GERVAIS GROUP LLC - Gervais Group`s SEO News and Advice: Despite the search engines currently giving a ton of their algorithm weighting to inbound links, the creation of quality content is still the factor that will ultimately make or break a website. Take a quick drive around the web and you’ll see content that ranges from high value to illegible content disasters.
That being said, producing illegible content is only one of many ways to publish content that will ultimately work against you. Here is a list of actions you can take to avoid publishing content that falls flat, lacks value, and/or is so bad that your readers are going to run away and never return.
1) Know your customer – Knowing who you’re writing for may seem like common sense but it goes deeper than just having a general idea. True knowledge of your customers entails having an understanding of what they’re buying and why they’re buying it. This understanding will allow you to address their needs directly in a manner that leads them toward buying your product or service. Just listening to the conversations that take place in relevant online groups or forums in your industry can shed a lot of light in this area.
2) Determine the best context to present your content – Presenting your content in the wrong context can send a confusing message to your readers. For example, a massage therapist presenting information in a “how to” context would be much better off presenting the benefits of massage. On the other hand, an auto mechanic presenting a “how to” on changing the oil would be presenting in the proper context.
3) Stick with your knitting – Stay on point with your area of expertise and make sure that your content is relevant to your brand and your products/services. Off-topic content may be alright with your regular readers but first time visitors looking for information on electronics will be clicking the back button if they land on your blog about kittens.
4) Have a third person evaluate and distribute your content – It’s always a good idea to have a third party to manage your content. These duties can include proofing, distribution, and measuring results
The quality of your content will ultimately determine the level of success for your website. For more information on SEO and your website, visit: SEO Company or call (800) 381-9358.
Showing posts with label search engine optimization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label search engine optimization. Show all posts
Monday, June 20, 2011
Gervais Group News - Evolving SEO in 2011
GERVAIS GROUP LLC - Business and Marketing News by Gervais Group Atlanta SEO Company: Search engine optimization evolves both gradually and suddenly as witnessed by Google’s recent Panda/Farmer update. Expect the following changes to continue into the rest of 2011 and beyond.
* Pay per Click (PPC) will get more expensive – Competition in the bidding process for PPC placement is rising as more businesses shift away from traditional advertising methods to online efforts. Combined with the well established trend showing that searchers click on and give more credence to organic search results, it may be time to re-evaluate the return on investment for any existing PPC campaigns.
* Search engines are transferring their love from content farms to social media – While they probably resent the content farm title, EzineArticles, Hubspot, and the like were the primary target of Google’s Panda/Farmer update and saw traffic drop off a cliff. Meanwhile, the major search engines are doing everything they can to show results that originate from social media sites. Even if you don’t plan to fully engage on these sites, you should have a monitoring system in place to see what is being said about topics relating to your business.
* Local search via smart phones will accelerate – If you’re not optimizing for local search, start now. The trend is entrenched in traditional search and is expected to ramp up faster as smart phones expand their slice of the mobile phone pie chart.
Consider these trends as you move forward with your SEO efforts. As always, vary your marketing strategy between multiple fronts because you never know where the next algorithm changes are going to be targeted.
For more information visit: SEO Company
* Pay per Click (PPC) will get more expensive – Competition in the bidding process for PPC placement is rising as more businesses shift away from traditional advertising methods to online efforts. Combined with the well established trend showing that searchers click on and give more credence to organic search results, it may be time to re-evaluate the return on investment for any existing PPC campaigns.
* Search engines are transferring their love from content farms to social media – While they probably resent the content farm title, EzineArticles, Hubspot, and the like were the primary target of Google’s Panda/Farmer update and saw traffic drop off a cliff. Meanwhile, the major search engines are doing everything they can to show results that originate from social media sites. Even if you don’t plan to fully engage on these sites, you should have a monitoring system in place to see what is being said about topics relating to your business.
* Local search via smart phones will accelerate – If you’re not optimizing for local search, start now. The trend is entrenched in traditional search and is expected to ramp up faster as smart phones expand their slice of the mobile phone pie chart.
