Narrator: Listen to part of a talk in a marketing class.

Professor: Internet marketing—also called online or e-marketing—utilizes the Internet for low-cost distributions of marketing information and media to a global market. Internet marketing combines the creative and technical aspects of the Internet and relies on methods like search engine marketing, e-mail marketing, and interactive advertising. This style of marketing has had a very large effect on the overall marketing industry, particularly in music, banking, and personal auctions. In the music industry, the use of MP3s and downloading songs and videos (instead of buying CDs) has exploded in recent years. Banks are offering more and more banking opportunities and tasks online, which customers seem to find more convenient than visiting a physical branch. Presently, about 150 million Americans bank online, and this has become the fastest-growing Internet activity. Internet auctions have also become incredibly popular. For example, eBay—an online auction site—has become a cost reference point for buyers and sellers of goods at flea markets and antique malls. Many sellers now run their shops online, instead of at a physical location. Internet marketing has also had a profound effect on the advertising industry itself because of the many newly created means of reaching consumers. In a short amount of time, online advertising has grown into a billion dollar industry. As this trend continues, more and more money from advertising budgets is being shifted from traditional marketing to Internet marketing.

Narrator: Now get ready to answer the question.

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Internet marketing has greatly affected the advertising industry in just a short amount of time. In only a few years, online advertising has become a billion dollar industry. Many businesses are allocating more and more money from traditional marketing, like TV commercials or newspaper ads, to advertising on the Internet. More and more companies are shifting or focusing on their online components. The website “ebay.com” has become an incredibly popular auction site. Now, many people are closing up their physical stores and selling all their merchandise on the Internet. Some banks are doing this as well. There are many more effective ways to reach consumers online now than there are in the real world.