Strictly speaking, a website is the formal address and official location of a business in the web. It is the place where products are presented in detail and where customers normally make purchases using a credit card or other online payment schemes. A website is also one of the marketing tools that a business can use online. It is the core of a marketing plan executed with the end in view of directing people to the website. Hence, aside from products or services that the company offers, the website should present a comprehensive picture of what the company is all about - its management, culture, and other information about the business that prospective customers, employees, and other stakeholders might want to know. As a marketing tool, a website is a reflection of and epitomizes the company and should therefore be developed with great care. After all, it is usually with the website and not with the management that a prospective customer has his first encounter.

On the other hand, marketing tools comprise a gamut of strategies, tools, software and other instrumentalities designed to help boost the presence of a business online or direct traffic to its website. Search Engine Optimization of SEO for short, business blogging, distribution of e-newsletter, participation in e-forums - these are some marketing tools that are used by online businesses.

SEO is simply a process of increasing the traffic directed to your website by search engines. It can be done through paid advertisements or through the less costly procedure of blogging and posting articles, with keywords therein linked to your website.

Business blogging is similar to an online interactive diary with posts arranged chronologically and where topics posted have direct or indirect connection to the business being promoted.

An e-newsletter can contain updates on new products or services or other announcements that the company wishes to make. It can also instruct the public about the products or services that the company offers. Distribution can be through email, website posting, or other online placement.

E-forums provide another platform to advertise your business.

The preceding discussion provides a no-brainer distinction that marketing tools cover a broader concept than a website because the first encompasses the second. A website per se without the proper marketing will end up an unknown in the colossal world of the Internet and would just represent a waste of money and resources. Sure it was developed by a brilliant web designer, turned out magnificent, and reflects all the right values and stuff about the company. If the website, however, doesn't make money for the business because it doesn't attract potential customers, what is its value?

With the right marketing tools, you can direct potential patrons to your website and make it earn money for you. The primary objective of marketing tools is to connect with customers and point them to the website which then gives the customers their first interface with the company. If the customer finds what he wants in the website, an income transaction normally follows. It is obvious therefore that website and marketing tools work hand in hand to engender revenue generation.