Online Marketing.

Online marketing, also called digital marketing, is the umbrella term for everything a business does online to win and keep customers. It includes the company's own website at the centre, SEO for the unpaid search results, SEA for paid search ads, social media, email marketing, content marketing and, since 2025, visibility in AI answers as well (GEO).

The most important difference from traditional advertising is measurability. A poster does not tell you how many people called afterwards. Online, it is usually possible to trace which channel brought how many visits, enquiries and purchases. That only works, however, if conversion tracking is set up and someone looks at the figures regularly.

An example: a dental practice in Uster wants to win new patients. Instead of launching on every channel at once, it first puts its Google Business Profile and website in order, runs a small search campaign for 'dentist Uster' and measures appointment requests. Only once that is working does it add an advice section covering frequently asked questions. Three channels that run cleanly bring more than seven that are only half looked after.

For SMEs a simple order applies: first the foundations (website, Google profile, measurement), then the channel that captures existing demand (usually search), and after that the channels that build demand (content, social media, newsletters). Fitting all of this into an annual plan is best done on a single page that the whole team can follow.