Gregg Kell, March 2005
Search engine optimization or SEO is
the key to a successful on-line business.
You
can get search engine optimization training from e-books, on-line tutorials, or
you can hire a search engine optimization specialist. The success of SEO services has revealed
an over 200% growth over the past two years.
All
this excitement has triggered a rush of search engine optimization
services, SEO consultants and SEO Experts. But to
succeed you must have a realistic search engine marketing strategy that
understands this new advertising medium. Here are five key fundamentals you
need to know for a successful Search Engine Marketing Strategy.
The
success of your search engine marketing strategy in the end depends on your
keyword selection. A good search engine strategy targets a broad range of
keywords including little words as well as big words.
If
you are not familiar with Overture, visit the site. Available tools can
help you select the best keywords for your website. When starting out, it’s
much better to look for small bargains than to fight for one or two big and
popular keyword phrases.
While
paid search engine advertising is a great Internet marketing tool, you will
profit from a balanced search engine marketing strategy that also includes
organic search engine optimization services and link building. You might
consider hiring a professional SEO Company, staffed
with SEO Professionals to provide
this service for you.
At
some point, you’ll also want to grow your search engine marketing channel.
Studies have shown that organic listings are chosen first by 70% of the people
viewing search results. That means you can sharply increase your search engine
traffic by appearing in the organic results on the first page of Google and Yahoo.
It’s
important to measure how much business is being generated (ROI) by the
marketing dollars you are spending on your search engine marketing strategy.
Do rising
bid prices scare you away from search engine marketing? They shouldn't if you
know which of your ads are winning customers and which
are not. Measurement can tell you that and skilled split testing and maximize
the conversion rate.
Search engine campaigns are easy to set up
and for that reason easy to neglect. You must monitor your campaigns regularly
because the search engines often introduce new features that can help you
market your on-line business. If you
neglect your campaign, even for a short while, you might find that you've
dropped out of sight. An ongoing
relationship with Search
Engine Optimization Professionals can reduce this
risk.
Curiosity
Don‘t
be afraid to “tinker” with the creative part of your search engine marketing
strategy. Sometimes a small word or text change can double or even triple your
click-through rate or conversion rate.
Try
it, just to see what happens. It won't ruin your budget and might just put you
at the top of your game.
In conclusion, the Internet is the most
cost effective marketing opportunity ever. By mastering these five fundamental
elements to search engine marketing you can be among the top performing
websites in your industry.
Gregg Kell is President of Kell Solutions,
a website
design firm and search engine
optimization firm based in