Consider these trends as you move forward with your SEO efforts. As always, vary your marketing strategy between multiple fronts because you never know where the next algorithm changes are going to be targeted.
For more information visit: SEO Company
Monday, June 6, 2011
Gervais Group News and Advice - The Opportunity of Local SEO
Gervais Group LLC - News and Advice by Gervais Group Atlanta SEO Company - If your business relies on customers from its local area, you have to focus on driving those customers to your location using local SEO techniques. The primary advantage of focusing on local search is that you are competing only against the other businesses that are in the same industry and in the same area as your business. This makes local optimization a very cost effective solution that can yield results much faster than competing on a national or global scale.
Here are a few tips to maximize the returns of your local optimization efforts:
* Submit your website to local directories – Google, Yahoo, and Bing all have local search capabilities. These directories are now the primary venue that people use to find local products and services.
* Add your address and other contact information to the footer of each page – This helps to define your location with search engines and your potential customers. One thing to leave out; your email address. Advertising your email address will leave you with an inbox full of spam. Instead, allow visitors to fill out a form to email you without publishing your email address.
* Make your location part of the keywords you are optimizing – Add your location to your keywords to define your area of service. Searchers are increasingly using a city or county name along with their search terms. An example would be: “Smith City plumber”. Local SEO tactics can push you to the top of search engine rankings as your search terms become more specific.
* See what the others guys are doing – See what your local competition is doing in terms of their local SEO efforts. This will provide SEO opportunities for terms that have been overlooked.
* Optimize separate pages for bordering and/or nearby towns – This expands your reach while still keeping your efforts focused on your local area.
* Use your location’s abbreviations and/or nicknames – Local searches often include these terms instead of the full name of the town. Create separate pages for these search terms as well.
Local SEO provides a huge opportunity for businesses to reach out to their local audience in a much more cost effective manner than through traditional advertising. To see how local SEO can benefit your business visit: SEO Companies or call (866) 530 7703.
Here are a few tips to maximize the returns of your local optimization efforts:
* Submit your website to local directories – Google, Yahoo, and Bing all have local search capabilities. These directories are now the primary venue that people use to find local products and services.
* Add your address and other contact information to the footer of each page – This helps to define your location with search engines and your potential customers. One thing to leave out; your email address. Advertising your email address will leave you with an inbox full of spam. Instead, allow visitors to fill out a form to email you without publishing your email address.
* Make your location part of the keywords you are optimizing – Add your location to your keywords to define your area of service. Searchers are increasingly using a city or county name along with their search terms. An example would be: “Smith City plumber”. Local SEO tactics can push you to the top of search engine rankings as your search terms become more specific.
* See what the others guys are doing – See what your local competition is doing in terms of their local SEO efforts. This will provide SEO opportunities for terms that have been overlooked.
* Optimize separate pages for bordering and/or nearby towns – This expands your reach while still keeping your efforts focused on your local area.
* Use your location’s abbreviations and/or nicknames – Local searches often include these terms instead of the full name of the town. Create separate pages for these search terms as well.
Local SEO provides a huge opportunity for businesses to reach out to their local audience in a much more cost effective manner than through traditional advertising. To see how local SEO can benefit your business visit: SEO Companies or call (866) 530 7703.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Gervais Group LLC - Boiling it Down to the Three Functions of Search Engine Optimized Content - SEO Industry News by Gervais Group LLC
Gervais Group - SEO Industry News by Gervais Group LLC
The content that your prospective customers see, whether it’s on or off of your website will ultimately prove to be the key factor in whether your SEO campaigns deliver results or not. To that end, multitasking with your search engine optimized content can serve to advance your online business dramatically. SEO that works builds from a foundation of search engine optimized content which is created with three distinct functions:
* Search engine optimized content must deliver value to the readers of articles and blogs as well as the visitors who arrive at your site. Presenting quality content to prospective customers is the way you’re going to develop credibility and trust whether it is delivered via text, video, or podcast. Defining your audience and then delivering valuable information to it will ultimately lead to increased traffic that sees your site as a trusted resource.
