Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a web marketing technique primarily aimed at increasing a website’s visibility in search engines. SEM is an umbrella term which refers to its four primary components namely Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Paid services, Content Marketing, and Social Media Marketing. This article is intended to brief about these components of SEM.

Search Engine Optimization: SEO is very crucial part of SEM, which takes care of optimizing the website content to make more attractive for search engines. SEO helps to improve the website ranking in the natural or organic or unpaid search results and thereby increase the visibility.

It is a continuous process and should be a part of firm’s long term marketing strategy. The benefit with SEO, if done correctly is that it results in a steady flow of business leads for lifetime.

Paid services: The other way to develop a website’s visibility is by placing sponsored or paid searches to be displayed on the top of search engine results. The advantage with paid services comes from its ability to display the website on the front page of search results, instantly. However, it may not be a sound strategy for long term use, as it can cost more on the marketing budget.

Many search engines are experimenting with novel payment techniques to make the paid services affordable and cost effective for small and medium scale businesses. These techniques include Pay-Per-Click or Cost-Per-Click (PPC/CPC) pricing, Cost-Per-Impression (CPI) pricing etc.

Social Media Marketing (SMM): Considering the impact of social media on business communications and lead generation, promoting a website/business on social media websites has gained much importance. SMM deal with creating search engine optimized content in social media, to maximize visibility of the business to the potential customers.

Content Marketing: This is a relatively newer concept, which is used for lead generation by sharing useful content with prospective customers. The ultimate aim of content marketing is to educate the potential customers about the products/services of a firm and consequently convert them to actual customers. The content shared here can be in various forms such as emails, whitepapers, videos, webinars, etc

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Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an elaborate process which involves several activities or operations, which are aimed at increasing a website’s visibility on the web. Whatever these SEO operations are, they should essentially fall into one of the four fundamental components of SEO, elaborated below:

Onsite optimization:

As the name itself suggests, it is the onsite component of SEO, primarily dealing with all the activities which are visible on the website.  Onsite optimization includes ensuring that all relevant keywords are available in the website content. It also deals with HTML optimization, incorporating image tags and other related activities.

Off page optimization:

This component is all about generating back links to the website from the content originating from external sources. The back links can be created from a variety of third party websites such as articles, blogs, discussion boards, social media, etc. Search engines scan through these back links to determine the popularity or authority of the website. It is to be remembered that, back linking from legitimate and influential websites, lead to a higher ranking of the website.

Technical SEO:

This SEO component is about everything that happens in the back end. It deals with source codes, HTTP status codes, handling redirects, etc.  In simple terms, technical SEO helps the search engine algorithm to read the websites architecture and content more efficiently. This is a critical component, as all the SEO efforts in onsite and off page optimization are wasted, if the search engine is not able to read them.

Local SEO:

Local SEO is of crucial importance for numerous small and medium businesses whose services are confined to a local community. This component of SEO helps the search engine in picking up the website while generating location specific results. These results are generally shown on the maps with the location of the business pinpointed.

All these four components of SEO perform various front end and back end operations to let the search engine pick up the website in the final search results.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) involves all the operations aimed at increasing a website’s visibility in the organic searches or unpaid searches of a search engine.  It includes content editing, HTML coding of content for attaining higher search engine relevance, back linking the website to other sites to promote it, etc.

SEO managers should always practice healthy SEO activities and avoid risky tactics while optimizing a website.  Below are few important Do’s and Don’ts that should be observed in any SEO effort

Do’s

Original content and guest posting: Publishing high quality, original content is always a better strategy. Also posting guest articles in any highly monitored, top quality blogs is a beneficial practice, for achieving higher page ranks.

Integrate websites to HTML5: It is recommended to upgrade websites to HTML5 to take advantage of the many new tags available in it. HTML5 was build for improved communication with computers and browsers.

Optimize website for mobile:  In this age of portable technology, having a mobile website is not enough. The focus should be on designing a more integrated and responsive websites for all mobile devices.

Social media visibility: Higher presence in social media space (Facebook, Twitter, etc) can boost the organic search traffic for any website.

Don’ts

More article submissions: Keeping distance from article submission websites is better, as the present search engines with updated search algorithms easily evaluate and filter out this type of content.

Low quality guest posting: This is almost equal to article submissions. Modern search engines are particularly focused on removing such bad quality posts while generating search results.

