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Search Engine
Marketing
- Make it Work for Your
Business -
Welcome to the latest edition of the
Inside Edge--your monthly report on Internet trends and advancements
that can turn your business into a more profitable e-Business! This
month we look at the trends, tools and techniques of Search
Engine Marketing (SEM). Read on to find out how your
business can leverage SEM and attract targeted traffic that converts
into paying customers.
After you read this month's edition,
contact your WSI Internet Consultant to find out how to put this
valuable information to work for your business right away.
Thanks for reading!
Whether it's a big brand like Sony, an
e-marketplace like Amazon and eBay or a local chocolatier's
business, all of them have one thing in common today - the need for
greater market share online. Until a few years ago, having a great
website was thought to be an effective tool to market to online
audiences. That myth was quickly broken when search engines like
Google, Yahoo!, MSN and others became the new one-stop-shops for
anything and everything a consumer was looking to find. From
searching for information to making a travel reservation or simply
just buying clothes, search engines became the starting point for
all surfers, now more aptly called "searchers".
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and
Pay-per-Click (PPC) have been the reigning buzz words of Internet
Marketing in the last year or two. As a business owner, you have
probably explored these for your online business as well, which is a
great start. Getting your website to list on top positions in
leading search engines is possibly the result of an SEO strategy
working really well. Hundreds of clicks coming in to your specially
designed landing page is perhaps the magic of a successful paid
listing or sponsored link. The question is, how much of this is
impacting your bottomline through increased conversions and sales?
If the impact is not visibly great, you are probably missing
critical elements of your SEM strategy.
Define Marketing Objectives, Identify
Missing Elements and Apply the Right SEM Mix
What is it that your business needs to
market effectively online and enhance your revenues significantly?
Maybe it's an interactive video. Could be an email marketing
campaign and a monthly e-newsletter. A blog might be the one thing
your business could really benefit from. How about an RSS Feed or a
podcast? Whatever it is you are missing, your WSI Internet Marketing
Consultant can help you analyze your business needs and guide you
towards an appropriate SEM strategy. To help you move your
e-business to the next level, WSI can provide you with a
comprehensive mix of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) tools and
techniques.
While the goal of SEO and PPC is
primarily to increase traffic to your website, the goal of a good
SEM mix strategy is much more than that. Statistics as shown below
from a study by Search Engine Marketers Worldwide indicate that lead
generation, direct online sales and driving traffic are the leading
objectives for paid search marketing.
Another study by Search Engine
Advertisers Worldwide shows similar results, adding brand awareness
as a top goal of SEM campaigns to the list.
The Web is a Community
Before you buy a
book online, you read reviews by people who have read it before you.
Looking for a good hotel deal on your next vacation? The first thing
you do is look up reviews by previous travelers. Searching for the
best place to have your daughter's 10th birthday party, you visit a
popular parenting blog. You want to stay on top of all the latest
research about health and nutrition so you sign up for an RSS Feed
to get relevant information in a timely manner. The podcast you
received about tax tips for small business owners helped you
optimize your tax benefits.
For all the claims of the Internet
giving people independence and allowing individuals to be
themselves, and so on, it goes without saying that the Worldwide Web
is a community. Search Engine Marketing is about reaching out to
this community and leveraging the power of word-of-mouth publicity.
RSS Feeds, Podcasting and Blogs are some of the newest tools that
you can use to reach out to your customers. Contact your WSI
Internet Consultant today to find out how.
The referrals from search engines that
bring people to your site play a critical role in influencing the
number of conversions. Below is a chart based on findings from
WebSideStory's StatMarket which tracks usage patterns of millions of
Internet users worldwide (from 245 countries) to over 100,000 Web
sites.
Email Marketing - Writing Compelling
Subject Lines That Work
This may seem like the oldest trick in the book but
guess what? It still works if you can get it right by making it to a
reader's Inbox instead of in their Junkmail. So what exactly do we
mean by getting right? Here are 5 simple tips to keep in mind:
- WIIFM - What's In It For Me?
Answer that question for your readers, as quickly as you can in
the body of the email but also take care to convey it in the
subject.
- Keep it short and simple. No one
has the time and least of all the inclination to read long winded
pieces of literature that severely lack any instruction on what to
do next nor offer any call to action.
- Don't make a "noise".
Unnecessary use of exclamation marks in headings, subject lines
and within the text create "noise" that shouts desperation. Good
copy does not need a series of exclamation marks because it is
attention grabbing in itself. If you must, use question marks
instead; they are much more engaging. Don't you agree?
- Personalize. Make your reader
feel special by addressing them and making an offer in your email
that appears to be designed for a select group rather than just
about anyone.
- Be honest. It is very tempting
to use words in your subject lines like "limited time offer",
"offer closes on July 30th, 2007", "free for first 25 customers",
etc. in order to attract quick sales / conversions to your
website. While this may work for some, it may also turn off many
others who will not trust what sounds too good to be true and
therefore, likely to be spam. If the offers are indeed true, use
them, but elsewhere, rather than in the subject.
The chart below is based on a study by the Direct
Marketing Association and shows how email marketing is effectively
used with a combination of other direct marketing techniques:
Your WSI Internet Consultant can
devise powerful Search Engine Marketing strategies to help you stay
connected with your customers and prospects � before your competitor
does. Get in touch today.
WSI,
headquartered in Toronto, Canada, is ranked the #1 Internet Services
Business in the world. With systems that have been developed,
utilized and proven by over 1500 Internet Consultants in 87
countries worldwide, WSI delivers thousands of e-Business solutions
to small and medium-sized businesses
annually. |
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