ARTICLES
Web marketing - Get Results!
SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING VS. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Two different approaches to getting the right ranking in search results. You can utilize one or the other or both simultaneously. Neither are exact sciences and approaches will change based on how searches are conducted.
SEO - Organic Search - editorial search, natural search, free search and algorithmic search - is refining your "Meta Tags", code , content, links popularity in such a way to improve your ranking for search results. This takes time - approx 3-6 months to achieve desired results. The following element are essential for SEO: keyword text, crawler-friendly architecture and navigation, and link popularity.
Search marketing is an immediate fix. Paid search as it is known to marketers. Also know as the following - pay per click, sponsored listing, cost per click, pay for performance, paid placement, sponsored search, keyword search. Paid inclusion is paid submission and keyword search. This may enhance the odds of getting listed higher in search results. Some search engines are beginning to abandon this option all together due to the perceived notion of influence over editorial integrity.
How do I decide what is the best option for me? Let's look at the benefits of both:
Optimized site will maintain is ranking for a long period of time, but it takes a long time to achieve the desired ranking and there is no guarantee on how high it will place
Paid search will immediately boost a sites rank , but the results temporary because they are based on the keyword bidding process and your daily, weekly, monthly budget. Once the money is spent, your site looses its position.
Search trends that pertain to your businesses:
Contextual search - where a sponsored ad or link will be embedded on content sites or shopping sites. The goal is to have your ad appear where your target is looking for info similar to the services that you provide. This is still in its infancy stages because it is not a widely accepted form of search marketing for this reason - some contextual ads are served up based on predetermined relevancy factors and there is the risk of missing the target altogether. Some companies that offer a form of contextual advertising use human editors to better ensure putting the right ad in front of the right target. Some consultancies are estimating that this form of advertising could reach 5 billion in 2006.
Local Search - think of contextual search with local. Some research firms estimate that 10% of all local searches result in a buying decision. 21% of commercial searches have a local component. 30% of the approx 1.6 billion weekly searches have a geographic component.
Yahoo and Google have launched a local search listing services. Yahoo had SmartView Technology. It is based on the Yahoo maps where visitors can provide an address and listed businesses in and around the address will appear as links on the side of the map. Google had Google Local which is similar to Froogle its online catalog search engine.
How does one measure relevancy of ROI? Click through rate and conversion rate - click through rate is simply the number of clicks for a particular link on your site. Conversion rate is the number of clicks that lead to a purchase. There are web analytic software available online that you can purchase or subscribe to that will provide a detailed and in depth look at your site visitors activities.
Contact us to discover how we can help your business