* Search engine optimized content which caters to the search engines is the same content your prospective customers are going to see. Writing for two separate audiences, search engines and prospective customers, requires a balanced approach that many SEO’s miss. On the side of the search engines, this balance requires that content be deemed as relevant by the search spiders that visit regularly. Relevance is achieved by calculating keyword densities in the text for search terms that are being optimized. At the same time, the content must add value for the reader.
* Lastly, search engine optimized content has to deliver conversions. Presenting informative and compelling content to visitors must occur first to develop credibility and trust which will ultimately lead to conversions. The next phase for search engine optimized content is to lead site visitors through the conversion process. This can be accomplished by guiding visitors through this process while making the purchasing of products and services as simple and easy as possible. Clear calls to action for prospective customers combined with simple navigation through the process will raise your conversion ratio by encouraging them to buy and then walking them through a quick and easy process to accomplish it.
Successfully combining the art and science required of these functions may be somewhat challenging at first but simply being aware of what your search engine optimized content is intended to do will improve its performance drastically. Consistently creating search engine optimized content that serves these three functions will move your site up the rankings, deliver targeted traffic from search engines, and walk prospective customers through the purchasing process.
Gervais Group can get you on the path to SEO success with your content using proven methodologies customized for your online business. For more information, visit: Atlanta SEO Company
The content that your prospective customers see, whether it’s on or off of your website will ultimately prove to be the key factor in whether your SEO campaigns deliver results or not. To that end, multitasking with your search engine optimized content can serve to advance your online business dramatically. SEO that works builds from a foundation of search engine optimized content which is created with three distinct functions:
* Search engine optimized content must deliver value to the readers of articles and blogs as well as the visitors who arrive at your site. Presenting quality content to prospective customers is the way you’re going to develop credibility and trust whether it is delivered via text, video, or podcast. Defining your audience and then delivering valuable information to it will ultimately lead to increased traffic that sees your site as a trusted resource.
* Search engine optimized content which caters to the search engines is the same content your prospective customers are going to see. Writing for two separate audiences, search engines and prospective customers, requires a balanced approach that many SEO’s miss. On the side of the search engines, this balance requires that content be deemed as relevant by the search spiders that visit regularly. Relevance is achieved by calculating keyword densities in the text for search terms that are being optimized. At the same time, the content must add value for the reader.
* Lastly, search engine optimized content has to deliver conversions. Presenting informative and compelling content to visitors must occur first to develop credibility and trust which will ultimately lead to conversions. The next phase for search engine optimized content is to lead site visitors through the conversion process. This can be accomplished by guiding visitors through this process while making the purchasing of products and services as simple and easy as possible. Clear calls to action for prospective customers combined with simple navigation through the process will raise your conversion ratio by encouraging them to buy and then walking them through a quick and easy process to accomplish it.
Successfully combining the art and science required of these functions may be somewhat challenging at first but simply being aware of what your search engine optimized content is intended to do will improve its performance drastically. Consistently creating search engine optimized content that serves these three functions will move your site up the rankings, deliver targeted traffic from search engines, and walk prospective customers through the purchasing process.
Gervais Group can get you on the path to SEO success with your content using proven methodologies customized for your online business. For more information, visit: Atlanta SEO Company
Saturday, March 19, 2011
How to Tell When Your Site is About to get Blacklisted, De-listed, or Banned
Gervais Group LLC - Internet Marketing Advice by Gervais Group: While a high percentage of websites need never to worry about these outcomes, there those that should. The developments that usually put a website into this kind of predicament typically run along similar themes:
1) The website owner decides that a presence on the search engines will be both necessary and profitable.
2) SEO shopping begins with bids coming in from a handful of reputable search engine optimization companies. Another bid comes in from an unknown company promising the same results as the other bidders, but at a fraction of the cost.
3) The website owners signs up with the lowball bidder.
