Search Engine Marketing - What is Search Marketing Anyway?

By Terry Stanfield

If you run a business that operates on the Web you've probably heard that you need to do some search marketing but you might not know what search engine marketing is. Search marketing is the process of getting listed higher on search engine result pages so that your website is more visible to potential customers. Studies have shown that people are most likely to click on the top three or five sites listed on search engine result pages and probably will never look at the other pages that are listed. So you need to get your site listed on those pages in order to increase web site traffic that you need to really be successful. You can use search engine marketing to get your website listed higher on search engine result pages and get more customers.

Traditionally there are three different ways that you can use search marketing to get a better place on the search engine result pages. You can use SEO content or search engine optimization to make your site show up higher on the search engine result page or you can use ad placement or ad inclusion in search marketing. Paid placement ads are also known as pay-per-click ads and paid inclusion ads work in a similar fashion although they are different than paid placement ads. Most businesses choose to use the search engine optimization method.

In order to get great results when using search engine optimization to increase your search result page status you need to make sure that the SEO content you put up on the website is original and uses the keywords or key phrases that are related to your business the right number of times. If you use the keywords too much then the search engines will think you are stacking your webpage with copied content and your site will be dropped to the bottom of the list. If the keywords or key phrases are used too little then your page will end up not being on the first page of search engine result pages and if your business isn't listed on the first page you might as well give up because chances are very high that no one will see you website.

Search engine marketing might seem sort of difficult to figure out at first but it's just a necessary part of doing business on the Web. It would be nice if your next YouTube video went viral and millions of people found your website but unfortunately you can't count on that. But if you learn more about search marketing and use a lot of search marketing to drive customers to your website you'll see you a large increase in the amount of traffic that your website gets. And since the main thing that you need to be successful on the Web is to increase web site traffic, if you can successfully use search marketing you will start to see great results for your business in no time. Search Engine Marketing is really the best way to get noticed on the Web.

Before you do anything go to Terry Stanfield's site for information on Search Engine Marketing and related info about Search Engine Optimization.

Contact us right away for a free SEO/PPC site evaluation!

Search Engine Marketing - What is Social Marketing?

By Terry Stanfield

Social marketing is a new form of advertising that is just starting to become popular. Often social marketing is a favorite of small businesses because it is virtually free although in order to use it to drive traffic to a website the company still needs to use traditional search engine marketing and search engine optimization techniques. It is build around the idea of link strategies and using personal networking to drive website traffic. Before the widespread use of social networking sites social marketing really wasn't a viable option for most mainstream businesses but now the popularity of social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook has made social networking and social marketing very popular.

Link strategies that are often used in social marketing involve creating free accounts on these popular social networking sites and then using search engine marketing techniques to increase traffic and network with others who interested in the same topics or with customers. Using search engine optimization to create search engine marketing content on your social networking profile pages can help get your profile listed in search engine results pages and you can use search engine marketing articles to help gain readers and friends across the net.

This type of marketing isn't just limited to using sites like MySpace and Facebook. You can use search engine marketing and search engine optimization to socially market your blog as well. Many companies these days prefer having blogs to having traditional websites because blogs are much more accessible to people and make people feel like they have a personal connection with the company. Blogging is hugely popular. Many popular blog sites are free so you can set up a free blog to be the front page of your webpage and you can put links throughout the blog that lead to other pages on your webpage so that your readers can find your other search engine marketing articles and information or buy your products. The best link strategies for blogs involve taking the time to form alliances with other bloggers. Blogging networks have huge followings and many times if you join a blog network or go to the blogs of people who share your interest or sell complementary products you can leave comments on that person's blog that link back to your own site.

Even though that type of advertising can be a little time consuming it's a great way to use search engine marketing to reach your target audience for free. Blogging communities also usually link to one another's blogs which means that you can use your networking contacts to help you publicize your website. Social marketing can be tricky though because it's more than just using search engine marketing, link strategies and SEO. There are a lot of social networking etiquette rules that need to be observed and if you don't follow protocol you could be ostracized. When you're using social networking you should never just post links to your website on other people's blogs, that's considered spamming. Take the time to read other blogs and leave relevant comments. Usually then you will be allowed to post a link to your own website.

Before you do anything go to Terry Stanfield's site for information on Search Engine Marketing and related info about Social Marketing.

Contact us right away for a free SEO/PPC site evaluation!