First Steps to SEO/SEM Success

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="text-align: justify;"> First we should know <b><i>SEO </i></b>means Search Engine Optimization and <i><b>SEM</b> </i>means Search Engine Marketing. Over <b>85%-90% </b>of people use search engines to locate what they need on the web. So the importance of search engine optimization (<i><b>SEO</b></i>) and search engine marketing (<i><b>SEM</b></i>) is obvious to most. And with so much being written on the subjects, we figured the tactic was well understood. To our surprise, we've found the opposite.<br /> <br /> In fact many of our clients have very little understanding of how to approach these two very important marketing vehicles. And a <a href="http://www.sempo.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SEMPO</a> study (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization) reveals this confusion is far reaching. It reports that while four out of five companies engage in organic search engine optimization (<i><b>SEO</b></i>), only <b>11%</b> of the $11 billion dollars spent in this area goes to <i><b>SEO </b></i>(totals include payments to search engines and search-related media companies, search engine marketing agencies and in-house expenditures in support of such programs). <br /> <br /> The reason is obvious. Pay-per-click (<i><b>PPC</b></i>) search engine marketing is relatively easy—with immediate results that can be measured and tweaked. Organic search engine optimization is a long, never-ending process that takes a lot of thought, discipline, and effort.<br /> <br /> Still, <b>11%</b> is paltry. And, considering that most search activity results come from the organic links (over <b>70%</b> of the overall clicks), it is also backwards. <br /> <br /> Given this lack of understanding, we thought we'd share the first steps we think you should take with <i><b>SEO/SEM: </b></i><br /> <br /> <u><b>1)</b></u> Start with <i><b>SEO</b></i>. At this point you understand why, but the how may be what eludes you. This is not an "if you build it, they will come" type of scenario. This is heavy lifting work,there is just no way to sugar coat it. However, if you start with these areas you'll be well on your way.<br /> <br /> </div> <ul style="text-align: justify;"> <li>   Page Content- You must optimize every page on your site. This includes careful consideration of the page titles within the code, the page URL name itself, the header of the page, the body text, amongst other content points. </li> </ul> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <ul style="text-align: justify;"> <li>    Press Releases- While press releases aren't what they once were to reporters, they are an excellent <i><b>SEO </b></i>vehicle. This is simply due to the access to Internet news portals the end user now has (Google News, etc.). So be sure to utilize this tool to drive traffic to your site. </li> </ul> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /> <br /> <u>2)</u> Use <i><b>SEM </b></i>for Content Conversions. Pay-per-click (<i><b>PPC</b></i>) can be quite fruitful for driving traffic to your site particularly for content oriented offers. In fact for offers such as Article/white paper downloads or Site Registrations (for newsletters, etc.), <i><b>SEM </b></i>acutally outperforms <i><b>SEO</b></i>. For that reason, we recommend you first start your <i><b>SEM </b></i>efforts in this area. When choosing which engines to go with, certainly Google and Yahoo are the dominant players. Still MSN, AOL, and Ask Jeeves fall in line right behind them and should not be ignored. <br /> <br /> <i><b>SEO </b></i>and <i><b>SEM </b></i>can be complicated, it's true. But if you start with an <i><b>SEO </b></i>focus and use <i><b>SEM</b></i> first in those areas where it outperforms <i><b>SEO</b></i>, you will find it much more relevant to your sales and marketing success.</div> </div>

First we should know SEO means Search Engine Optimization and SEM means Search Engine Marketing. Over 85%-90% of people use search engine...

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