Can A Search Engine Marketing Company Improve Your Business?

Unless you are an online advertising professional, or possibly if you work for a technology company, you most likely have no idea what a search engine marketing company does, never mind whether you should hire one or not. Considering that the internet shapes so much of our lives, it would be wise to consult a search engine marketing firm to see what it could do for you. Before you have that initial conversation, however, it is important to have an understanding of what exactly search engine marketing (SEM) encompasses.

Before going any further, we must acknowledge that with any new field definitions can be flexible and vary depending upon the source. It is unlikely someone will debate you about semantics, but you should be prepared to encounter slight variations when you have these conversations. Do not be afraid to ask for clarification during a discussion or confirmation about specifics before you agree to anything. You will rarely encounter someone who is actually trying to trick you with a different meaning, but many of these terms are subject to interpretation. First, let us look at the most basic and straightforward concepts.

A search engine is an online search tool such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo. Keywords are the words or phrases a person enters to find something on the internet. Optimization refers to making your website more search-engine friendly and visible, often through the use of keyword integration. Conversion rate is the number of achieved goals divided by the number of visitors. It is a quantifiable metric that demonstrates how successful your online marketing campaign is. While how to calculate the conversion rate does not change, what actually constitutes a conversion does. While conversion quite frequently refers to a completed sale, actions such as registration, subscribing to a newsletter, or downloading something may also be considered conversions depending upon your particular goals. Still with me? Good, now onto more complex terms.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is an umbrella term that refers to all online advertising strategies that generate leads and sales from search engines. These efforts include Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Management, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and landing page optimization. Website development and social media efforts can also be considered components of search engine marketing. If you have never heard the terms PPC and SEO before, you are not alone.

PPC, or Pay-per-click, ads can also be referred to as sponsored links or paid advertising. These appear as text ads on the top and down the right margin of a search results page. Each time someone clicks on your ad, you pay the search engine a fee. If no one clicks, you do not pay. Cost varies depending on the popularity of the keyword. The more popular keywords demand a higher rate. The cost per click can be as low as $.01 or more than $10, but the average is approximately $1-2 per click for prominent positioning on the top of the page. Comprehensive PPC management concerns itself with both the PPC ads themselves and where people land once they click on them. This is one of the most popular forms of online advertising, and done well, can generate significant traffic to your website and result in a high conversion rate, as well.

SEO, or Search engine optimization, is the process of improving a websites rankings organically. The goal is for links to your website to appear at the beginning of a search engine results page. While these are unsponsored, unpaid links, you will need to invest some resources into making your website more search engine-friendly. Exactly how each search engine company determines your rank is a closely guarded algorithm that only the search engine companies know for sure, but there are a number of SEO techniques that can help your rankings increase. They generally include a combination of approaches such as website development, generating new content, optimizing existing content, social media initiatives, and link building.

These days, all companies are dependent upon the internet to connect with both existing and prospective patrons. When you consider all the different components of crafting an online identity, you can see why many businesses work with a search engine marketing company to shape and improve their web presence. Only you can decide whether that next step is appropriate for you. Fortunately, now that you understand the fundamental concepts behind SEM, you can make an informed decision.