From that point forward, many websites are put in the position where they run the risk of problems with the search engines, whether they knew about the black hat techniques employed on their website or not. Here’s a list of what to look for if the previously mentioned developments sound familiar:
* Keyword stuffing – This practice is one of the easiest to detect because all a website owner has to do is read the content on the site. Watch for keywords being used multiple times in a single sentence or in consecutive sentences. While this practice is unlikely to result in drastic measures by itself, it is a signal that other dangerous practices may also be in play on the site. However, the choppy and unprofessional content does carry the price of turning off any visitors who arrive at the site.
* Bad neighborhood links – This is another practice that signals trouble. Outbound links to adult sites, gambling sites, and link farms will eventually put the site on the search engine’s bad guy radar.
* Multiple title tags – Stacking titles allows for higher usage of keywords which can improve rankings. This is a relatively easy trick for search engines to discover and they don’t like one bit when they do.
Here’s where it starts getting serious. If any of the first three tricks are detected, it might be time to bring in one of the reputable SEO companies that weren’t chosen originally to look for:
* Invisible links – Invisible links are not intended for human use, they are there to fool the search engine spiders.
* Cloaking – Upon discovery by the search engines, a website employing cloaking practices will get banned. The practice involves setting up a page with two sets of content; one for the spiders and one for the visitors. The content for the spiders is then crammed with keywords for a higher ranking.
* Doorways and redirects – These are typically set up for relevant keywords but, when clicked, take the visitor to either unrelated content or a sales page for something else.
* Invisible text – Similar to cloaking, this practice puts text in the same color as the pages’ background to allow for keyword stuffing without sacrificing user experience.
Much like seeing a cockroach, seeing one of these practices is a likely indicator that there is a lot more going on than you know about.
In this kind of situation, the best solution is to immediately find a reputable SEO company like the Gervais Group to undo the damage before the search engines take action against your site. For more information visit Internet Marketing or call (770) 529 2262
1) The website owner decides that a presence on the search engines will be both necessary and profitable.
2) SEO shopping begins with bids coming in from a handful of reputable search engine optimization companies. Another bid comes in from an unknown company promising the same results as the other bidders, but at a fraction of the cost.
3) The website owners signs up with the lowball bidder.
From that point forward, many websites are put in the position where they run the risk of problems with the search engines, whether they knew about the black hat techniques employed on their website or not. Here’s a list of what to look for if the previously mentioned developments sound familiar:
* Keyword stuffing – This practice is one of the easiest to detect because all a website owner has to do is read the content on the site. Watch for keywords being used multiple times in a single sentence or in consecutive sentences. While this practice is unlikely to result in drastic measures by itself, it is a signal that other dangerous practices may also be in play on the site. However, the choppy and unprofessional content does carry the price of turning off any visitors who arrive at the site.
* Bad neighborhood links – This is another practice that signals trouble. Outbound links to adult sites, gambling sites, and link farms will eventually put the site on the search engine’s bad guy radar.
* Multiple title tags – Stacking titles allows for higher usage of keywords which can improve rankings. This is a relatively easy trick for search engines to discover and they don’t like one bit when they do.
Here’s where it starts getting serious. If any of the first three tricks are detected, it might be time to bring in one of the reputable SEO companies that weren’t chosen originally to look for:
* Invisible links – Invisible links are not intended for human use, they are there to fool the search engine spiders.
* Cloaking – Upon discovery by the search engines, a website employing cloaking practices will get banned. The practice involves setting up a page with two sets of content; one for the spiders and one for the visitors. The content for the spiders is then crammed with keywords for a higher ranking.
* Doorways and redirects – These are typically set up for relevant keywords but, when clicked, take the visitor to either unrelated content or a sales page for something else.
* Invisible text – Similar to cloaking, this practice puts text in the same color as the pages’ background to allow for keyword stuffing without sacrificing user experience.
Much like seeing a cockroach, seeing one of these practices is a likely indicator that there is a lot more going on than you know about.
