Differences from traditional marketing

One-to-one approach

The targeted user is typically browsing the Internet alone, so the marketing messages can reach him personally. This approach is used in search marketing, where the advertisements are based on search engine keywords entered by the user.

Appeal to specific interests

Internet marketing places an emphasis on marketing that appeals to a specific behavior or interest, rather than reaching out to a broadly-defined demographic. "Off-line" marketers typically segment their markets according to age group, gender, geography, and other general factors. Online marketers have the luxury of targeting by activity. For example, a kayak company can post advertisements on kayaking and canoing websites with the full knowledge that the audience has a related interest.

Internet marketing differs from magazine advertisements, where the goal is to appeal to the projected demographic of the periodical. Because the advertiser has knowledge of the target audience—people who engage in certain activities (e.g., uploading pictures, contributing to blogs)— the company does not rely on the expectation that a certain group of people will be interested in its new product or service.