Web Copywriting

Search Engine Marketing; A realistic approach

Getting a high rank on search engine results is not easy. Getting high SERPs (search engine results positioning) is not simple. One cannot merely submit their site to engines and hope for manna from above. Plugging in the most common keywords you came up with won’t help. Outdate or under-educated SEO operators will tell you Links are king. Well, the used to be, and are to an extent. The latest trend of many SEs though is to undervalue links because of the spamming from link farms and the like.

Mets tags? Naw, that’s ancient history. Same problem as reciprocal links. People started spamming by stuffing the tags with keywords often unrelated to the site. So that killed that concept.

So what’s the magic formula? Well only the fine folks at Google, Yahoo and MSN know for sure. You see, search engine folks don’t really like SEO folks. Why? Because the SEs are trying to create a ‘pure’ organic system to return results to users while those in the SEO field are constantly trying to circumvent the algorithm that is used to ‘weight’ results. It is an SEO professionals sole purpose. Such is the high stakes world of Search Engine Marketing.

Beware of False Prophets.

If you’re doing SEO and SEM for your website, or if you’re hiring someone to do it for you remember one thing; Getting high SERPs is not easy. If a prospective SEO firm claims they can get you on the 1st page of results for Google or another top engine, they are most likely being somewhat less than realistic. Unless they are proposing a massive budget to accomplish it. Be wary of guarantees. There are no ‘sure things’ in marketing.

Look at a term like ‘web design’. There are roughly 18 Million web pages on Google, with ‘Web design’ in the title. If you think you’re going to come in number 1-10, you’d better have a lot of time and money. It is simply unrealistic to think of going that route. Look for what’s called the ‘tail’. Simply, this means to look for keywords and phrases that are ‘niche’ to your USP (unique selling position). If I specialized in ecommerce, I would target ‘ecommerce web design’ instead of just ‘web design’. Just be sure to be realistic in your goals, research and target terms that you can actually achieve.

Don’t forget the big picture.

Let’s step back. What is the ultimate goal anyways? More sales? More traffic? Highly targeted traffic? Increased brand awareness?
Never lose site of your over-all marketing goals. Is the money spent on SEO going to reap the rewards that the same amount of marketing dollars could have fetched elsewhere? Offline advertising or online and paid per click included. Often internet business owners see SEO as some magic fix that will make them the next eBay. What they don’t see is a larger over-all marketing plan. There is rarely one in place.

Search engine optimization is and should be merely a ‘part’ of your Internet Marketing Plan. In truth it is only a piece, albeit a significant one, of Search Engine Marketing. SEM is part of Internet Marketing which itself falls under the main heading of Company/Business Marketing plans.

So, next time you get all glossy eyed and frothy at the mouth at the offer of what ‘SEO can do for you’, remember, it’s the bottom line that counts. Marketing budgets are rarely unlimited, (hmmm wonder what Microsoft’s is?) so we need value. If you are a website owner or marketing team, YOU are responsible for ensuring the best approach is used. Do your homework and be ‘realistic’.

Author; David Harry
When you want to see the forest AND the trees. -The Business Developers.com

David Harry is a professional business development and marketing consultant. He is the CEO of Comprehensive Development Services, President of Verve Developments and a controlling interest in Myos Hosting.