Search is big business these days. Statistics reveal that 85% of all internet users rely on search engines to find information on the web and the top 10 search engines account for more than 90% of all search traffic. Americans conduct 790 million searches per week according to research from ComScore Media Metrix. In addition, 80% of all searchers won’t click past the first page of search results. If your website isn’t listed within those pages, it doesn’t exist in the minds of searchers.
That’s where “search engine marketing” comes in. Search engine marketing is everything you do to increase your site’s visibility in search engines. This is accomplished through a combination of search engine optimization methodologies and paid advertising that focus on specific keywords that are relevant to your firm’s services and are commonly used by your target audience to find similar services. The goal is to make it very easy for people searching for services like yours to find you.
Why is Search Engine Marketing so hot right now?
Search engine marketing is extremely popular because it produces quality leads. The people that search for keywords self select those words and are specifically looking for more information about those topics. The lead is already highly targeted because the searcher has actively chosen to find out more about your firm and its services by clicking through to your site.
Also, marketers like the pricing model. They can calculate exactly how much they spend driving traffic to their website, how many of those people buy something, and how much profit they make. Everything can be tracked and measured in real time. If something isn’t working, it can be tweaked or eliminated so more resources can be devoted to what’s working.
What are the components of Search Engine Marketing?
When we talk about search engine marketing, we’re generally talking about 2 things: getting people to your website via search engines and then converting visitors into buyers or leads once they are on your site.
There are two main ways to be found in search engines:
- Organic listings – When people refer to search engine optimization, they’re referring to getting your site listed in the organic or natural results. These are the sites search engines determine to be the most relevant and are what searchers click on 60% of the time.
- Paid listings – Getting listed in the organic results takes time and effort. For those that don’t want to wait, you can pay to be included in the “sponsored listings” results. With paid listings, you pay for your site listing to be displayed whenever a searcher searches for keywords that you specify.
Once they’re at your website, there are a number of things you can do to increase the likelihood that they will buy your product, sign up for your newsletter, request a consultation or whatever other action you want visitors to take. I’ll talk about that more in upcoming articles.
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