Rapidly building links: SEO requires a sustained, patient approach. Top search engines like Google, Bing give more value to patient brands, than websites which evolve using rapid back linking.

Buying back links: The practice of buying links can even damage the present webpage ranking, as search engines penalize website engaging in use of paid back links.

PPC (Pay per Click) refers to displaying your result on Search Engine Result Page (SERP) for targeted keywords by paying a small fee.  The SERP displays the Ads that you create for attracting visitors to your website. The fee is based on number of clicks on your Ads in SERP. Let us learn how to create a successful PPC campaign for your targeted keywords.

Setting up your PPC goals:

Goals are necessary for PPC campaigns but they need to realistic and achievable.  You can set goals for different period such as daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly.  Short-term goals can help you identify   your progress and create a benchmark for long-term goals. The focus of goals should be output such as increase of 4% in sales or decrease Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) by 2%.  You can also set baseline and Stretch goals. When the baseline goal of your PPC campaign is achieved, you can try to achieve Stretch goals set   for the PPC campaign.

Analyzing goal Performance:

Once you have set the PPC goals and achieved it, you need to analyze the factors that played important role in the success.  If you have not achieved the goals, you need to understand the reasons behind the failure. Analyzing the goal performance let us you know the tactics that work and do not work and if the successful tactics can be repeated.

Important elements of a PPC campaign- Keywords, Ads and Landing Pages

Keywords:  When you plan a PPC campaign, you have to select keywords (belonging to your business niche) for which the search engine will display ads on the SERP when people search with those keywords.

Ads: you need to design Ads that are relevant to keywords and your business niche. The Ads should be attractive and generate curiosity enough for users to click on them.

Landing pages: Landing pages are important in a PPC campaign, as the visitor will be directed to your landing page when the visitor clicks on Ads. The landing page(s) should be informative and attractive enough to convert visitor into customer.

Selecting and Bidding for Keywords:

PPC is highly valued, as you only have to pay when someone clicks on you Ads.  You may experience stiff competition for popular keywords in your business niche. The highest bidder for the keyword gets the top spot in the SERP, which ensures maximum visibility.   If you are not the highest bidder for the keyword, your ad will get a lower visible placement in the SERP for the targeted keyword.  You can create a group of related keywords known as Ad group. For example, if your business is related to Tennis shoes, you can consider keywords such as best tennis shoes, tennis shoes for men, women tennis shoes and so on.

Setting up PPC budget:

You can set a daily expense limit for your PPC campaign.  Once you specify the maximum daily or monthly expense limit for your PPC campaign, search engines will ensure the costs of PPC campaign never exceeds your budget.

Once you have decided the keywords and PPC budget, you need to focus on optimizing your Ad copy and landing page(s).

Optimizing Ad copy:

Creating compelling Ad copy is essential for success of PPC campaign.  Your Ad copy has different sections such as Title, Display URL, Description 1 and Description 2; each having limitation of words of 25, 35, and 37 respectively.  When designing the Ad, maximize the use of all characters and make the Ad optimally effective.

Optimizing the Landing Page(s):

Selecting a right landing page is necessary for optimal success of PPC campaign. Many SEO experts choose Home Page as the landing page for PPC campaign, which may not be the best selection from conversion point of view. Your landing page should be the next step of the message displayed in the
Ad. It should have powerful Call to Action statements that tailors to specific customer queries and relates to the product and service you are trying to sell.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is the new buzzword in the field of internet marketing, where every company is trying to maximize their visibility to the online consumers. SEM is not to be ignored, as it is the most cost effective marketing tool for any kind of business. However, there is always a possibility of things going wrong, as a traditional marketer may not understand all the intricacies of SEM. Below are four important Do’s and Don’ts which can help a business to use SEM successfully.

4 Do’s

Know about SEM: The first and foremost requirement is to learn and understand about SEM to the possible extent. Focus should be on understanding different components of SEM, such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and paid advertising services.

Don’t ignore SEO: SEO is a long term strategy, which will increase the website ranking in organic searches (unpaid results). It takes time, but is always advisable as it brings a lifetime in-flow of potential customers to the website.

Implement PPC: The Pay-Per-Click (PPC) services will provide the initial boost by instantly placing the website in the top sponsored searches.