In this kind of situation, the best solution is to immediately find a reputable SEO company like the Gervais Group to undo the damage before the search engines take action against your site. For more information visit Internet Marketing or call (770) 529 2262
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Combining Search Engine Optimization, Sponsored Ads, and Pay per Click Strategies
Gervais Group - News by Gervais Group LLC: Once the decision has been made to use search engine marketing to raise the ranking and visibility of a site, the next question asked is, “What are the best and fastest ways get results?” Considering that search engine results pages are essentially divided into two parts, organic results and paid advertising, it usually makes sense to employ both for optimal results. In fact, paid advertising has two options in itself, presenting a total of three options to market a website. These options are:
* Search Engine Optimization – Aimed at achieving high rankings in the organic search section of the results pages, SEO is an online and on-site marketing strategy made up of several different elements. These elements include keyword research, the creation of off-site content such as blogs, press releases, and articles, on-site optimization, and link building. This process, unless a site is operating in a micro-niche with little in the way of competition, yields optimal results when left to an experienced SEO company due to the time, expertise, and labor required to execute a successful strategy. In the view of many, the biggest drawback of search engine optimization strategies is the length of time it takes to see results. As opposed to the immediate gratification offered by on and off-line paid advertising, getting to the front pages of organic search rankings can take weeks or even months. That being said, organic search (specifically on the front pages of the search engines) is where a growing majority of consumers go to research, find, and buy products and services. This makes the rewards of a successful search engine optimization strategy well worth the wait. For those looking for more immediate results while the search engine optimization work takes effect, the following paid advertising solutions can achieve the aforementioned instant gratification.
* Pay per Click - Found on the right hand column of the search engine results pages, Pay per Click (PPC) advertising can be combined with an SEO campaign to buy “real estate” on the front pages of the search engine results pages. Buying this real estate is done by determining the bid prices for PPC ads and making a bid which is high enough to reach the front page for the keyword or phrase selected. Once the bid has been selected and a short (about ten words) ad is created, searchers are able to see the ad on the front page for the relevant keyword or phrase as long as higher bidders for PPC spots don’t come along. From that point forward, a charge will occur each time someone clicks the ad in order to be directed to the associated website. Bid prices can vary widely depending on the level of competition for the keywords selected. This is another area where keyword research by a search engine optimization company can make a huge difference, providing a basis for avoiding expensive and competitive keywords with high bid prices, instead allowing for alternate keywords that can generate traffic without a high price tag.
* Sponsored Advertising – Search Engine Placement (SEP) is a relatively new approach to Search Engine Marketing which can actually guarantee fixed placement in the top three sponsored spots on the first page for your selected keywords. These fixed placements are found in the sponsored links/results/sites in the shaded area at the top of the search engine results pages. Unlike pay-per-click, the fixed payment guarantees a spot in the top three sponsored positions for as long as it is maintained. The fixed price eliminates issues such as exorbitant click-through fees, being out-bid, and/or being removed from an ad spot when the budget is exhausted.
While an organic search engine optimization campaign cannot be expected to deliver immediate results, adding pay-per-click and search engine placement ads can provide a front page presence while the SEO campaign gains traction.
The Gervais Group is an experienced SEO company that specializes in balancing these three activities for maximum returns. For more information, visit them at: Website Marketing or call (770) 529 2262.
* Search Engine Optimization – Aimed at achieving high rankings in the organic search section of the results pages, SEO is an online and on-site marketing strategy made up of several different elements. These elements include keyword research, the creation of off-site content such as blogs, press releases, and articles, on-site optimization, and link building. This process, unless a site is operating in a micro-niche with little in the way of competition, yields optimal results when left to an experienced SEO company due to the time, expertise, and labor required to execute a successful strategy. In the view of many, the biggest drawback of search engine optimization strategies is the length of time it takes to see results. As opposed to the immediate gratification offered by on and off-line paid advertising, getting to the front pages of organic search rankings can take weeks or even months. That being said, organic search (specifically on the front pages of the search engines) is where a growing majority of consumers go to research, find, and buy products and services. This makes the rewards of a successful search engine optimization strategy well worth the wait. For those looking for more immediate results while the search engine optimization work takes effect, the following paid advertising solutions can achieve the aforementioned instant gratification.
