SEM Examined

Posted on 08. Sep, 2009 by Jason Kendall in Computer

SEM is the solution for all on-line promotions. Therefore we must address this issue. It’s not rocket science that businesses should be on the web. It’s not enough just to be online though. If nobody can find you, you might just as well not be there!

Picture a new retail premises opening up shop: It’s taken time, money and expertise to get to this stage. It’s opening time, and they’re looking for clients… Then they look outside and find they’re in a rural outpost! Nobody will know how to reach them. What kind of sales do you think they’ll manage? The vast majority of business websites have just this problem.

The World Wide Web has caused a paradigm shift in marketing. Around the time of the millennium, it was thought that having a website was everything. Vast amounts of money were spent on all singing/dancing web sites. This trend was cheerfully encouraged by on-line design companies, who relished the business! But just the existence of the site didn’t bring in the customers. They’d thought that simply having a site on the web meant customers could see them. In fact, this wasn’t the case at all.

Modern internet marketing requires a fundamental shift in thinking from traditional marketing. People used to established marketing techniques would say your web site is simply an advertisement of your company and its products. As a result, they’ll try to get you to promote the site on radio, TV or in the press. Essentially they’re working in the same way as they’ve always done. They start with a flashy sales site, and then try lots of ‘off-line’ avenues to get people to look at it. Completely missing the point of the web environment!

The internet itself is not just a viewing portal. It is a completely interactive place where billions of people can research, examine, discuss and choose services and products in the comfort of their own home. 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: It could take hours of our time!

The SE’s have got it all sussed. For companies though, this changes marketing completely. You MUST be indexed by Search Engines to have any visibility. And not only that, it’s pretty pointless if you’re number 4 on page 7 of the results.

So to give all companies a chance to be on the first pages, the Search Engines came up with a new form of paid advertising. You only pay when someone actually chooses your advert – hence the name ‘Pay-Per-Click’. This caused quite a storm when it happened. Basically, the only time you now paid was when someone who was already interested asked to look at your site. 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. Prices have risen hugely. This is mostly due to high bids being put in by marketers with no experience. Some words and phrases command such high click prices that profits aren’t possible for many companies. This happens mostly where lots of clicks are essential to get one buyer. So Search Engine Optimisation is now becoming a preferred method for many to get to page 1.

Have a go at this – Go to Google or Bing RIGHT NOW and type in a few product or service keywords. Can you see your website on the 1st three pages? It’s very doubtful. So you might as well not be there at all! If it is there, would clients really use those keywords?

You may have some successful experience withPPC advertising. Can you be sure you’re working it as efficiently as possible? Is your ROI satisfactory? Have you got an eye on the stats that measure your results? It’s important to split test your campaigns – are you doing this? 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. It’s no longer an option. Embrace the web economy, and maximise its potential.

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