May 19 2009
Marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Myths
Do you know how to SAVE you a thousand dollars on your electric bill a year ?
Do you know maximize your conversion ratio ? How to save thousands dollars on ad a year ? How to stand out in the competitors and make more sales?
Do you know how to write a WINNING Resume and ACE your Job Interview ? How to get pre-qualified for your Job ? How to find a Job in quantum speed ?
This purpose of this article is to answer the small business owner’s basic questions about SEO in non-technical terms. Please focus on building an informative website and then engaging in all the online and offline marketing with SEO in mind, not just to improve your ranking.
What’s is SEO?
Site-Based Optimization or On-Page Optimization.
Site optimization processes will help search engines understand which search terms are relevant to your service or product. You want to have a user friendly and informative website to persuade potential customers to do business with you.
Off-Site Optimization or Off-Page Optimization.
This includes the important link building process. Relevant examples of this are press releases, article distribution, social networking, directory listings, blogging, forum postings, and link exchanges.
The SEO will enable you to increase your site ranking and visibility to customers. By gaining targeted traffic (i.e., visitors who actually search for your services and products), you increase your chances of gaining more customers and sales.
The top ranking may draw more visitors, but may it may not create more sales, especially for service oriented business. The true goal is on-line marketing. The SEO is part of the online marketing. it’s not the other way around.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Social Media Marketing (SMM)
The SEO is a method used in SEM, and SMM is part of SEM, which in turn is part of Internet Marketing. I can’t emphasize enough how important Internet marketing is to your business! Take advantage of the web, but don’t put the cart before horse by starting the SEO without a solid marketing plan!
Don’t Let SEM Scare You!
Before the advent of the internet, newspapers, magazines, the yellow pages, mail, phone, fax, in person networking, referrals, and television were the ways to promote your business. The SEM is just a different way to market your company. In today’s time, if you add Internet marketing, in addition to those traditional methods you will reach millions more potential customers.
Provide Value, Customer Service and Increase Your Exposure and Creditability.
If you focus on your goals to increase sales by providing valuable information and products, and provide excellent customer service, you will also increase your exposure and credibility as well. In doing so, you demonstrate to your client base that you are dedicated and sincere helping them and in meeting their needs. Customers only do business with people they trust. Today, instead of just “word of mouth” people utilize online approaches such as social networking media sites and blogs. Utilizing these to make decisions in this technological age is a savvy move for the small business owners.
6 Myths About SEO
1. SEO is Too Expensive.
The successful business will pursue all avenues of income in this changing world. The growth power shown by Google is a prime example. Define your goals and set your budget. SEO is an investment just like any other marketing campaign. Test the result of SEO, find the provider that is right for you and your company and it will pay for itself in no time!
2. SEO is MAGIC: I’ll Dramatically Increase My Sales by Ranking High on the Search Results Page.
Yes, being first on the results page, may result in more hits to your site, but if you don’t build your credibility and provide excellent customer service, your sales may not increase. This is especially true for service-oriented businesses. People like to do business with someone they like and trust. One way to build that trust is creating a blog. Blogs are an effective way to connect to your potential customers and gain their trust by establishing your expertise and displaying your helpfulness and expertise.
3. SEO is Just a Trick to Improve Search Ranking.
Some people believe that a SEO is just one of ways to trick search engines in order to get higher ranking. This is not true. For instance, how do you decide what news to read? You check the title, read a brief description or tag line, and then decide if the information is interesting enough for you to keep reading. This process is similar when a search engine like Google indexes your site title, meta, and h1 tags.
4. I Will Have Overnight Results
OK, that is not going to happen, and do not fool yourself into thinking traffic to your site is going to increase dramatically by the next day. Big search engines will not index your site right away. Yes, there are ways to boost your site into the short-term traffic, but your goals are generating sales and establishing a long term relationships with clients, not just bring in spectators.
5. Link it Up!
More links leading to your site may not be as productive as you think. You want to create more related links, not just random links. Focus on your goals - bring more potential clients and opportunities to your site with your online network and build the links, not another way around.
6. A Great Service Plan is Submitting to 1000 Sites:
Some SEO service providers promise to submit your site to thousands of directories, promise large increases of visitors, and use that claim to justify charging you large amounts of money. but in the end, the majority of these directories are useless.
Numbers are not the only things count. Are they doing the valued add tasks? Your goal is increase sales, not hire a worker for your production line.
One last thing; do not listen to rumors. Do business with the service provider that exhibits honesty and integrity. Do not just choose the provider that provides bigger numbers and long task lists. Check with a few providers, compare them, test them with a small budget project to see if they are right for you.
It’s good to know that you pointed out the myths about SEO as these are some of the common misinterpretations or thoughts about search engine optimization. Marketing online is not as easy as it looks like. It should be done with careful marketing strategy or plan and requires patience and skill. After all, it will worth the effort when you see good results.