* Pay per Click - Found on the right hand column of the search engine results pages, Pay per Click (PPC) advertising can be combined with an SEO campaign to buy “real estate” on the front pages of the search engine results pages. Buying this real estate is done by determining the bid prices for PPC ads and making a bid which is high enough to reach the front page for the keyword or phrase selected. Once the bid has been selected and a short (about ten words) ad is created, searchers are able to see the ad on the front page for the relevant keyword or phrase as long as higher bidders for PPC spots don’t come along. From that point forward, a charge will occur each time someone clicks the ad in order to be directed to the associated website. Bid prices can vary widely depending on the level of competition for the keywords selected. This is another area where keyword research by a search engine optimization company can make a huge difference, providing a basis for avoiding expensive and competitive keywords with high bid prices, instead allowing for alternate keywords that can generate traffic without a high price tag.
* Sponsored Advertising – Search Engine Placement (SEP) is a relatively new approach to Search Engine Marketing which can actually guarantee fixed placement in the top three sponsored spots on the first page for your selected keywords. These fixed placements are found in the sponsored links/results/sites in the shaded area at the top of the search engine results pages. Unlike pay-per-click, the fixed payment guarantees a spot in the top three sponsored positions for as long as it is maintained. The fixed price eliminates issues such as exorbitant click-through fees, being out-bid, and/or being removed from an ad spot when the budget is exhausted.
While an organic search engine optimization campaign cannot be expected to deliver immediate results, adding pay-per-click and search engine placement ads can provide a front page presence while the SEO campaign gains traction.
The Gervais Group is an experienced SEO company that specializes in balancing these three activities for maximum returns. For more information, visit them at: Website Marketing or call (770) 529 2262.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Six Common Questions on Search Engine Marketing
How is search engine marketing (SEM) different than search engine optimization (SEO)?
Search engine marketing refers to optimization practices that take place off the website. Whereas SEO organizes the pages on the website for both the search engine spiders and the visitors to the site, SEM refers to all activities utilized to generate incoming traffic which is a vital element of moving site pages higher in search engine results pages. (SERPS) Common strategies and tactics include search engine and directory submission and back link development from blogs, ezines, forums, social media sites, and online news media.
If I my site has been search engine optimized do I need search engine marketing?
SEM is an active process of driving traffic to a website and improving search engine page rankings. Without it, a website would much like a bricks and mortar store that doesn’t advertise. Random passersby may find it but not in the kind of numbers required to make a business successful. Search engine marketing is the most cost-effective, fastest growing, and popular new marketing channels available, especially when compared to print and other traditional media outlets
Does SEM work for every kind of site?
Almost any site trying to generate revenues can benefit from a properly run SEM campaign. By raising awareness and driving traffic to your site the chances of purchases and or other forms of conversions increase. If you are in business, you need people to find your site and purchase from you. That is the core objective of SEM. The one instance where results could fall short would be where the cost of an SEM campaign would outweigh what could be expected from generated revenues.
Can I be successful running an SEM campaign on my own?
Running a typical SEM campaign can consume around one hundred hours per month at the outset and, because of that, is normally outsourced to SEO companies. While the do it yourself aspect might be tempting, re-dedicating a hundred hours to an employee or yourself is not going to be the best allocation of labor, especially there isn’t anyone in-house with SEM experience.
How do I know if SEM is working?
Contrary to advertising via traditional media, internet related activity is highly measurable. You will be able to track visits, click throughs, conversion rates, and a host of other metrics. Tracking is normally summarized by SEO companies on a monthly basis. Additionally, you can always check the keywords and phrases that are being optimized to see where your web pages are ranked on the search engines. One word of caution, any SEM campaign will take some time to show results so don’t be frustrated if you’re not on page one after two weeks. The timeline for significant results can vary widely depending on the level of competition for the keywords you are optimizing and your monthly budget.
How do I go about choosing an SEO/SEM company?
You’re going after results and the firm you go with should be able to deliver them. The best way to determine that is to check out how their existing clients are doing, i.e. how they rank, increases in traffic, conversion numbers, etc. If all other things are equal, lean toward a larger rather than a smaller one to ensure continuity should there be some turnover in personnel. Again, this is about results. You’ll have your choice of firms so be ruthless about demanding proof that each company can live up to its own billing.
