Caution: Search Engine Marketing Matters

An online marketing strategy is a must in today’s Internet environment. Marketing involves more than advertising – it is a complex process that builds relationships with customers. Multiple elements are required for a comprehensive approach. Particular attention must be given to search engine marketing (SEM). SEM is pretty much like it sounds – it is marketing that involves and uses search engines with the goal of being ranked higher on search engine results pages (SERPs).

SEM is an ever evolving process making it necessary to stay aware of emerging techniques. This will continue to increase in importance because the number of customers who make online purchases is growing every day. Online marketing is essential if a business wants to remain vital. And SEM is the best way to meet those goals.

Comprised of myriad advertising techniques, SEM is based on keywords. For this reason, identifying and using the right keywords is the only way you will find success with SEM. Keywords are them incorporated into various SEM techniques with search engine optimization (SEO) being the glue for each technique. The following search engine marketing matters are critical to your business success.

1. It’s All About the Clicks

Both pay per click (PPC) and cost per click (CPC) advertising are common SEM methods. You create an ad and have it published through a PPC or CPC program like Google AdWords. Based on the keywords you use, your ad will then appear on SERPs featuring those keywords. The frequency of the ad appearing depends upon the structure of the PPC program and what you signed up to pay per click. The more displays your ad gets, the more it is likely to cost you because you pay the publisher each time someone clicks on your ad display. And, in theory, the more often your ad is shown, the more clicks you should receive.

2. Pay for Inclusion

If you need to add your website to a particular search engine database sooner than later, then you can pay to have your site included. This can be quicker than submitting your site for approval and indexing by search engine spiders. You are simply paying to make that happen faster. Be aware that for some search engines, paying is the only your site will be listed on SERPs. Paid inclusion should be considered for site owners who frequently change site content. Paying insures the search engines index your site often enough to maintain high rankings.

3. Use Traditional to Complement Cutting Edge

You should partner traditional online advertising with your PPC campaigns. These are conducted in much the same way but you pay for the number of ad impressions rather than clicks. This can be expensive for new kids on the block who are trying to get their site noticed. You pay whether your ad results in traffic or not. Like PPC, ads are created around keywords and displayed on SERPs.

4. Landing Page Should be Sticky

When search engine users click on your ad, they are redirected to your website. The page they arrive at is your landing page. Your home page is not required to be your landing page. Users can enter your site from any page. In fact, the landing page should be clearly related to the ad they clicked on to get to your site. This will improve the stickiness of your page, meaning visitors are more likely to stay on your site long enough for you to engage them with your offer. If you are advertising a product, visitors should land on the page where they can purchase that product. Remember that all of your web pages will be ranked individually by search engines. You will get higher rankings when links are appropriate.

5. Feed the Spider

Many search engines use programs dubbed spiders to find and index information on websites. This information is then provided on SERPs when a search is conducted by a user. This is a continuous and ongoing process. Spiders can read every site on the Internet in mere milliseconds and produce accurate results. If you want your site to consistently be included on SERPs, you must feed the spiders. This entails providing fresh and original content on a regular basis so that spiders view your site as active and relevant.

6. Go Fish – Focus on Link Baiting

As you can see, links play a major role in SEM. And the more inbound links, the better your website will be positioned for online marketing success. To acquire links, you need to publish content that is link-worthy. This means, you need to offer something that Internet users are interested in reading or receiving to get them to link to your site. This is link baiting with the content serving as bait. You should always write content with the intention of attracting other sites to link to it, whether that site is a search engine or a customer’s site.

7. Get Redirections

Many websites have been around for a long time now. They have gone through multiple transformations with some having complete overhauls performed on them. This can result in annoying 404 errors. You know and hate these “Page Not Found” interruptions in your online searches. These occur when inbound links point to pages that no longer exist. Fortunately this is a simple fix. You can use 301 Redirects to basically send inbound links to new pages on your site. Fixing broken inbound links is crucial to SEM.

8. Geo-Target Customers

You can target customers based on geographic location. This can improve your SEM results. It can be particularly advantageous if your business serves specific countries or regions. Local advertising is possible as well through geo-targeting. You can save money on your online marketing activities with this tactic. For example, rather than having ads displayed indiscriminately, you can limit impressions to viewers who are most likely to buy your product or use your service.

9. It’s About to Get Social

Social media is playing a bigger role in SEM as each day passes. If you think you can avoid creating a video or having “friends”, you are mistaken. Your business can greatly benefit from a YouTube video that you create or a Facebook page that communicates your mission. Content should be substantially different from your website but still be obviously related. Select the appropriate social approach based on the type of business you operate and the focus of your website. You can use geo-targeting with social media.

10. When Change is Good

While you like visitors on your site, you prefer customers. Your goal is to change or convert your visitors to customers. Your conversion rate is a measure of how successful you are in this endeavor. High conversion rates are a signal that two very important things are happening. First, visitors are finding your website. Second, your website is engaging them to take action. Low conversion rates are typically the result of poor website design or content.

11. Forever SEO

The very foundation of SEM is SEO. It is the common thread in most SEM techniques. Optimization focuses in large part on keywords. For a successful SEM strategy, you must begin with SEO. Start with your website and make sure it is optimized properly to be included on SERPs. This includes how you use keywords, the quality of your content, and properly formatted Meta tags. Since websites are requiring more relevant content, it is a good idea to double check the quality of your content to make sure it is not inhibiting SEO or SEM.

12. Leave it to the Pros

SEO takes time and while you are waiting for results, you can implement all or part of your SEM strategy. Prioritize based on your budget. Several SEM matters mentioned above are more expensive than others. Decide with are more important to your business success and then look to see what you can afford. Your decision will be made, in part, based on what you can do in-house and what you need to outsource. Don’t assume that outsourcing will cost you more. Consider the fact that if you decide to keep certain SEM activities in-house but you never get to it because you don’t have the time, you are actually losing money by leaving money on the table. There are customers out there for you, but you need to attract them to your site.

You cannot be passive about this and expect to be successful. If you know from the outset that you do not have sufficient time to implement a good SEM strategy, a reputable SEM company can be invaluable. You want one that is equally skilled in SEM and SEO. They should be able to provide recommendations about your website structure and content before jumping right into a PPC campaign. You can get the help you need to develop and implement SEM that is best for your particular financial and business situation.

Many site owners have undertaken SEM methods without knowing it. Being proactive about SEM streamlines your processes and presents a comprehensive approach that can increase traffic to your site, improve conversion rates, and make you money.

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