A Background In Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Written by Jason Kendall

Monday, 12 July 2010 08:15

by JasonKendall

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 web has turned marketing on its head. As we left the 20th century, we all thought we had to have a web site. It wasn't uncommon for businesses to spend huge amounts getting all the fancy bells and whistles on their site. Of course, web-designers happily lapped up the new business. Then everyone started to notice that they weren't getting any traffic to their site. The belief was that if you had a site on the web, people would find you. Alas it wasn't so.

Modern internet marketing requires a fundamental shift in thinking from traditional marketing. Traditionalists might see your site in the same way they'd view a sales catalogue. Consequently they'll recommend the time-honoured promotional methods of newspaper advertising and the media. Sticking to the familiar routine. They start with a flashy sales site, and then try lots of 'off-line' avenues to get people to look at it. However, this process illustrates an absolute misunderstanding of website marketing.

The World Wide Web isn't simply a passive display board. It's a hugely dynamic environment with complex interactivity. Users drill down to investigate the services they're interested in. In addition, terrific site indexes have been created by several major Search Engines (SE'S) so customers can find the things they're looking for. Yellow Pages would be a nightmare if it wasn't indexed properly. It could take hours of our time!

Google and the like have fixed this problem. And so marketing is forced to move on. You MUST be indexed by Search Engines to have any visibility. Even that isn't enough though. Only a very focused person would spend enough time searching to reach page five!

Because it was often so complicated to rate highly for certain terms (and also because the Search Engines wanted more revenue), they introduced paid advertising with a unique spin. You only pay when someone actually chooses your advert - hence the name 'Pay-Per-Click'. A very novel idea. Fundamentally, you were now only charged when an interested party looked at what you had to offer. This is an incredibly targeted way of advertising, and done properly, can yield some exceptional results.

Alas, the market is bombarded with this form of advertising these days. Costs per click have been heavily driven up, mostly by inexperienced marketers bidding too highly. So it's often the case now that many are priced out of the market. This happens mostly where lots of clicks are essential to get one buyer. This has caused a rebirth and interest in Search Engine Optimisation - as those in the know try to drive their sites up to the revered page 1.

Do this small task - Bring up a major Search Engine now and enter a number of keywords for your products or services. Can you see your website on the 1st three pages? Chances are - the answer's no. Consequently, like the situation we described earlier, you've got no visibility! If it is there, would clients really use those keywords?

If you're familiar with paid advertising on Google, you might be reasonably satisfied. But is your campaign properly managed? What kind of returns are you getting? Which are your most successful areas? Without testing and measuring, you can't be sure what works best. Your ROI will be compromised without sufficient data.

Global figures clearly demonstrate that commercial marketing is swiftly moving online. Make the most of this trend. Unless you embrace the internet and utilize all of its advantages, your business will become a dinosaur.

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Written by Scott Edwards. Browse around BacklinkBanzai.com or CLICK HERE.

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