I have been in technology for long enough to see the entire evolution of Internet Marketing.

When I started in the 90’s, it was all about the technology.  We were really excited to offer eMagazine Publishing tools that were very cutting edge at the time.  We were doing Internet Marketing with technology.  Now technology is a sidenote to marketing results.

Today, Internet Marketing is only about the technology if you are working with the wrong people.  You have to work with people that are marketing savvy first, and technology savvy second.  Otherwise, the consultant will keep adding technology features thinking the next feature will get results.  It will not.

Internet Marketing should not have a big technology budget 99% of the time.

Instead, it is about publishing, aggregating, mashing and building relationships in your open source web properties.

But since the Internet and Search Engines keep evolving so quickly, large one-time investments do not stand the test of time.  Usually this kind of investment is for lots of fancy design and eCommerce.  You would be better off keeping it simple and creating more content.

What does the evolution of Internet Marketing mean to you?

• Don’t spend big on technology
• Look for specialized tools already built that you can integrate into what you are doing
• Get everyone involved in Internet Marketing - See Employee Evangelists
• Create more great content and outsource your writing
• Don’t invest one time, invest in continual improvement
• Build relationships first - They will stand the test of time if you nurture them

Internet Marketing will be very different in 2 years.  Marketing is going through a huge disruption as everyone tries to figure out the 10% of internet marketing that will return the 90% of the results.  You should bet on creating quality content and great relationships.  That is your best Internet Marketing long term strategy.