Search engine marketing & promotion
So, you've got your website up and running. Your product is ready and waiting. Now all you need is to get potential customers to your website, and start using whatever service you provide. Be it holiday cottages, mobile phones, books, a tourist attraction, driving lessons, whatever.
As someone investing in web design & hosting on top of all the other business overheads, one needs a good 'return on investment'. If the money invested doesn't pay for itself in the long run, it's money down the drain.
The benefits of improved search engine ranking
Being found in the search engines is similar to having a highly visible advertisement in a newspaper or magazine. Visibility is the key to getting noticed. For example, magazine adverts are most effective when they're BIG. A quarter page advertisement has lots of impact, but it won't stand out as much as the full page ad opposite, yet still costs a fortune. Being found on page 1 of the major search engines is the equivalent of the full page magazine ad.
There are 3 ways to get your website onto page 1 of the major search engines
(Yahoo!, MSN & Google)....
1, sheer luck. 2, pay-per-click ads. 3, search engine optimisation.
How does a site rank well by 'sheer luck'?
Often, one can type a search term into a search engine and find the number one result is a forum post, or a two year old article. Sometimes we see pages in Googles cache which have long been removed from the website which is ranking highest! Some websites can rank well for their search terms without pay-per-click ads or doing any specific on or off site optimisation. This is especially true if the search term is in a niche market with very few competing pages.
What is pay-per-click?
Pay-per-click (or ppc) ads are 'paid for' or 'sponsored' listings such as Google Ad words. These results appear on the right hand side of Googles 'natural' search engine listings. Each time a potential customer clicks on one of the sponsored results, the site owner is charged a minimum or 4p for every 'click' on your advert, regardless of whether a sale is made. The more competitive your keywords, the more expensive it is to have your websites advertisements higher up the sponsored results alongside the natural results.
What is search engine optimisation?
Search engine optimisation (or seo) is the art of improving a websites status in the search engines when a product your website provides is searched for. If you sell books about dogs, you want your web site to be easily found when a potential customer uses a search engine to look for books about dogs. For example, they could search for "bookshops" and then search for a "dogs" or "pets" section at whichever web site(s) they end up at. They could search for "books about dogs", "dog book" or "books about dog training". They might even search for a specific title, author or publishing company.
There are many ways to search for any one product, so the first step of any search engine optimisation project is research. What are my products? What are my keywords & key phrases? Which are the most important key words or phrases? Who is my competition?
Once the keywords and key phrases have been determined, we then look at ways to promote each keyword or phrase in the major search engines. Sometimes this can involve a complete restructuring & rebuilding of the website. More often than not though, it's more a case of rewriting your product descriptions & info pages. Applying regular updates to your content. Tidying up the source code every now and then. Creating & maintaining a good set of link partners and getting listed in the many directories.
Natural ranking versus pay-per-click?
1 in 10 searchers click on the sponsored ads. That means 9 out of 10 click on the natural results. So being on page one in the natural listings can be a lot more profitable then going down the pay-per-click route.
Pay-per-click ads offer guaranteed results. The more one is willing to pay for each click, the higher up the list your ad will appear. It's possible to stay at the number one position indefinitely.
Pay-per-click ads may well get you the traffic, but may not give you a good return on investment. You pay for each click, regardless of whether that click becomes a sale. So if only 1 out of every 50 clicks is a sale, the cost of all 50 clicks will eat in to your profit margin for that one product you did sell, therefore increasing your overheads substantially. Not to mention the cost of 'click fraud', where your competitors continually click on your ads to increase your running costs. Although rare, this does happen.
Natural ranking is not guaranteed. It can often be a long slow journey up the search engines, with many new website's taking up to a year to start ranking well on a handful of search terms. And once you've reached that coveted number one spot, there's nothing to say that you'll stay there.
Why do some sites get ranked higher than others?
This is probably the most debated question on the web. The role of a search engine is to deliver what it considers to be the most relevant web pages to the search term used.
The web pages at the top of the results are considered more relevant as a result of the page content, and the content of the pages which link to the page in question.
Exactly how each search engine determines relevance and produces a ranking order from this information is a closely guarded secret. However, after a couple of years spent studying search engine trends over a wide range of search terms, it's not hard to determine what needs to be done on order to substantially increase a sites position.
Why is content so important?
The content of your web pages is one of the most important factors for ranking well in the search engines. If your keywords don't appear on your pages, you'll not rank highly for them. If a competing website offers more relevant information than your website does, it will be considered more relevant and will therefore be rewarded with a higher ranking.
Why are links so important?
The major search engines, especially Google take into account the websites which link to your site when determining relevance. For example, a website's theme or topic could be 'electronics', and there are 20 websites linking to it. 10 of them are from directories, 7 of them from random 'friends' and 3 of them from other 'electronics' websites. Google will consider the 3 themed links far more important than the other 17 links, as the 3 themed links reinforce the subject or topic of your site, and therefore make your site appear more relevant in the field of 'electronics'. The more on-topic websites linking to your pages the better, as it all adds up to relevance.
Why is good design so important?
OK, so you've got your website up and running, you've even started ranking well in the search engines for your search terms, you're getting a significant amount of traffic through your website, but still no sales!
It's one thing getting people to your website, it's another thing keeping them there. Most searchers are impatient, if your pages take too long to load, your potential customers will hit the 'back' button and shop elsewhere. If your website is difficult to navigate, they'll get bored of looking and shop elsewhere. Your website is your online representation of your business. If your site looks 'amateur', they'll assume your business is. Presenting the right image for your particular area of trade reassures potential clients and ultimately brings more business your way.
Why is site accessibility so important?
UK law now states that all businesses should provide access for all. This includes online e-commerce businesses. 10% of Britain's population suffer from some form of visual impairment. 10% of the British population is a large number of people, or potential customers, so why make life hard for them? If they find it hard to see your website, they'll simply look for a website they can use and shop elsewhere. Creating a website which is accessible for all makes good business sense as you're increasing the catchment area of potential customers.
Why are good quality photos so important?
For the same reasons as good page content, design and accessibility, high quality images can really improve your sales. Most consumers like to have a good look before they buy. If your product images are not up to scratch, you may as well show your customers the door. Out of focus or poorly lit images, or in many cases, images which don't display may as well be replaced with an image saying "shop elsewhere". Search for any product on e-bay, have a look at the items which are ending soon yet still have no bids. You'll notice most of them have either dark or blurred photos, or no image at all. People generally will not buy what they cannot have a look at.
Other forms of marketing your services:
Depending on your area of trade, or the subject matter of your website, high ranking in the search engines may not be the best way of marketing your services. For example, there are plenty of hair salons with their own websites, but does anybody really use a search engine to find a hairdresser? Or are they more likely to go by 'word of mouth' recommendations, or simply 'give that new one on the High Street a try'?
Although having a website is the norm for many trades & businesses these days, search engine marketing may not be your best bet. Most people still pick up the local newspaper or the Yellow Pages if they need a plumber or joiner. However, using the internet to find a phone number for local tradesmen is becoming more common, so it's always worth having your business listed in Yell.com, or having your details found on Google Local, Near.com or Ask Your Neighbour.
Word of mouth is, and always will be the most cost effective way of marketing, in so much as you don't need to do anything apart from provide a good service and leave a trail of satisfied customers behind you, who will be only too happy to recommend you.
If you're unsure of the best way to promote your services or website,
please contact DT Internet Services for a free, informal chat about your marketing needs.
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