SEM – Insights
This is relevant to just about all web marketing. So we have to look at updating our modus operandi. There’s no question that every business needs a web presence. Although simply being on the web isn’t enough. Your clients need to know where you are.
Picture a new retail premises opening up shop: Heavy investment has gone into fitting it out and setting everything up. The staff are all poised – Then notice they’re in a backwater – miles from anywhere. What’s worse, they haven’t told anyone where they are. What kind of sales do you think they’ll manage? This is precisely the problem experienced by ninety nine per cent of all websites.
The World Wide Web has caused a paradigm shift in marketing. As the twenty first century dawned, a belief grew that all companies should have a web site. Sometimes tens of thousands of pounds would be invested in intricate new sites. Obviously, this new business was very welcome to web design companies. Before long though, the site owners were complaining that no-one looked at their new website! It had been thought that simply building a website would lead to sales. But unfortunately, this turned out to be completely false…
A traditional approach to marketing breaks down on the web. People used to established marketing techniques would say your web site is simply an advertisement of your company and its products. And so to get people to visit the site, they’ll promote it in the press and media, and on TV and radio. Fundamentally they’ll stick to what they know best! Launch a nice big brochure, then market it every way they can. But this is entirely the wrong way to approach it.
This process only utilises the web as viewing gallery, which is quite wrong. The internet is a hugely interactive environment that allows billions of users to research, discuss, offer comments etc. 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: You’d never find what you were looking for.
This set-back is solved by Search Engines. Which means businesses can no longer use traditional marketing. Now, if you wish to be visible online, you must be indexed by Google, Bing and/or Yahoo etc. But there’s a lot more to it than that… #S#
Because it was often so complicated to rate highly for certain terms (and also because the Search Engines wanted more revenue), they introduced paid advertising with a unique spin. You only pay when someone actually chooses your advert – hence the name ‘Pay-Per-Click’. A very novel idea. Fundamentally, you were now only charged when an interested party looked at what you had to offer. This is an incredibly targeted way of advertising, and done properly, can yield some exceptional results.
Alas, the market is bombarded with this form of advertising these days. Costs per click have been heavily driven up, mostly by inexperienced marketers bidding too highly. So it’s often the case now that many are priced out of the market. This happens mostly where lots of clicks are essential to get one buyer. This has caused a rebirth and interest in Search Engine Optimisation – as those in the know try to drive their sites up to the revered page 1.
Do this small task – Bring up a major Search Engine now and enter a number of keywords for your products or services. Can you see your website on the 1st three pages? Chances are – the answer’s no. Consequently, like the situation we described earlier, you’ve got no visibility! If it is there, would clients really use those keywords?
Maybe you’ve already tried some Pay Per Click advertising so you appear in the paid listings, and maybe you’ve achieved some success so far. Yet so much more could be done. Are you getting the best return on your investment? Are you aware of how to assess the quality and viability of each campaign? With PPC, testing and diagnostics are critical. If you don’t know what your stats are, then guaranteed you’re not getting the best results for your money.
Both in Britain and around the world, statistics show that commercial advertising and selling is experiencing a seismic shift towards the internet. There is no other choice but to deal with it – and ensure you’re taking full advantage of all the opportunities.
(C) S. Edwards 2009. Browse around Click Here or CyberSensai.com.
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