| |
| |
|
SEO Information |
|
|
|
Are Search Engines Worth It Any More?
The "Number One" Question - the question that I (and probably every other Internet marketing expert on the planet) am most frequently asked: "How do I get to be Number One in the search engines for widgets? After all, my company is the world's leading provider of widgets - it's ridiculous that these other nobody companies are coming up in search engines ahead of us . . . " My response is almost always along the lines of: "Forget that right now, and get a life!" OK, so I am a little more tactful than that - and I do occasionally encourage an in-depth search engine optimization strategy, but usually I'll encourage clients to spend their website promotional budget in other ways. Here are the main reasons why I'm not generally enthusiastic about free search engines: 1. You have to be really careful in choosing keywords Many people make the mistake of focusing on very generic keywords. Not only are these even more difficult to get top placement in, but they also won't generate you targeted traffic. A prospect approached me recently for help with a coaching site. This site promotes teleseminars to help clients implement life changes described in various motivational books. This prospect initially said that he wanted to be "Number One" on a search for "books". I'd suggest this would be a virtually impossible challenge for any search engine optimizer. But in addition, someone searching for "books" is probably really looking for Amazon, or Barnes & Noble, and not my client's teleclasses. He could spend a lot of money for very few qualified leads. 2. You need to speak the language of your visitors We all talk "geekspeak" - it's often second nature to us within our industry or area of expertise. And it's easy to forget that our prospects don't always use the same terminology. One of the most difficult areas in copywriting that I see is when technology sales people are trying to describe their products to a non-technical market - the result is usually incomprehensible! But there's also the jargon that we use as a matter of pride, or because we've lost touch with how our markets think of us. I worked recently with an association of plastic surgeons. They had their member database on their Web site, and wanted to attract visitors there to find a local practitioner. Their "Number One" target keyword for the search engines was "rhinoplasty". Well, I can only spell this because I just looked it up for this article - but usually you and I in the general public would never think of that - of course, we'd be searching for . . . "nose jobs"! The surgeons didn't like this at all from an academic standpoint. But they had to concede the point when I presented evidence on most common searches from Overture's very handy Search Term Suggestion Tool at http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion. 3. It's very passive marketing . . . My most pressing argument for not spending too much time on free search engines is that it's a very passive form of marketing. You're relying on a prospective visitor waking up in the morning, and realizing that they need something that you might provide. Then, you're relying on them choosing the precise keywords that you've targeted for search engine optimization. It's a fairly hit or miss business. When do I disagree with myself? There are some exceptions to all this. I do believe that search engines are well worth it when you have a niche product or service with extremely unambiguous and well-defined keywords. For example, an audience member in one of my recent programs was working on a Web site to sell some incredibly advanced yoyos. I did recommend a search engine strategy to him - after all, if someone puts in "yoyo" as a search term, they'd almost certainly be a qualified lead! What do I do instead? That's the subject of numerous other articles. To get you started, you can find twenty-three of my favourite techniques in my free tipsheet. But in short, I much prefer aggressively seeking out sites where your target markets are likely to be reading, or searching for information. That way, you can proactively bring your ideas, products and services to them, in places where they are much more likely to be receptive and interested. And there are so many options for different budgets and campaign sizes, both online and offline. So, are search engines worth it any more? I'm not advocating ignoring search engines. And I do like the better paid models, such as Overture. But I do suggest that you should be very clear about how much passive marketing you want to undertake, and whether the product or service that you're offering lends itself to this. And if you do decide to optimize your site for search engines, pick the keywords that will be in the mindset of your customers . . . and be willing to settle for "Number Two" sometimes! © 2003 Philippa Gamse. All rights reserved. Philippa Gamse, CyberSpeaker, is a Web strategy consultant and professional speaker. Check out her free tipsheet for 23 ideas to promote your Website: http://www.CyberSpeaker.com/tipsheet.html Philippa can be reached at (831) 465-0317.