Marketing on the web has changed a lot over the past 20 years, but the greatest changes have occurred in just the last five. Previously, you could separate marketing into two different categories: working dollars and non-working dollars.

In the past, the majority of web advertisement focused on working dollars, mainly due to the increased traffic seen in shorter periods of time. Non-working dollars produced results; however, those results took time to become evident, and were less effective in the online platform. 

As big box companies have expanded into the online forum, they have seen their market share increase and customer bases expand. Five years ago, the bulk of the web marketing business could be tracked to these large companies, but now, smaller businesses like mom and pop shops, as well as new start-ups, have seen the wisdom in employing smart web marketing strategies to get their brand name out on the market.

Droves of internet marketing groups have sprouted up in the market in recent years. These groups use tactics such as on-page SEO, website development and social media outlets to better improve brand recognition and drive visitors to company sites, both small and large.

The current marketing models now have three phases: owned, paid and earned media marketing. These new strategies allow savvy web marketers to make use of both working and non-working dollars in order to bring the company’s message to the daily consumer.

Many companies are still stuck in the old way of thinking—that you must pay to get your message across—whereas modern companies understand the value of integrating all three forms of web marketing. Each form has its own value, and there are vast differences in the type of consumer attracted to each form. The key to understanding which type of customer you want to target has a lot to do with the type of product being offered, as well as the web marketing company that is tasked with improving your online business presence.