Hire a third party SEM firm: Always hiring professional SEM firm is better than having a full time SEM professional. This decreases the cost and also ensures better services due to market competition.

4 Don’ts

Waiting game: Many companies are already using SEM and in here the early start imparts a competitive advantage.

Buy SEO software: This is a strict no. It is practically impossible to reach the top rank with simple, cheap software available online. Also, there is more of a risk than benefit from these products.

Believe in guarantees: It is to be remembered that no one, even the search engine companies cannot ensure a top place as several unpredictable variables are involved in this process.

Target all the search engines: It is not a useful ploy, as more than 95% of web traffic is controlled by few search engines like Google, Bing, Ask.com, etc. Targeting all search engines is simply wasting money.

Every entrepreneur or business organization is always looking for ways to get more customers. The big question is how to go about it. Let us look at some marketing strategies to get more customers.

1. 1.       Partnerships:

Going for a partnership distribution is a good idea to get more exposure for your product and services.  Collaborating with a well-known product and service ensures people know your product, which is a first step of popularity.

1. 2.       SEO:

Search engine optimization of your website will increase the exposure of your online business.  More people will visit your website when your website appears on first Search Engine Results Page for the targeted keywords

1. 3.       Content Marketing:

Content marketing is the best marketing strategy for your business. It is neither considered spammy nor direct sales activity. In fact, content marketing is favored by leading search engines as it enhances customer’s Internet surfing experience.

1. 4.       Press:

Writing about your products and services on reputed blogs can help you attract more customers.  Do not use a sales pitch, rather write something that will be useful for readers.  Writing in Press can help in earning credibility and validation of your product and services.

1. 5.       Customer feedback:

 Adopting a customer centric approach for product development can ensure you get more customers. Customers’ positive feedback about your product and services   influences people purchasing decision while shopping on the Internet.

1. 6.       Referral Schemes:

Referral scheme is a great way to get more customers.  Many customers happily offer information about potential customers in their family, close relatives and friends when you give them attractive discounts and gifts.

1. Affiliate marketing:

Starting an affiliate program can help you get more customers. In affiliate marketing, website owners can send traffic to your website through links.  You need to make payment to these website owners when the visitor through their links completes a purchase.

1. 8.       Customer  loyalty programs:

Repeat customers are easy to attract and can help you earn good revenue.  You should offer customer loyalty programs where they can benefit when they make repeat purchases.

1. 9.       Advertising:

Advertising through popular platforms can increase exposure and draw more customers. Print, Television, Radio and Internet advertising can be effectively used to attract more customers.

1. 10.   Networking:

Attending trade shows, social functions, business meetings can help get more customers. Former colleagues, friends can lead to new customers. Use of social media platforms is also a form of networking

The biggest challenge faced by start-ups is attracting customers to their website.  With such fierce competition on the Internet, you need to dedicate yourself to tap different marketing resources that can drive traffic to your website. Let’s take a look at best marketing resources that can draw customers to your website.

Social networking platforms:

Social media platforms are increasingly getting popular every day. Many big multinationals have already identified the advantages social media platforms presents to attract new customers.  Social media platforms offer several marketing tools that can be effectively used to communicate and influence potential customers and convert them into real customers.

Search Engine Results Page:

Optimization for Search Engines is essential to get a steady flow of customers to your website. Effective SEO can bring in hundreds of visitors to your website, which can be a kick-start for your business. While performing optimization of website for search engines you should focus on every important parameter such as html tags, unique title and Meta tag for each page.

Article Directories and Blogs:

Articles directories and blogs allow you to place a back link that can get customers to your website. Write some catchy content, which invokes interest in visitors. When a visitor finds any good piece of information, he/she always tries to visit the source of information to gain more knowledge about the subject.

Press Releases:

A Press Release can be a unique document that establishes your USP and differentiates your business from your competitors. Direct mail marketing is one of the fastest ways to reach your targeted customers. Newsletters offer inexpensive method to get customers to your website. All you need is a good mailing list and you are ready to go.

Community Websites and Forums:

A community website or a forum is an online place where people with similar interests come together. Community building content can be most effective to get customers to your website. However, you need to ensure the content is not too promotional.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is gaining more and more importance these days. Almost all businesses are using SEM to maximize their presence on the web. Investment in SEM may lead long term benefits. But what are the advantages that these firms are gaining from SEM? This article is intended to explain the advantages of using SEM.