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Top 2 Ways To Get Higher Rankings in Major Search Engines Top 10 search engine rankings. Everybody wants it but a few achieve it. Link Horse Trading For The PR Challenged After 105 days Google finally updated PR. And it's about time. Internet 2005: The Ten Billions Pages Search Engines To see each and every page during 10 seconds would take 694 days 24/24. The leading search engines fight to be the first that oversteps this level. Which Search Engine Optimization Services to choose, Google OR Yahoo? Search Engine Optimization is emerging as the most powerful form of Internet Marketing in the recent years, and is bound to increase in the coming few years. Many companies have now emerged from countries like UK,CANADA, and India providing cost effective Search Engine Optimization Services. Are You Making These Deadly SEO Mistakes? Black Hat SEO: Web Spamming and Linking to Bad NeighborhoodsSo you want to exchange links with other web sites in order to get higher search engine rankings?So you want to create hundreds of auto-generated, keyword rich pages for your site?Before you go and link to every website that is willing to exchange links, it would be a good idea to know where not to link to. Sometimes it can mean not linking to your own sites. Quick Keyword Research that Works!!! Keywords are terms or words related to particular topic. Keyword research involves various aspects, for example; to find sales oriented keywords or to drive maximum qualified users to increase the online sales. Meta Tag Tactics - Give Your Website Traffic a Boost with the Meta Tag Basics Getting your site noticed by the search engines and rewarded with top rankings is most webmasters main goal, however there are a lot of different factors that play into what the search engines are looking for, including Meta tags. So, if you don't know anything about meta tags but are interested in learning about them so you can use them to possibly increase your rankings, then read the following basic tips regarding meta tags. Answers Count - Matching Keyword and Phrase Density What's more important to your business success - the question or the answer? Certainly, you want your questions to reflect what you are trying to find out. Obviously, your questions should be easily understood. SEO -- Tips to Optimize Your Webpage to Compete for a High Ranking Search engine optimization (SEO) is very important to websites. If you rank high in search engines, your website are shown to a huge number of target users. SEO = Search Engine Optimization, tips on successful page ranking One of the key things to remember when developing your web-site presence is to always evaluate your competition. See what's working for them; how they market their products and services, and even evaluate their KEYWORD and DISCRIPTION tags. Beating the New Google AdWord Rules with Blogs and RSS When Google Adwords first came on scene, it was not immediately apparent to most people how to utilize the system to create wealth, until John Carpenter popularised it with his Google Cash system, a book he wrote some time back.Since then, Google Adwords has become one of the main traffic generation tools for most affiliates. How To Select The Right Keywords Keyword SelectionThe most important component of search engine optimization is keyword selection. Search engines use key words and phrases to find and rank websites. Search Engines: Different Types, Different Strategies There are four basic types of Search Engines: Free Search EnginesPay-For-Inclusion Search EnginesPay-Per-Click (PPC) Search EnginesDirectories Because each type does things a little differently, you need to adapt your strategy to take advantage of their differences.Free Search EnginesYou can submit your pages to these engines free, but be careful. 2 Powerful Ways To Capitalize on Your Search Engine Traffic Many marketers know that search engine marketing is among one of the best methods to get visitors to their websites. It's a profitable way to reach new subscribers and new customers. Shopping Carts and SEO Shopping and the Web. They go together like Mr. High Search Engine Rankings - A Long Term Strategy The last 1.5 years have shown major changes in search engine behavior across the board. Use Keyword Articles for Search Engine Optimization Search engine optimization is very important for your online business if you are interested in staying in business. The reason for this is most of the time the large search engines direct traffic to your website, however your website must include what the search engine is looking for in order for your web page to be returned as a result. Free Search Engine Advertising: 10 Secret Ways To Indirectly Race To The Top Of Search Engines Do you have a website that has little or no rankings in the major Search Engines: Yahoo. Msn, Aol, Netscape, Alltheweb and Google?Are you making little or no sales because you're getting little or no traffics?Welcome to the club. Why is Search Engine Optimisation Expensive? Many of our customers (http://www.internet-marketing-australia. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategy - Navigating the Dark Waters of Website Promotion Creating a well-designed website is the first step in your internet marketing strategy that must be backed up with techniques designed to drive traffic to the website for successful, long-term results. You wouldn't consider opening a retail store in a major shopping mall without signage and you shouldn't consider having a nice looking website designed without expanding your web presence in order to be found on the internet.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
