In a world of e-revolution, where electronic store fronts are taking a competitive marketing approach, your organic internet search placement is becoming crucial for success. A normal query on a search engine often turns up hundreds if not thousands of matching web pages and only ten matches are displayed on the first page — are you in the top ten?

If you’re not in position one on the first page, third or fourth can be just as beneficial. Of course the higher your site is positioned, the higher its exposure and opportunities for capturing visits from engaged customers. Top ranking gets an estimated 56% of the clicks from searches. Second and third place get about 14% and 12% respectively. It pays to be number one.

As we all know, there is no Search Engine Optimization (SEO) formula for placement, just methods to follow to beat out your competition and obtain higher rankings.

Steps to Success in Search Engines

There are many steps to getting top placement online. 

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Consider the time and dedication NASA puts toward preparing the space shuttle for its next mission. Months of research, planning, and prep to get all the details in place for a flawless launch. It’s launch day and the countdown is on…5…4…3…2..LIFTOFF!

You can hear the hi-five’s sparking all around the control center. Then the director announces over the loud speaker, “Okay everyone, great job…have a good night!”

Say what? 
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Website? Check. Traffic? Not sure. Conversions? Huh?

You must learn how to market your site to bring customers that convert.

GETTING STARTED:

Getting started, you need to have a plan in place, a web site marketing strategy. Without planning you have no direction to follow. So think about WHO you are wanting to target. WHAT their needs are once they get to your site. WHEN and how often will they need what your company has to offer them. And HOW you can get them to convert into a sale or a qualified business lead!

Promotional strategies will help narrow down what works for your company, don’t be afraid to try several at once, this will help you narrow down what is working and what isn’t. With the popularity of the internet you have so many ways you can test market what your company is selling; i.e. search engine campaigns, email marketing campaigns, forums, pay-per-click campaigns, web site optimization, writing press releases, social networks, blogging, etc.

YOU’RE HALF WAY THERE:
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You’ve seen it before, the common day-to-day unfolding of most organizations. They start somewhere between a second serving of coffee and a verbal rehash of yesterday’s news. Between the foreseeable dehydration and irrelevant debate, few decisions are made about the state of their web presence. What is far more daunting is that when the website is considered a topic of discussion, nothing profound or progressive pushes the rhetoric further than the aesthetic of the website.

Granted, to those involved in filling a 9 to 5 block, it may seem like time well spent picking pretty colors and finding more reasons for the website to “Pop!”. Unfortunately, these sorts of discussions are not sufficient in understanding the impact of an organizations website. Those in charge of making big decisions must come to terms with the idea that their website is an investment and should be cared for with the same amount of discipline. To those in the know, such accusations may come off as unsound or irrelevant due to the adoption rate of the internet. However, the affects of the internet along with simply having a website do not guarantee results.

I challenge you to examine your next company meeting and see if John-Doe from marketing is determine to send out his polished mailers or Jane from sales is set on buying more leads. If the latter describes your organization’s current state of investment, loosely, then I invite you to read on. On the other hand, if you’re fortunate and your company’s adoption characteristic in conversions is what Geoffrey Moore describes as pre-chasm(early adopters and or visionaries) in his book “Crossing the Chasm”, then we commend you and invite you to read for leisure. For those of us in the early majority, let me focus on the opportunity of converting a return on investment through the explorations in Lance Loveday and Sandra Niehaus’ book “Web Design for ROI.” (more…)

Google announced their Q1 2008 quarterly earnings with a collective sigh of relief for those wondering if the search giant would succumb to a lethargic US economy and a downturn in online ad spending. For the first time, Google’s earnings abroad toppled those in the US, giving it a true global reach.

Analysts conclude it’s Google’s targeted ad business, which marketer’s use to drive direct traffic to sites rather than building brand awareness with image ads (banners), that makes the search leader less likely to experience a slow down.

Take a look at the current internet adoption rates over time and you’ll see why. With internet adoption for the US alone at close to 80% for adults, online search marketing is the clear winner in one-to-one and direct marketing today. Read what you need to do to take advantage of this trend after the break. (more…)

Sensible concepts for those ready to expand their website and search engine marketing.

1) Content will always be king…make sure your content is top notch and don’t just focus on the pretty pictures, you’re visitors aren’t. Wether it’s copy, audio or video, invest as much as needed to get it right. If you’re trying to convince someone to believe or do something, then always test your content and keep working to one-up the current set. Refine and grow.

2) Brand loyalty is tough to come by on the web. When I say loyalty, I mean, for the most part, no one will suffer through a site just because it has a logo they know on it. Only a handful of sites have extremely loyal customers. Make sure your site is relevant, easy to use, and gives visitors what they’re looking for. Poor site design and usability sends me looking elsewhere. Why waste time trying to figure a website out when I can find the company who did this for me and buy from them?

3) Web design is much more than colors, font selection and creative juxtaposition. Good design determines how easy a site is to use (intuitive), builds trust (almost instantly) and serves as a guide for visitors. Great design takes online marketing into consideration in the planning phases to create maximum customer conversions.

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