Search Engine Marketing
Posted on | January 4, 2010 | View Comments
Search Engine Marketing
Search Engine Marketing: Easier with more computers
There are many ways to market your site for success. Search Engine Marketing is a culmination of efforts that increase awareness of your site. There is some debate as to what SEM really is, but for our purposes in this site we label any effort to get better search results, after your site is launched, as Search Engine Marketing. There many options you can pay for in order to increase the amount and quality of traffic to your site. They boil down to the following:
Pay-per-click
One of the most sought after SEM plans. Basically the goal is to have your link placed near the top of a search without having to wait for organic search results to move your site up. Your website address will be placed in a sponsorship section, where people can see your site and click for more information. This service is great if your site is tuned in such a way that every person that comes to your site makes some sort of commitment or promise to commit, such as leaving personal information, making a purchase, contributing to your site, or others like this.
With this plan you get the option of tracking your dollars, seeing the amount of times your site has been displayed, when it was clicked, and how it was found. If you have the resources to invest, this is a great option for new sites, or websites that need better results.
Banner Ads
If there are sites that you enjoy using, or are a part of your industry, you can pay to have a spot on the site, a banner ad. It’s like a mini billboard for your site. It gives you a chance to appeal to people who you think would need to see your site. Be sure the provider can tell you the number of times it’s displayed and your click-thru rate.
Listing Services
There are thousands of sites online trying to collect information and present it in a way that users can find it easily and with in relation to other sites. Your business has trade sites that will offer you registration for your site with their service. Be sure to research to find out what kind of track record the website has before considering to pay for service. Also check to make sure that the service they offer actual delivers.
Traffic Generators
There are several companies that promise to drive traffic to your site. You should know how they send traffic to your site. If they are offering guaranteed links, you need to be sure that they are following web standards. Inappropriate linking, or old SEO “tricks” may get your site banned, or you may be flagged by sites that have more prominence. Be sure to check these things ahead of time.
Feeder Websites
Feeder websites are sites that may target or be branded to focus on one aspect of a business. They should be relevant and able to clearly explain what there intent is and who they represent. This is a great option for businesses that are strong in various areas of their field and want to garner more business in that discipline. Be careful not to set up too many feeder sites. If not used appropriately, your site could become flagged by search engines for bad behavior.
Link Building
The key to a link building campaign is getting quality links to your site. There are services that can help you find sites that are in your area or line of business. Be careful to only have quality sites link to your site. Link farms or deceptive practices can negatively impact your SEO results. Check the results of anyones efforts. We will post a page with some tools to check page rankings.