find information about a business.
- Basic management is easy (profiles, posting, engaging).
- Paid social ads need expertise, but allow targeting by geography, age, gender, interests.
4. Paid advertising (pay-per-click)
The quickest way to reach a target audience:
- Make the ad.
- Pick the audience (location, demographics, interests).
- Set a budget.
PPC means you pay only when someone clicks. The main platform is Google Ads (AdWords): search pages, partner sites, YouTube. Also Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Quora, and influencers and bloggers.
5. Remarketing (retargeting)
"Ever feel like websites you visited are following you with ads?"
- Your retargeting partner's code drops an anonymous cookie in the visitor's browser (no sensitive personal information).
- When the visitor goes to other sites, the cookie tells the ad platform, and your ad appears.
Retargeted visitors are 70% more likely to convert.
6. Affiliate marketing
Third-party affiliates promote your product for a commission: a % of revenue or a fixed fee per sale.
- Spend happens only when a sale happens, so there's no wasted budget.
- Keys to success: a great product, lucrative payouts, the right affiliates.
7. Email marketing
Direct emails to prospects and customers, run in-house or by an agency.
- Bought or cold lists perform poorly (people didn't opt in).
- The challenge: reaching the inbox, not spam. Use strong creative content and subject lines for a high open rate.
There's more: online PR, content marketing and others.
5Strategy & measurement
Start with a digital competitive analysis. Compare your online presence with top competitors to see where you stand and which opportunities they're taking that you aren't. Then build a Digital Marketing & Measurement Model and a roadmap of priority channels.
It's usually not a lack of creativity or a less attractive website. It's a lack of structured thinking about the campaign's real purpose and no objective measures of success.
Kaushik's 5-step Digital Marketing & Measurement Model
| Step | What | Who leads |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Business objectives | Identify objectives up front; the broadest parameters | Senior executives |
| 2. Goals | Crisp goals for each objective | Executives lead; you contribute |
| 3. KPIs | Write down the key performance indicators | You (with a data person) |
| 4. Targets | Success targets for each KPI, set up front | Organisation leaders, with Marketing and Finance input |
| 5. Segments | The people, behaviours and outcomes to analyse to understand why you succeeded or failed | Analysts |
Metric vs KPI
Metric = a number
- Bounce rate
- Page views
- Time on page
- New visitors
- Search rankings
Useful for specific tactics.
KPI = a metric closely tied to overall business success
- Total sales, revenue, leads
- ROMI (return on marketing investment)
- Lead-to-sale conversion rate
- Booking rate (from calls)
- Cost per lead (CPL)
- Online booking revenue (or booking rate) from the campaign
- Cost per booking (or per lead)
- ROMI
Supporting metrics: website visits from ads, bounce rate on the booking page.
Expect:
- Define digital marketing (and say what it excludes)
- Why it is essential: targeting, measurability, lower acquisition cost, engagement
- The 4 objectives with examples
- Why people go online
- Explain the 7 components. A typical case: "how could a fast-food restaurant use them?" Website with online ordering, local SEO, Instagram food posts, paid local ads, retargeting cart abandoners, delivery-app affiliates, email offers.
- Why SEO is slow
- Kaushik's 5 steps
- Metric vs KPI with examples
- "Digital strategy must integrate with business strategy": objectives first, then KPIs
6Quiz 08: model answer
From Week 09/Quiz 08.docx in the Marketing folder.
Question: "A company's digital marketing strategy should be integrated with its overall business strategy for the best results; otherwise digital marketing can't be effective." Critically discuss.
What the model answer covers:
- The digital strategy is derived from the marketing strategy
- The marketing strategy is derived from the corporate strategy
- So the digital strategy must integrate with the overall business strategy
- Name the digital tools used and explain how each one supports the business strategy
7Quick revision sheet
| Concept | Remember it as |
|---|---|
| Digital marketing | Promotion via electronic media; interactive, targeted, measurable (ROI) |
| Excludes | Radio, TV, billboard, print (no instant feedback) |
| Channels | Display, search, mobile, social, video |
| 4 objectives | Direct sales · leads · lower acquisition cost · engagement |
| Website 5 musts | Fast (3 s / 53%) · secure (HTTPS) · mobile-friendly · clean UX · SEO |
| SEO | On-page + off-page (backlinks); slow |
| Social | 7/10 expect a presence; paid targeting by demographics and interests |
| PPC | Pay per click; Google Ads |
| Remarketing | Cookie-based; 70% more likely to convert |
| Affiliate | Commission per sale; no wasted spend |
| Opt-in lists; inbox, not spam; subject lines | |
| Kaushik model | Objectives → goals → KPIs → targets → segments |
| Metric vs KPI | Any number vs a number tied to business success (sales, ROMI, CPL, conversion) |
?Self-check quiz
11 questions on this week. Answer them all, then press Check my answers. Your best and latest scores are saved and shown on the subject page.