SEM Revealed
SEM is the solution for all on-line promotions. Therefore we must address this issue. It’s not rocket science that businesses should be on the web. It’s not enough just to be online though. If nobody can find you, you might just as well not be there!
Picture a new retail premises opening up shop: It’s taken time, money and expertise to get to this stage. It’s opening time, and they’re looking for clients… Then they look outside and find they’re in a rural outpost! Nobody will know how to reach them. What kind of sales do you think they’ll manage? The vast majority of business websites have just this problem.
The shape of modern marketing has radically altered. Ten years ago, as everyone was getting on the bandwagon, there was an idea that everyone needed a website. It wasn’t uncommon for businesses to spend huge amounts getting all the fancy bells and whistles on their site. (To the great delight of web designers, of course). It started to become obvious though that these sites weren’t receiving any traffic. People had thought that if they had a big website, it would be easily spotted. Alas it wasn’t so.
A traditional approach to marketing breaks down on the web. Off-line marketing people would suggest your website is like a sales brochure. Consequently they’ll recommend the time-honoured promotional methods of newspaper advertising and the media. Really just assuming websites need the same treatment as everything else! First they make a nice looking catalogue. Then they utilise various marketing methods to get people to look at the catalogue. Yet in the web economy, this approach is way off the mark!
The internet itself is not just a viewing portal. It is a completely interactive place where billions of people can research, examine, discuss and choose services and products in the comfort of their own home. And because of Search Engines like Google & Bing/MSN, there are huge indexes of sites that can be easily found (from the customers perspective at least) to perform these tasks. Off-line Business Pages would be useless if they weren’t properly structured: It could take hours of our time!
Search Engines have sorted all this. But in doing so, they’ve radically changed the face of marketing forever. Because now, if you want to be found in the vast sea that is the internet, you have to be indexed in the Search Engines. Even that isn’t enough though. Statistics reveal that almost no-one looks ‘below the fold’ on the 1st page.
But Search Engines are interested in making money – so to overcome high rating difficulties, paid advertising was introduced. You Pay Per Click, so you’re only charged for your ad when someone clicks on it. How refreshing was that? Because now you didn’t have to spend anything until an interested person looked at your web page. Advertising in this way requires well informed judgement, but if handled properly it can be very worthwhile.
Alas, the market is bombarded with this form of advertising these days. Prices have risen hugely. This is mostly due to high bids being put in by marketers with no experience. Some words and phrases command such high click prices that profits aren’t possible for many companies. This happens mostly where lots of clicks are essential to get one buyer. So Search Engine Optimisation is now becoming a preferred method for many to get to page 1.
Do this small task – Enter some service or product keywords (relevant to your business) on Bing or Google. Then check through as far as page three. Can you find your website? Probably not. Consequently, like the situation we described earlier, you’ve got no visibility! Maybe it is there. But is it listed for terms that clients are actually using?
It’s possible you’ve already done some advertising in the paid listings – and maybe you’ve had some results. Are you managing your campaign well though? Are the returns you’re getting good enough? Do you know what the most successful areas are – with accurate statistics to track and measure the quality of your campaigns? With PPC, testing and diagnostics are critical. You’ll never get the best results without correct figures.
It’s very evident today that both global and local commerce are moving swiftly onto the internet. Make the most of this trend. Unless you embrace the internet and utilize all of its advantages, your business will become a dinosaur.