Why do you need a Search Engine Marketing program? Debunking the "build it and they will come" myth.
Did you know that over 75% of all visitors to your site will reach it through a search engine? With a statistic like that, who can afford not to have a search engine marketing program?
No matter how terrific your site is, if nobody can find it reasonably quickly on a search engine, you are losing a major potential customer base. You need to spend time, and sometimes money, to make sure your site can be found. It’s not enough to put it out there on the web where every day the big engines are bragging about the millions of new documents they’ve added to their indices.
Breaking the rules
Did you know that some search engines might penalize your site or block it from their listings if you violate their “rules”? To stop spam and get the best results for users, search engines have a number of requirements that a site must meet – and a number of things a site should avoid – to be listed properly. All of your Internet marketing efforts could go down the drain with one little violation. One day you stuff five hundred invisible keywords onto your page because you heard it was a good way to improve your rank, and the next thing you know you are begging Google’s forgiveness and promising to reform if only they will let you appear in their results… even on page twenty-five.
By knowing the rules and working with them, you can not only stay in the search engines’ good graces, but you can obtain a placement that will give searchers access to your site. A reputable search engine marketing company will know and follow the rules, will know and use strategies for obtaining the coveted “free” listings and will advise you of your options for paid listings.
The 75,000 search engine myth
You’ve probably gotten this offer in your e-mailbox: “We submit to 75,000 search engines for $29.99!”
And we’ve got a bridge to sell you. Ask yourself: How many search engines can I name? Five? Ten? Maybe you’re a genius and you’ve got 50 up your sleeve. Some of these 75,000 search engines aren’t search engines at all but lists or corporate and university directories. And if you don’t know where or what they are, chances are your visitors won’t know either. No matter how you slice it, over 85% of every Internet user out there will use one of the four major engines to find your site.
As for the remaining mysterious 15%, that doesn’t mean you can’t reach them, too. Smaller, secondary search engines are out there, and it pays to find a few. There are also niche directories and search engines that may cater to your specific industry. The point is to concentrate your energies on your largest customer base and to carefully research relevant secondary places to list your site.
Back to the $29.99 deal. Imagine you’re shopping for a flat screen TV. Your research shows a price range from two to three thousand dollars. Now let’s say you find that same TV for $89.95. Trigger some alarm bells? Do you find yourself asking what’s wrong with it, if you even entertain the possibility of such a low price?
Likewise, when you see a marketing offer for $29.99, do you imagine that price buys you a person sitting at his or her computer, submitting your site carefully and strategically to one engine at a time until the magical 75,000 limit is reached? Wait, we’ve got another bridge lying around here somewhere…
There’s only one way to submit to that many engines: automated submission programs. Someone plugs in your URL and the program hums along for a few hours randomly throwing your site out there. So what’s the problem?
First, this method excludes directories (like Yahoo! and the Open Directory, two key directories that also supply results to a number of other engines) that require hand submission and human interaction. It also excludes a number of engines that require a user to enter a specific access code before a site can be submitted. Some search engines require you to enter an access code specifically to prevent submission via automated programs. Plus it opens you up to the danger of being blocked by engines that frown upon these methods (think Google).
Take our word for it: Any offer that sounds too good to be true IS too good to be true.
Budgeting for search engine marketing
Search Engines are constantly changing. Some go out of business, some purchase others, and all are on a constant quest to refine and perfect the search process. A search engine listing that was free yesterday may require a yearly fee today. A good search engine marketing firm should be able to tell you which engines will crawl your site for free and which require you to dip into your marketing budget.
So how do you define your costs for search engine marketing? This is a challenging task. There are many options available and costs can range from a few dollars a month to a few thousand dollars. Search engines are businesses, too, and they have to find a way to make money if they plan to stick around. Your best bet is to set a budget and then research your options or consult with a marketing firm that can advise you of the best ways to use your marketing dollars.
Paid inclusion is one method that search engines use to generate revenue. This simply means that you pay a flat fee for the privilege of being included in their listings. This method does not guarantee any particular placement – you might show up on page one or page six hundred, but you will be included.
Pay-per-click is another popular method currently used by search engines. In this scenario, you pay a fee each time a visitor finds your site on a particular search engine and then clicks the link in order to visit your site. Sometimes you pay a flat fee per click, say 15 cents, as determined by the search engine. Other times you can decide how much you wish to pay per click. Depending on how much you wish to pay, your site will appear higher or lower in the search results.
“Organic listings” are those coveted “free” listings that you can achieve with sites like Google. Even free listings require having or hiring someone who knows the search engines and plays by the rules. It is certainly possible and desirable to get ranked well without paying, but it can be an intensive and lengthy process. Someone must devote time to evaluating your site’s performance, monitoring your site’s traffic statistics and working with your site on a regular basis to achieve high-quality results.
When am I going to be number one?
Maybe never! Not what you wanted to hear undoubtedly, but the best way to work with the search engines is to understand them and to have a realistic expectation of success. The only way to guarantee a number one listing for a keyword is to pay for it – by bidding on that keyword or paying for placement within a specific search engine. Otherwise, your rank is entirely at the whim of the search engines.
Before you decide to spend your inheritance buying up every competitive keyword, let us assure you that there are ways to affect your rank, if not to directly dictate it. Various aspects of your site and its construction will affect how a search engine sees and ranks it.
- Content.
- Links between pages.
- Graphics.
- Technology.
- External links.
- Keyword usage.
- HTML or code quality.
All of these things come into play when dealing with search engines. If you strategize well, you may certainly find your site in a number one position.
A winning strategy
Search engine marketing isn't a fast and easy method to submit your site to as many engines as possible. It is a true, and ongoing, marketing strategy aimed at targeting your audience and gaining exposure for your site and company.
If you want to reach the 75% of the population who look for goods and services on the Internet, then you need a strategy to get your site out there in front of them. Your Internet strategy, like any aspect of your marketing plan, should be a sound one, based on experience and research, and it should function in tandem with the rest of your marketing plan.
If you are interested in getting your site listed on the search engines or improving your rank, Contact Us or take advantage of two opportunities that are available to you as a new customer or an existing customer with a new project:
- Free initial consultation
- No-obligation project planning