If you have a Web presence, you are already able to leverage a marketing channel that has one of the best returns on investment of any advertising tactic. If you are yet not on the Web, it's time to get on board!

In today's economy, marketers are seeking to better quantify the ROI of their marketing investments. Web advertising is not only very cost effective, but also has a quantifiable ROI.

For example, with electronic marketing, you know exactly how many of your pieces were delivered, how many recipients opened your promotion, and how many clicked through to your site. Add some Web analytics, and you can track these to discover what products/offers generate the most interest.

Use the Web to test your advertising program before rolling it out in print or other media. An A/B split test equally distributes two versions of your promotion to your prospects. By tracking click-through rates and open rates, you can determine which subject line or headline draws the greatest response. Once you have a winner, roll the campaign into more advertising across print, electronic and even broadcast. By testing first, you can more confidently predict the results of your campaign.

Consider this: Suppose you currently have 2,000 visitors per month to your site and 3% of these visitors convert to customers who spend an average of $75. Result: $4,500 in online revenue per month. Improve your conversation rate by just 1% and you'll earn $6,000 per month.

Search Engine Marketing is one of the most popular forms of online marketing. There are two primary types of SEM: paid and organic. Google is the leading provider of pay per click and many of you may already be using this tactic.

Using PPC, you control what you pay for each click and you can determine which keywords are delivering the right customers to your site. PPC is great for new product launches and to get your site noticed quickly.

However, more powerful than PPC is organic search. Organic search is virtually free and delivers better long-term results. But optimizing your Web site organically is a bigger challenge and takes time.

Search engines do not reveal the algorithms they use to determine search rankings, but there are some fundamental practices you can implement to raise your Web site higher in search ranking (Work to get your Web site listed in the first three pages of your search terms.).

Three key factors that influence your search ranking are:

· Copy content — The actual words you use on your site — especially the home page — are critical. Search engines cannot read flash or images on your site. PDFs are also difficult to optimize. Consider what search terms your prospects would use to find your product and be sure you include these key words on your site.

· Meta and Alt Tags — Be sure the tags on your site properly represent your content. Tags are not visible to the public, but should accurately describe the content on the page. Your programmer can do this for you, but many newer sites with content management systems enable you to add these tags.

· Links — Seek out links to your Web site. The more links coming to your site from others, the higher your ranking. Consider reciprocal links with other complementary businesses in your city, travel and tourism sites, and local business chambers.

Lead generation is digital media's killer application. Focus a significant percentage of your budget on programs designed to collect contact names and information on prospective customers.

Specific lead generation tactics you can employ:

· Run online ads that offer a special incentive to readers to provide you with their contact information. This can be a sweepstakes, free offer, coupon, list of top 10 tips, etc. The key point is to offer your prospects something of value to them so they will provide you with their contact information.

· Include a function on your site for visitors to sign up to receive special offers, new product announcements or an electronic newsletter. Be sure they can sign up for this information without having to purchase on your site. If they don't purchase from your site on the first visit, by capturing their contact information, you can continue to market to them. Regular online communications to your existing customers is a cost-effective way to build loyalty and encourage repeat business.

· Offer in-store promotions/incentives that encourage your customers to complete a contact form (including e-mail address!). Be sure to also reward your sales team for soliciting this information. The best marketing list will always be your own internal list, so seek out tactics that will help grow your own database.