Do's and Don't in Search Engine Marketing

Mastering The Basics Without Wasting Money and Get The Search Engine Position You Deserve...


 

Internet Marketing is one of the most important business decisions that companies are making today. Using effective search engine campaign solutions, companies can add new revenue streams that were previously unavailable. People use search engines to find solutions to their problems.

In recent years, Search Engine Marketing has seen triple-digit growth, gaining both more efficient opportunities for marketers as well as serious steam from millions of users.

Research shows the online search industry is expected to reach nearly $7 billion in worldwide revenues by 2007. Searching online is the most efficient way to find products and information, and simultaneously the rise of search is the best way for advertisers to find and acquire customers.

Getting results remains complicated, demanding close monitoring and measuring. To make the most of marketing through search engines, here are options to consider as well as five common mistakes to avoid.

Search Engine Power:

The idea, of course, is that you figure out which keywords your customer use to search for the products or services you market and then submit those keywords to search engines such as Yahoo or Google. When customers input the keywords, your site is prominently displayed in the results, leading to better sales or exposure.

One step up from free or organic search engine marketing is Search Engine Optimization. That can include paying to influence the outcome. The more you bid per keyword, the higher the engine guarantees to place your site on the results page.

Typically, engines bill on a pay-per-click (PPC) or cost-per-basis. You're charged only if and when a customer clicks on your link. Pricing varies, depending on keyword and categories. Paid search is an incredibly efficient way to bring in sales leads. But you must efficiently outbid your competitors, who also pay for ranking, or you're throwing away money. The goal is to pull only customers who want what you sell.

Targeting the Results:

A recent phenomenon in Search Engine Optimization is an innovation variously called relevant paid search, or contextual advertising or content-targeted advertising. It moves the sponsored link off the results page and onto sites themselves.

Instead of paying for placement on a results list, you pay engines to place your listing on pages on content related to your products. You can now target customers at the very moment they're interested in learning about the wares and services you market.

Judging success:

Search engine marketing can:

• Boost brand profile or gain industry exposure
• Acquire new customers (unknown market share)
• Increase traffic, which builds advertising or affiliate revenue
• Generate leads for follow-up calls
• Advertise offers or sales
• Generate publicity
• Market offline products or events
• Increase or launch online sales

Avoid Engine Trouble:

Next, gear up your Search Engine Marketing campaign, but avoid these common mistakes.

• Killing it with your keywords: The worst mistake markets make is slicing and dicing their keyword too finely beginning on Day One. Often, companies use industry buzzwords that their target audience isn't using.
• Managing it all yourself: Managing rankings is a full-time job. Staying on top of keywords, measuring results and conversions and making sure search engines deliver on pay-per-click (PPC) arrangements takes technical expertise and a lot of time.
• Assuming one engine fits all: Replying only on the big, well-known engine limits your placements. The most common mistake is throwing too much money at one method, one search engine or one message. Instead, budget your money to develop a distinctive set of messages and use a combination of search engines to successfully reach customers.
• Giving up too soon: Make sure your expectations are realistic. Search engines may take up to eight weeks before listing your site. Paid listings go up more quickly, but also take time. You'll need to fine-tune the right package of keywords, engines and pay-per-click (PPC) or paid searches. Stay with it and you'll be rewarded.
• Blinded by the site: If your pages aren't optimized for search engines, all the right keywords in the world won't get you results. A frequent error is that the home-page floats, say, because of a splash page or a recently redesigned page left unlinked to other pages. If that's the case, the engine won't scan all the relevant pages.
  
  On the flip side, owners sometimes try to cram too many keywords onto the home page itself. But when a search engine reads hundreds of different words, or phrases on a page, it doesn't know what that page is really about, and the page won't get ranked high for anything. It works much better to optimized all the key pages on a site for one or two different search terms.

There is no 'one size fits all' Search Engine Marketing solution. Your company is unique and so are your online marketing goals. We create a Search Engine Marketing Campaign to achieve those goals, whether through Natural (Organic) Search Engine Optimization, Paid Search Engine Advertising or a combination of both.

At ALLSTARS B2B Marketing, search engine marketing (SEM) is not just about top 'search engine rankings' or 'search engine traffic'.  It is about search engine traffic that retains at your web site.

Click here to discuss a Search Engine Marketing solution for your Web site, or call:

(281) 829.0223 or information@allstarsb2b.com
Houston, Texas