The internet is the undisputed king when it comes to assisting us in researching and identifying items we are interested in or want to purchase immediately.

This can be attributed to the basic architecture of internet search. Keywords drive search. Therefore, when we enter a search query, in return we get thousands of potential websites that may or may not provide the immediate gratification of finding the items we are searching for.

The act of search strips away the effects of branding and presents us with a simple purchase proposition:

• Does the item fulfill an immediate need?
• Is the item available in an acceptable timeframe?
• Is the item priced fairly when compared to the competition?
• Do previous users endorse the item as fulfilling the task and being of acceptable quality?

All of this is very efficient if the items your company sells are of relatively low value sales price and don’t require a lot of thought about the purchasing process.

The downside of the internet is that it accomplishes little with regards to brand recognition or creating an emotional connection with new customers.

If your website was been constructed in such a way as to capture data about the users’ journey through your website, then it also provides a high level view of where your site traffic is originating from and where it’s not.

Analyzing this type of data identifies geo-areas where advertising – ad words, SEM and display – could be used more effectively to build brand awareness and drive new customers to your website.

In addition, this type of visitor behavior data can be tied back into keyword search terms that resonate with new customers. Because the internet makes us all a little ADD at times, it falls to the job of the marketing department to identify additional communication channels that help build brand awareness. By being aware of what the internet does and does not do well allows marketers to develop advertising and marketing materials that take advantage of the strength of certain channels and apply an integrated marketing approach that contributes to bringing in new customers, building brand awareness, and contributing to the revenue stream.

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