However, on the Internet, having no competition may be a serious disadvantage. Why?



Firstly, it probably means that either there's no market or there's no money to be made in such a category. Whenever you find no or very little competition in a certain category, you should not get over excited. Instead, you should be suspicious about such a situation.

This, however, is not the main disadvantage of having no competition. The main disadvantage is that without a bit of competition, the "new" category you're trying to dominate online will not be creating enough "noise" in cyberspace and hence very little traffic and interest will be generated.

A prime example is the arrival of MySpace and Facebook in cyberspace in the last couple of years. The noise created by these websites, not to mention other similar sites, such as Bebo, was so much that a lot of interest was generated from the general populace, both offline and online. For this reason, social networking took off and a day hardly goes by without hearing or reading the words MySpace and Facebook.

It was good competition that led to the rise of social networking as well as the success of its leaders. What should we learn from this?

Basically, it is much easier to achieve success in a "new" category where there are other competitors which can assist in creating "noise", traffic and ultimately interest in what your online business offers.

Moving onto some of the visual aspects of building a killer online brand. It is important that your online brand is both visible as well as memorable as possible in order to leverage the power of your brand.

The main focus for all things visual for your online brand is the logotype. What is a logotype?

A logotype of a combination of a trademark, which is a visual symbol of the brand, and the name of the brand set in distinctive type. Logotypes come in many shapes and it is this shape which has the greatest impact on the consumer. Much like in the offline world, it is important to create a distinct, unique and memorable logotype in order to firstly get well-known and then, use the brand name to denote quality and reliability.

Research shows the most effective logotypes are ones that measure 1 unit high by 2 and 1/4 units wide. Hence, the ideal shape for a logotype is horizontal. The more vertical you go, the less chance that brand will be remembered.

Sometimes you will get tempted to create a logotype that is "extreme" in order to generate attention and curiosity from potential clients. However, this may not payoff especially if this leads to your logotype becoming less eligible.

It is no coincidence that the most recognised brands, both in the online and offline world are also the most simplest. Take for example, Google. Its logotype is probably one of the simplest ever created, making it easier to remember, and easier to leverage it.

Another example, albeit less well-known is Armand Morin's online products. Armand Morin is one of the world's leading internet marketers and is famous for his Generator Software range of products. All of his products incorporate the word "Generator" and this way he has been able to build a well-known online brand and been able to leverage on whatever products he creates.

This is something that all online brands should strive for.