Let’s talk about Search Engine Marketing and how to be effective in this area. Out of the three options for internet marketing that we are recommending, the search engines have the potential to bring in the most business by far. It’s still important to do the free directories and Classified Websites like Craigslist, but there isn’t anything that can compare to the sheer volume of people that use the top 3 internet search engines on a daily basis. As you are probably aware, Google dominates the search engine market with about 60% of the market share. Yahoo and MSN (now Bing)make up the majority of what’s left and all then there are a bunch of small ones that make up the last few percent.

Organic Search Results

When you type a search term into a search engine, the engine scans over all the pages on the internet to generate a list of websites that contain relevant information pertaining to the search term entered. This relevancy is based on a score that is determined by supercomputers that analyze and take into account a number of factors such as content, traffic, the age of the site, etc. The main list that comes up is called the organic search results list.

Search Engine Optimization

While there is no cost to the owners to have their sites listed in this area getting there in the first place is the trick. It requires Search Relevancy which is accomplished through Search Engine Optimization. Additionally it can take up to 6 months for new websites to even be recognized by search engines much less to begin working their way up this list. Depending on what you are looking for and the search term entered, the organic results may or may not be helpful unless you have a well engineered site that has great content and uses effective SEO Techniques.

One other component to consider is location! For example typing in the word “glass shop” would bring up a list of all the sites relevant to glass shops but not necessarily glass shops that are in your local area. The organic search results are pulled from sites across the US and internationally and often won’t contain anything pertinent to a local customer unless more specific terms such as “glass shop Roseville, CA” is entered which would narrow down the results. But remember we need to create results for the masses.

Many web searchers start by entering more general terms and don’t fully use more specific search terms such as location. Your site may be slowly working its way up the organic search results lists for a number of terms. But unless you are on the first page, or the potential customer enters in your exact location, chance are your site wont be found.

Introducing Search Engine Marketing

Fortunately, there are ways to bypass the organic results and get front page exposure on the search engine from day one! Your site can get top 10 results by paying for it! This is one of the ways Google, Yahoo and other search engines make their millions. By enrolling in the search engines “search marketing” program: Adwords for Google, Search Marketing for Yahoo and adCenter for MSN you can get your site showing to the people who are looking for your services.

Typically, these are the results shown at the very top of the page as well as in the right hand margin and labeled sponsored links. In the sponsored links area, the different ads and sites are ranked against other sites who have designated that they want to show up in that geographic area any number of specified search terms.

The order or ranking is determined by businesses bidding how much they are willing to pay. Those who bid more show up above those who bid less. For example, a site who bids $.50 per click will be ranked above one who bids $.25 for the same term. Bid amounts vary greatly by industry. While a Glass Shop typically pays anywhere from $.25-$1.00 per click for glass related terms on the first page, attorneys and mortgage brokers have been known to pay as much as $40-$50 per click (no kidding!) for the more popular search terms that apply to their industry. This type of advertising is referred to as Pay-Per-Click (PPC) or more generally Search Engine Marketing (SEM).

Location Location Location!!!

The beauty of PPC and the sponsored links is that they often will be more relevant to the individual doing the search than the results that show up in the organic list. The reason is that the sponsored links will often consist strictly of local businesses as opposed to the organic results which come from everywhere. Businesses can choose which specific areas they want their ads to show so they can limit their exposure (and costs) to only areas that they can service.

Many people doing online searches don’t really understand the difference between the PPC and organic results but simply just look for what applies most to what they were searching for (which is often the sponsored links). Businesses participating in the PPC advertising can also set a maximum daily budget to ensure that they don’t spend more than they can afford.

What about my Phone Book ads?

With yellow page advertising as with many other types you pay every month regardless of whether anyone sees or calls off your ads. With PPC advertising you only pay for what you get. When your ad pops up under the sponsored links and is visible on the page, this is called an “impression”. It’s subtle advertising but it’s free. You are only charged when someone sees that impression and actually clicks on your ad which redirects them to the specific page on your website that we designate.

Most people don’t just randomly click on ads that don’t genuinely interest them in some way. So for around $.5o per click on average you can get someone to your site who is looking for your services and you have the chance to educate them about who you are and what you do.

Of course, not everyone who clicks will be ready to do business with you. But educating someone new for that small of an expense is more valuable than just the immediate response in the form of calls or Information Request Forms being filled out. The long-term branding and awareness it creates is equally beneficial. Even if only one out of every 20 people that click your ad and visit your site calls or fills out the form, at $.5o per click on average that’s only a $10 lead. How much is one customer worth to you?

Compare that to the Yellow pages, Mailers, Home shows, Radio and TV where you might average anywhere from $20-50 per lead and the difference can be huge. We all need leads to stay busy and convert to customers so which leads would you prefer, the ones for $10 or $50. I think you’ll find the leads generated from PPC are the same quality so you can get more at a lower cost without sacrificing on quality.

In addition to helping you get more leads for less money and effort, you have to consider the cost of not being seen on the search engines. If someone is doing a search in your area for your service and you are not there but a competitor is, do you feasibly have any realistic chance of getting their business? With PPC advertising, you can ensure that you get your fair chance to expose your business to these potential customers.