If you’ve been on the Internet for a while, you know what Web 2.0 is.

It is the next generation of the Internet that has allowed the blossoming of most regular online activities with a stronger, better model of communication. When the online world was first established, users had little input, as central sites dominated what information was available. But advances in software changed all that. Web 2.0 did not begin as a deliberate creation. The idea evolved as programmers devised ways for website producers and website users to interact. The Internet has given people the ability to voice opinions, connect socially, and interact with people all over the globe.

This has had a major impact on how products and services are being marketed online. Web 2.0 oriented sites allow much more potential for Internet marketers when building a brand, getting new leads, or selling a product. People are far more likely to be interested and, thereby, far more likely to respond to web 2.0 marketing initiatives. There is nothing monotonous or lackluster about it. Web 2.0 marketing will be given a closer look in the following article in order to help provide a better understanding as to how it works.

You may be wondering what Web 2.0 is.

Actually, it really means different things to different people, with many different ideas on the subject "floating around" out there. In its purest essence, Web 2.0 is just innovative methods to start talking to people online in a more immediate and meaningful way, using new technologies to include more and more people into the Web culture and way of life. Since we are discussing this powerful communication tool that has the support of some of the most successful web companies, it’s only natural to think of it in terms of marketing. Taking the word out about your product as vast as possible is the aim of any business, and that’s exactly where Web 2.0 helps. There are many websites that support this now, which has made terms like blogging, commenting and RSS feeds very common.

With the recent explosion of such wonderful Internet tools, it takes little more than having your own web-page and a little effort to broaden your horizons, share your thoughts, and get your merchandise in the main stream where people WILL buy. And this has only been possible through Web 2.0. How is your Internet marketing campaign affected by this? Well, let’s just say that Web 2.0 is rapidly separating the men from the boys, so to speak. With your product on this type of website, your business is already miles ahead of those whose products are not. It’s human nature to talk about everything and anything. With the aid of a Web 2.0 website, you now have people literally from all over the world talking about YOUR product! Add in an RSS feed for them to subscribe to, and you’re golden! This has definitely changed the way we used to look at Internet marketing in the early days.’

What makes Web 2.0 especially effective for marketing purposes is the contact it allows you with your customers. The ability to leave comments helps you stay in touch with your customers and allows them to keep you apprised of their opinions on your products, website, content etc. Not only that, when you get comments on a regular basis, it gives food for search engine spiders. Google, Yahoo, Bing, they all love fresh content and if your site can offer it, then it can lead to high rankings. One of the great things about the feedback that you receive, called UGC or User Generated Content, is that while it can benefit you, it is work that you don’t have to do. Keywords in such content will be varied which all helps to bring in traffic looking for a number of different things.

As well as the feedback that you receive, RSS feeds are an important component in letting people know what is new and keeping them updated on your site activity. Return traffic is very beneficial to your business. You may want to consider providing directories with your RSS feed to get backlinks for your site. The more backlinks you have, the higher you rank in the search engines.

In short, Web 2.0 can prove to be a really targeted way to drive high quality traffic to your offer; you just have to take advantage of it. Third party Web 2.0 sites can be accountable for a large amount of traffic sent to businesses, and it does not even cost the business any money. Look into Web 2.0 and see how you can make it work for you.