Should you invest in search engine marketing?
Contrary to what many people believe, when it comes to website development, it’s not a matter of “build it and they will come”. In fact, there is now an entire industry dedicated to the art of making people find your website on the search engines. This has become known as Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for short. With millions of websites vying for your attention, the search engine companies have created complicated algorithms and a variety of criteria to determine where your website will be placed on their results pages. Paid positioning is also becoming an attractive option, which means you to bid on key words – using an auction system to improve your odds.
When considering internet marketing, every business should ask themselves the following;
What is my objective for my website? If you objective is to attract new client leads or sell products online, search engine optimization is likely going to be an important part of your marketing plan. If, however, you are simply building a website to enhance your company’s credibility, SEO may be lower on your priority list.
Will my clients know to look for my business online? Some businesses are all about word of mouth, and their target market would be unlikely to make a buying decision over the net. However, with the internet becoming the new “yellow pages”, using search engines has become a very powerful purchasing tool, and customers are more ready than ever to make a buying decision based on what they see at your website.
What sort of results will I expect in the short (and long) term? Search engine optimization takes time to achieve results. Once a site has been optimized, it takes at least 3 months for self-generated results to make a difference. It's also important to have a specialist monitor your results periodically, and fine-tune your site to improve your rankings. Search engines often change their rules, and competitors can bump your placements, so thinking of SEO as an ongoing project is important.
Do I expect a return on investment from my website? It is undisputed that properly executed SEO much more than pays for itself. New leads acquired through your website are generally lower-cost than many other ways of marketing your business. In the case of one of our clients, a search engine lead translated into a multi-million dollar contract. And for small companies, website traffic may generate several thousands of dollars of new business.
With the proper strategy, SEO gives the business owner the control to be extremely aggressive with their marketing, or to slow down the influx of traffic and concentrate on existing customers. Our experience with many years of SEO work for clients allows us to have an exact approach customized for your business.
- Juliette Schmerler |
home
portfolio
