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A Background In Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Jul 12

Scott Edwardssearch engine optimization advice, Computer, education, hobbies, Home, Money, search engine optimization, self improvement, shop, software, technology, web, Work 1 Comment

This is relevant to just about all web marketing. So we have to look at updating our modus operandi. There’s no question that every business needs a web presence. Although simply being on the web isn’t enough. Your clients need to know where you are.

Picture a new retail premises opening up shop: Heavy investment has gone into fitting it out and setting everything up. The staff are all poised – Then notice they’re in a backwater – miles from anywhere. What’s worse, they haven’t told anyone where they are. What kind of sales do you think they’ll manage? This is precisely the problem experienced by ninety nine per cent of all websites.

The shape of modern marketing has radically altered. A decade or so ago, it was fashionable to jump on the website bandwagon. Complex graphical websites costing thousands (or tens of thousands) were regularly launched. (A happy situation for web design businesses…) But just the existence of the site didn’t bring in the customers. There was a belief that if you built it, they would come. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

A traditional approach to marketing breaks down on the web. People used to established marketing techniques would say your web site is simply an advertisement of your company and its products. And so to get people to visit the site, they’ll promote it in the press and media, and on TV and radio. Fundamentally they’ll stick to what they know best! Launch a nice big brochure, then market it every way they can. But this is entirely the wrong way to approach it.

This process only utilises the web as viewing gallery, which is quite wrong. The internet is a hugely interactive environment that allows billions of users to research, discuss, offer comments etc. And because of Search Engines like Google & Bing/MSN, there are huge indexes of sites that can be easily found (from the customers perspective at least) to perform these tasks. Off-line Business Pages would be useless if they weren’t properly structured: You’d never find what you were looking for.

This set-back is solved by Search Engines. Which means businesses can no longer use traditional marketing. Now, if you wish to be visible online, you must be indexed by Google, Bing and/or Yahoo etc. But there’s a lot more to it than that… #S#

Of course, the Search Engines weren’t blind to this, so they developed an unusual paid advertising scheme so any site could get to the top. It’s called Pay Per Click, and advertisers are only charged when someone ‘clicks’ on their ad. How refreshing was that? Basically, the only time you now paid was when someone who was already interested asked to look at your site. Professionally monitored and targeted adverts can bring spectacular results.

Today however, most search terms are overwhelmed with pay per click adverts. The price of many clicks has been driven up massively, mainly because too many bidders are chasing the same terms. Now, in 2009, we’re seeing click prices that are so high, it can literally be unfeasible to make a profit. Most especially where companies need a lot of visitors for one purchase. So Search Engine Optimisation is now becoming a preferred method for many to get to page 1.

To illustrate the challenge: Visit Google now and search for some of your company’s keywords. Look through pages one, two and three. Is your site there? The answer is almost certainly no. In other words, you’re no-where to be found. And if your site is listed, is it appearing for keywords that your customers will actually enter?

It’s possible you’ve already done some advertising in the paid listings – and maybe you’ve had some results. Can you be sure you’re working it as efficiently as possible? Is your investment really paying off? Are you accurately tracking and measuring your campaigns? Testing, measuring and split-testing are some of the most important factors with all PPC campaigns. Without accurate statistics, you can’t get the best ROI.

Sales statistics are now clearly showing that both UK and worldwide commerce is undergoing a paradigm shift towards online sales and marketing. It’s no longer an option. Embrace the web economy, and maximise its potential.

Author: Scott Edwards. Look at Click HERE or Cyber Sensai.