Gervais Group LLC – SEO Company / SEO Services – visit us at www.gervaisgroupllc.com or call 770-529-2262
Search engine marketing refers to optimization practices that take place off the website. Whereas SEO organizes the pages on the website for both the search engine spiders and the visitors to the site, SEM refers to all activities utilized to generate incoming traffic which is a vital element of moving site pages higher in search engine results pages. (SERPS) Common strategies and tactics include search engine and directory submission and back link development from blogs, ezines, forums, social media sites, and online news media.
If I my site has been search engine optimized do I need search engine marketing?
SEM is an active process of driving traffic to a website and improving search engine page rankings. Without it, a website would much like a bricks and mortar store that doesn’t advertise. Random passersby may find it but not in the kind of numbers required to make a business successful. Search engine marketing is the most cost-effective, fastest growing, and popular new marketing channels available, especially when compared to print and other traditional media outlets
Does SEM work for every kind of site?
Almost any site trying to generate revenues can benefit from a properly run SEM campaign. By raising awareness and driving traffic to your site the chances of purchases and or other forms of conversions increase. If you are in business, you need people to find your site and purchase from you. That is the core objective of SEM. The one instance where results could fall short would be where the cost of an SEM campaign would outweigh what could be expected from generated revenues.
Can I be successful running an SEM campaign on my own?
Running a typical SEM campaign can consume around one hundred hours per month at the outset and, because of that, is normally outsourced to SEO companies. While the do it yourself aspect might be tempting, re-dedicating a hundred hours to an employee or yourself is not going to be the best allocation of labor, especially there isn’t anyone in-house with SEM experience.
How do I know if SEM is working?
Contrary to advertising via traditional media, internet related activity is highly measurable. You will be able to track visits, click throughs, conversion rates, and a host of other metrics. Tracking is normally summarized by SEO companies on a monthly basis. Additionally, you can always check the keywords and phrases that are being optimized to see where your web pages are ranked on the search engines. One word of caution, any SEM campaign will take some time to show results so don’t be frustrated if you’re not on page one after two weeks. The timeline for significant results can vary widely depending on the level of competition for the keywords you are optimizing and your monthly budget.
How do I go about choosing an SEO/SEM company?
You’re going after results and the firm you go with should be able to deliver them. The best way to determine that is to check out how their existing clients are doing, i.e. how they rank, increases in traffic, conversion numbers, etc. If all other things are equal, lean toward a larger rather than a smaller one to ensure continuity should there be some turnover in personnel. Again, this is about results. You’ll have your choice of firms so be ruthless about demanding proof that each company can live up to its own billing.
Gervais Group LLC – SEO Company / SEO Services – visit us at www.gervaisgroupllc.com or call 770-529-2262
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Six Common Questions on Search Engine Marketing
How is search engine marketing (SEM) different than search engine optimization (SEO)?
Search engine marketing refers to optimization practices that take place off the website. Whereas SEO organizes the pages on the website for both the search engine spiders and the visitors to the site, SEM refers to all activities utilized to generate incoming traffic which is a vital element of moving site pages higher in search engine results pages. (SERPS) Common strategies and tactics include search engine and directory submission and back link development from blogs, ezines, forums, social media sites, and online news media.
If I my site has been search engine optimized do I need search engine marketing?
SEM is an active process of driving traffic to a website and improving search engine page rankings. Without it, a website would much like a bricks and mortar store that doesn’t advertise. Random passersby may find it but not in the kind of numbers required to make a business successful. Search engine marketing is the most cost-effective, fastest growing, and popular new marketing channels available, especially when compared to print and other traditional media outlets
Does SEM work for every kind of site?
Almost any site trying to generate revenues can benefit from a properly run SEM campaign. By raising awareness and driving traffic to your site the chances of purchases and or other forms of conversions increase. If you are in business, you need people to find your site and purchase from you. That is the core objective of SEM. The one instance where results could fall short would be where the cost of an SEM campaign would outweigh what could be expected from generated revenues.
