Search Engine Marketing
What is it?
Search engine marketing is a "catchall" phrase that
includes several activities, including:
Competitive Analysis
During a competitive analysis, we find out what your competitors are doing
for search engine marketing, and what mistakes they are making. How can we
beat them? Competitive Analysis helps you plan your search engine marketing
campaign. By looking at what your competitors are doing, you can see ahead
of time just how much work will need to be done to ensure you will get your
share of online business.
Search Engine Optmization
Search Engine Optimization is the art of making your web site
as "search engine friendly" as possible, to help the search engines
understand exactly what your web site is about so that it can offer your web
site as a relevant result . Proper Search Engine Optimization is crucial if
you want your web site to have the best chance to be included in organic search
results. Search Engine Optimization is part of the site design (meaning it
cannot be started too soon, and even comes into play when choosing your domain
name. It consists of several steps:
- Keyword Research: What are your potential customers typing into the search engines?
This is something we need to know BEFORE we begin to plan your website.
- Site planning and building: Based on your web site purpose and your potential
customer, the site structure is planned, the "look and feel" is designed
and the actual pages are built.
- Web Copywriting: While a web site is never really finished, you should
avoid having too many "under construction" pages. In many cases,
the client (site owner) has not made the time to provide the web developer
necessary content for the
"under construction" pages. We don't always have time to keep nagging
you, but--be aware that "under construction" pages are doing absolutely
nothing for your search engine position or for your customers. They look unprofessional.
Is that the message you want to convey?
- Site Optimization: Everything to do with a site, from the directory structure
to the text copy on the page, affects the search engines' "opinion" of your
web site. Even copywriting must be geared for the web visitor and search
engine; while many copywriting principles hold for both print and web, web
copywriting IS different. Allow us to massage your print copy for optimal
web usability.
- Testing: This is the fun part (ok, for some). Every link must be tested,
every graphic checked for Alt tags, on and on. Checklists help a tester to
systematically go through every element to make sure it is set up as it should
be.
Directory Submission and Link Building
When your site has been planned, built, optimized and tested, it is ready
to launch! With no links to your web site, the only visitors you have will
be those who carefully type in your URL into the address bar of their browser.
Your web site must be submitted to relevant directories and a link building
campaign commenced. Note that any type of "automated" link building software
is less than ideal, and run the other way from any offers to "submit your site
to 1,000 search engines every month for $29.99." They are scams and can do
more harm than good. Also, it really isn't necessary to
submit your new site to Google and other search engines of that type,
because once you have a few links to your site it will show up automatically.
And never, ever resubmit to Google et al except in certain circumstances.
Directories include general ones like DMOZ, as well as
specialty directories such as regional or topical ones that match your site's
content. Depending on the topic of your web site, supplementary paid directory
listings may be considered at this point. Incoming links to your web site will
come naturally as others find your web site with its useful content. However,
you can speed this up by seeking out other web sites that potentially might
link to you and direct visitors to your site.
Link building is an ongoing process:
For reciprocal linking, where another site links to yours and you link back
to them, either the web site owner (who likely knows the business and the customer
the best) can identify potential linking partners and email them directly regarding
a link exchange. This is the best way to get good links. Complementary sites
- those who are not in direct competition with yours but share the same potential
customer base, are the best ones to contact.
Link Building: You can make a Difference!
Link building is an ongoing, "never
finished" activity, so it is a good idea to work with your webmaster
on a plan, set up some spreadsheets, learn the ropes and be persistent. If
you don't have time to do this yourself, be sure to add this into your budget
in the planning phase. Our rule of thumb is that web site owners who
get involved and make an effort at link building end up light years ahead of
owners who don't. If you don't want to pay hundreds of dollars for a pay-per-click
campaign or for someone else to do the linking work for you, and you do not
have the time to put any effort into linking, expect a very long
wait (maybe forever) before you receive
any significant traffic to your web site.
Site Monitoring and updates
No, it is not time to sit back and say, "finished!" As things change
day to day, you need to keep abreast of how your web site is doing. There are
many variables to keep track of, and you need a plan to monitor several aspects
of your web site. You do not need to do this yourself; however, it is essential
that a web site owner visit his web site at least monthly, and just "surf"
through the pages looking for outdated and changing information. When you find
information that is out of date, send the new information to your webmaster.
Note that search engines love web sites that are updated often.
