Is e-marketing the same as digital marketing?
In practice, yes: e-marketing (التسويق الإلكتروني) and digital marketing (التسويق الرقمي) are used for the same work. Strictly, dictionaries define e-marketing as marketing over the internet, while the American Marketing Association describes digital marketing as a slightly wider term that also covers other digital devices and channels.
ShoaibUpdated 3 min read
What do the definitions say?
| Term | Trusted definition (paraphrased) |
|---|---|
| E-marketing | Cambridge Dictionary: advertising and selling products and services on the internet, for example on a company website or by email. Collins: marketing by means of the internet |
| Digital marketing | American Marketing Association: marketing carried out through electronic devices, including online efforts on the internet, using channels like websites, search engines, social media, video and email |
So e-marketing sits inside digital marketing. The difference only shows at the edges, for example a message sent on a phone that isn't strictly "on the internet".
Why are they used interchangeably?
Because today almost every digital channel runs over the internet. Ads on Instagram, a Google search, a WhatsApp chat with a business: you could call each one e-marketing or digital marketing and be right. That's also why "online marketing" is in the same family, explained in is online marketing the same as digital marketing.
Which term should I use?
Use the word your customers use. In Kuwait, many people search in Arabic for التسويق الإلكتروني, while others write التسويق الرقمي or "digital marketing" in English. The service behind each word is the same.
What does it include in practice?
Paid ads, social media, a website or landing page, search visibility, email or messaging, and tracking what brings sales. See the main digital marketing channels and which digital marketing services a business in Kuwait actually needs.
Not sure which parts of digital marketing your business needs first? See our growth consulting service.