Can I be successful running an SEM campaign on my own?
Running a typical SEM campaign can consume around one hundred hours per month at the outset and, because of that, is normally outsourced to SEO companies. While the do it yourself aspect might be tempting, re-dedicating a hundred hours to an employee or yourself is not going to be the best allocation of labor, especially there isn’t anyone in-house with SEM experience.
How do I know if SEM is working?
Contrary to advertising via traditional media, internet related activity is highly measurable. You will be able to track visits, click throughs, conversion rates, and a host of other metrics. Tracking is normally summarized by SEO companies on a monthly basis. Additionally, you can always check the keywords and phrases that are being optimized to see where your web pages are ranked on the search engines. One word of caution, any SEM campaign will take some time to show results so don’t be frustrated if you’re not on page one after two weeks. The timeline for significant results can vary widely depending on the level of competition for the keywords you are optimizing and your monthly budget.
How do I go about choosing an SEO/SEM company?
You’re going after results and the firm you go with should be able to deliver them. The best way to determine that is to check out how their existing clients are doing, i.e. how they rank, increases in traffic, conversion numbers, etc. If all other things are equal, lean toward a larger rather than a smaller one to ensure continuity should there be some turnover in personnel. Again, this is about results. You’ll have your choice of firms so be ruthless about demanding proof that each company can live up to its own billing.
Gervais Group LLC – SEO Company / SEO Services – visit us at www.gervaisgroupllc.com or call 770-529-2262
Search engine marketing refers to optimization practices that take place off the website. Whereas SEO organizes the pages on the website for both the search engine spiders and the visitors to the site, SEM refers to all activities utilized to generate incoming traffic which is a vital element of moving site pages higher in search engine results pages. (SERPS) Common strategies and tactics include search engine and directory submission and back link development from blogs, ezines, forums, social media sites, and online news media.
If I my site has been search engine optimized do I need search engine marketing?
SEM is an active process of driving traffic to a website and improving search engine page rankings. Without it, a website would much like a bricks and mortar store that doesn’t advertise. Random passersby may find it but not in the kind of numbers required to make a business successful. Search engine marketing is the most cost-effective, fastest growing, and popular new marketing channels available, especially when compared to print and other traditional media outlets
Does SEM work for every kind of site?
Almost any site trying to generate revenues can benefit from a properly run SEM campaign. By raising awareness and driving traffic to your site the chances of purchases and or other forms of conversions increase. If you are in business, you need people to find your site and purchase from you. That is the core objective of SEM. The one instance where results could fall short would be where the cost of an SEM campaign would outweigh what could be expected from generated revenues.
Can I be successful running an SEM campaign on my own?
Running a typical SEM campaign can consume around one hundred hours per month at the outset and, because of that, is normally outsourced to SEO companies. While the do it yourself aspect might be tempting, re-dedicating a hundred hours to an employee or yourself is not going to be the best allocation of labor, especially there isn’t anyone in-house with SEM experience.
How do I know if SEM is working?
Contrary to advertising via traditional media, internet related activity is highly measurable. You will be able to track visits, click throughs, conversion rates, and a host of other metrics. Tracking is normally summarized by SEO companies on a monthly basis. Additionally, you can always check the keywords and phrases that are being optimized to see where your web pages are ranked on the search engines. One word of caution, any SEM campaign will take some time to show results so don’t be frustrated if you’re not on page one after two weeks. The timeline for significant results can vary widely depending on the level of competition for the keywords you are optimizing and your monthly budget.
How do I go about choosing an SEO/SEM company?
You’re going after results and the firm you go with should be able to deliver them. The best way to determine that is to check out how their existing clients are doing, i.e. how they rank, increases in traffic, conversion numbers, etc. If all other things are equal, lean toward a larger rather than a smaller one to ensure continuity should there be some turnover in personnel. Again, this is about results. You’ll have your choice of firms so be ruthless about demanding proof that each company can live up to its own billing.
Gervais Group LLC – SEO Company / SEO Services – visit us at www.gervaisgroupllc.com or call 770-529-2262
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