Online marketing uses the internet to communicate with customers, promote products or services, and support actions such as inquiries, purchases or repeat business. It includes websites, search, social media, email, content and online advertising. It is also called internet or web marketing.
An online campaign can promote a physical store or service appointment as well as an internet checkout. Marketing is broader than buying advertisements, and online marketing is broader than any single platform.
What the main channels do
A website can explain an offer and provide a place to buy, book or make contact. Search results, online listings and social platforms can help people discover it. Email can maintain contact with subscribers and existing customers.
Business Queensland’s guidance describes channels including websites, social posts, search advertising, blogs, local listings and email. An online channel does not have to be a subscription service broadcasting content to paying members.
Search engine optimization, or SEO, concerns visibility in unpaid search results. Search engine marketing, or SEM, is commonly used for paid search advertising. Google’s SEM explanation focuses on search results; SEM is not a synonym for all online marketing.
Affiliate marketing uses a commercial referral arrangement, often a commission on qualifying sales or leads. Influencer marketing uses a creator’s audience or credibility. Neither requires that every participant have a huge following.
An example across several channels
A fictional bicycle shop publishes a repair guide on its website, pays for a search advertisement and emails an offer to subscribers. A reader may watch the guide, search for the shop later and book a repair in person.
The website, ad and email are different online interactions. The eventual sale can happen offline, and the sequence is not necessarily a straight path from one ad to one purchase.
Impressions, clicks and conversions
An impression counts an ad display, while a click records an interaction with it. Neither necessarily represents a unique person. Google Ads defines click-through rate, or CTR, as clicks divided by impressions.
Suppose a fictional campaign records 10,000 impressions, 200 eligible ad clicks and 10 attributed purchase conversions. CTR is 200 ÷ 10,000, or 2%.
For this click-based example, purchase conversion rate is 10 ÷ 200, or 5%. Google Ads calculates conversion rate using conversions divided by eligible interactions. Other reports may use users or sessions, so their denominators and definitions must be identified.
A conversion is a defined action, not necessarily a sale: it might be a completed order, inquiry or signup. More clicks or a higher CTR alone do not establish profitability.
Attribution has limits
Attribution assigns credit to marketing interactions. Google Analytics explains that models and lookback windows affect that credit. A reported conversion does not, by itself, prove that the advertisement caused an additional sale.
Consent choices, incomplete tracking, different devices and report settings can affect what is observed. Available data should not be confused with a complete record of every customer’s behavior.
Costs, claims and privacy
Online marketing is not automatically cheap or free. Content, staff, software, advertising and measurement can all cost money. Its effect on sales or reputation depends on the offer, audience and execution; good results are not guaranteed.
Rules also depend on the jurisdiction and activity. In the US, FTC guidance addresses disclosure of material connections in endorsements, including relevant paid and affiliate relationships. In the UK, the ICO states that storage and access technologies used for online advertising require consent. Online access does not create an unrestricted right to track or contact people.
Last checked and updated on November 4, 2026 by the MBN editorial team.