Search Engine Marketing Overview

Your business’ web site is no different from a physical storefront. To experience the most success, you have to have a good location and advertise. Small business owners often think of their web sites as marketing vehicles, but they don’t also think about the “location” and the promotion of that site. While it is a great resource, if no one can find your site, it won’t attract the most customers possible.

Using search engine marketing, it’s easy to start promoting your site and expanding your reach. Search marketing probably is the most cost-effective method of advertising on the Web, allowing you to reach the largest possible audience for the least amount of money.

In search engine marketing, the normal rules of advertising are reversed: instead of a business sending its ads blindly to a mass audience, consumers tell advertisers what they want by entering words in a search engine like Yahoo!, Google or MSN, then the ads appear on a search results page. Consumers who are already looking for a particular product are more likely to click on the ads once they appear.

There are four common search engine marketing practices: natural/organic search, paid search, product search and local search.

1. Natural or organic search engine marketing involves implementing programming changes to your site that will make it more visible to search engines. This can be achieved by adding keywords, updating meta tags, and changing the layout of the site within the HTML code.



2. Paid search involves a small fee paid to the search engine which ensures your site is included in the search index. This does not guarantee ranking. There is another small fee charged for the number of times searchers click on your site. This method also involves bidding on selected keywords to secure your spot at the top of results as well as implementing other tools that will bring more visitors to a site.



3. Product search involves submitting your site to online shopping directories, also known as comparison shopping sites. These sites allow shoppers to compare product prices and merchants in one location. When customers click on an ad, they’re taken to the product page on your site to make the purchase. It is also a great way for online retailers to show their wares to a larger audience and reach customers who might not find their sites otherwise.



4. Local search marketing is similar to an online “yellow pages,” where your site shows up on searches done by visitors in your geographic region. Local search marketing is a great way to let customers find information about your products online and then later buy them in person at your store.

What kind of search marketing is best?
While all of these methods will give your site more visibility, what’s best for you depends on your business. For example, if you sell a fairly unique item like African Violets, you may be able to optimize your site using natural search techniques and achieve top ranking with popular search engines.

Optimizing your site for natural search requires time, effort, and an investment, however. If you’re not familiar with programming, hiring an outside source may be necessary.

If you sell a fairly common product like roses, however, you probably won't be able to naturally optimize your site to achieve a top ranking on most search engines. Because there are so many other web sites out there selling the same product, it will probably take a little extra effort (or money) to get a higher ranking. In this case, it might make most sense to focus your efforts on one of the paid search vehicles.

As more customers go online to find the products and services they want, incorporating search engine marketing into your business plan is the best way to grow your business online. The more people that can find your site, the more likely you are to sell your products to a larger audience, and, in many instances, a combination of natural search and paid search will significantly help your site get noticed.

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