Increased brand awareness: The ultimate aim of SEM is to increase the visibility of the business. SEM, not only establishes the brand in the minds of returning customers, but also paves the way for the brand’s entry into the minds of new potential customer.

Cost effective: The cost of SEM is far less when compared any of the traditional marketing method; while the return on investment (ROI) is higher. Also, payment techniques like Pay-Per-Click (PPC) even made it easy to measure the ROI, as only advertisements or banner clicked by potential customers were only charged.

Customized marketing: In SEM, the content of the website will be optimized to the keywords of the users of search engines. This means the marketing efforts are focused on exactly on the specific users who might be the potential customers of the business. This way SEM is more efficient method, which promotes targeting the relevant consumer, already interested in the products/services offered by that specific business.

SEM can also be implemented by focusing on a specific locations and languages. These location based SEM services are particularly of great use for small and medium businesses which generally operate in specific locations.

Measurable impact: In contrast to traditional marketing strategies, whose impact is not measurable or hard to evaluate, SEM allows assessment of ROI. Search engines provide statistics on website traffic, which can be analyzed for gaining insights on the impact of SEM process.

Keeping in view of all the above advantages, marketers have to find the right mix of SEM and traditional marketing practices to obtain best results for their business.

In the present era of information technology, Social media has changed the way individuals communicate among themselves. Taking advantage of the global presence of internet, Social media has evolved as a seamless platform for day-to-day communications. Alongside personal communication, Social Media also presents a great opportunity for business communication through Search Engine Marketing (SEM). In fact, it’s the impact is so high that a separate field called as Social Media Marketing (SMM) was created within SEM. This article aims at providing a preview on how social media can help SEM.

Apart from using SEO to optimize the website content, having a good presence in Social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc can significantly boost a website’s visibility in the search engine results. Simply creating a page for the business on Facebook helps a lot. The search engines actually pick up the website’s business description written on Facebook and display them in the results.

Tweets are another major way to enter the search engine results. Most search engines index the first 42 characters of a tweet. So if a user’s keyword matches with characters in a tweet, then those tweets get displayed in search engine results. Therefore, it is advised for any business to have an account in Twitter. To increase the business visibility, the company should actively tweet using the target keywords.

Pinterest also serves the SEM purpose by providing links to the company’s website. Encouraging employees to use LinkedIn is a great way of gaining visibility. SEM can leverage the LinkedIn contacts and their network to boost the website rankings on search engines.

It is to be understood that social media websites provide back links to the business, which indirectly serve as high quality recommendations. In summary, a business highly active on social media can always expect positive prospects in the SEM front.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about improving the visibility of a website by optimizing it according to a particular search engine’s algorithm. But, why improving a site’s visibility online is that important? This article is intended to explain the importance of SEO for a website and the business impact of it.

There are more than 130 million registered websites present in the web. People searching for these websites utilize Search engines for this purpose. More than 90% of internet users rely on search engines for performing their searches. Though there are several good search engines available, majority of web traffic (> 80%) is guided through Google.

When a search is performed in Google, it returns with the results page for that particular keyword searched. The results page displays the number of websites which may be relevant to the key word searched. It also displays some paid Ads at the top of the search results. These are called Paid searches.

Below these paid searches, there will be the list of websites which are possibly related to the keyword searched. These unpaid searches are given raking by the search engines algorithm which considers relevancy to the key word, websites quality of content, trustworthiness of the site, etc as the key parameters. These are the natural search results are called unpaid or organic searches. The results will be displayed in multiple pages, depending on the search terms used.

Among these hundreds of pages of organic search results, the users only look at the first page, i.e. the first 10 websites. Even among these 10, the probability of a user clicking on a website is high only for the top 3 websites. It is to be remembered that all these users are potential customers coming with very specific needs in the form of their search terms. Therefore, it is very important for a website to be on the first page of search results of the popular search engines. This is where SEO helps a business. It optimizes the company’s website to the most frequent and relevant search terms or keywords used in search engines, which eventually improve the website ranking in the search engine.

In summary, SEO increases the visibility of business by improving the chances of the potential customers seeing its website. Also, SEO is the most affordable way of promotion compared to any other forms of advertising available.