Win the Game of Search Marketing
With all the marketing strategies available to small business owners, how can you ensure that your marketing budget is spent in the most cost-efficient manor? You probably realize that the majority of consumers are looking for information, products and services online. The question is, "will they find you or your competitors when they search?"
With all the marketing strategies available to small business owners, how can you ensure that your marketing budget is spent in the most cost-efficient manor? You probably realize that the majority of consumers are looking for information, products and services online. The question is, "will they find you or your competitors when they search?"
Luckily your business doesn't have to show up for every search during the buying cycle. If a consumer is researching and more interested in information about different kinds of products and services, he/she will type in certain keywords. But when they've moved beyond the investigation stage and are ready to buy the products and services you sell, that's when you must show up for their search. And those keywords will usually be different than the ones they used to learn about your industry.
Search marketing is like giving you, the business owner, the ability to read the mind of your prospect and then magically appear in front of them at the exact moment they have their credit card in hand and they are ready to buy your products or services.
Seth Godin wrote in a recent blog post "if you can figure out how to BUY (not luck into) keyword searches that bring you X number of visitors, and then you can figure out how to design your site so that Y% of those visits turn into customers, you win. And nobody can stop you from growing all you care to grow." It's simple, but it is far from easy. There are plenty of blogs, websites and books to teach you how to win in the search marketing game. In fact, you can go straight to Google for instructional videos. But even Google admitted that to do effective search marketing can be overwhelming to the local business owner. "We are acknowledging that AdWords is really complex for small-business owners," said John Hanke, a vice president of product management for Google.
Business owners are busy taking care of their customers and most will agree that they don't have the time or desire to learn a whole new skill, especially one that is ever-changing like search marketing. So what are their options?
* Continue to do nothing and hope this whole internet thing is just a fad
Try to learn effective search marketing on their own (Google will gladly take your money while you learn!)
Hire someone to the tune of $80,000+ a year (plus benefits)
* Outsource your internet marketing
Business owners today simply cannot ignore their online marketing strategy. The only questions now are, 1) what are the best and most cost-effective ways to market your business on the internet, and 2) how can you make it happen sooner rather than later?
With all the marketing strategies available to small business owners, how can you ensure that your marketing budget is spent in the most cost-efficient manor? You probably realize that the majority of consumers are looking for information, products and services online. The question is, "will they find you or your competitors when they search?"
Luckily your business doesn't have to show up for every search during the buying cycle. If a consumer is researching and more interested in information about different kinds of products and services, he/she will type in certain keywords. But when they've moved beyond the investigation stage and are ready to buy the products and services you sell, that's when you must show up for their search. And those keywords will usually be different than the ones they used to learn about your industry.
Search marketing is like giving you, the business owner, the ability to read the mind of your prospect and then magically appear in front of them at the exact moment they have their credit card in hand and they are ready to buy your products or services.
Seth Godin wrote in a recent blog post "if you can figure out how to BUY (not luck into) keyword searches that bring you X number of visitors, and then you can figure out how to design your site so that Y% of those visits turn into customers, you win. And nobody can stop you from growing all you care to grow." It's simple, but it is far from easy. There are plenty of blogs, websites and books to teach you how to win in the search marketing game. In fact, you can go straight to Google for instructional videos. But even Google admitted that to do effective search marketing can be overwhelming to the local business owner. "We are acknowledging that AdWords is really complex for small-business owners," said John Hanke, a vice president of product management for Google.
Business owners are busy taking care of their customers and most will agree that they don't have the time or desire to learn a whole new skill, especially one that is ever-changing like search marketing. So what are their options?
* Continue to do nothing and hope this whole internet thing is just a fad
Try to learn effective search marketing on their own (Google will gladly take your money while you learn!)
Hire someone to the tune of $80,000+ a year (plus benefits)
* Outsource your internet marketing
Business owners today simply cannot ignore their online marketing strategy. The only questions now are, 1) what are the best and most cost-effective ways to market your business on the internet, and 2) how can you make it happen sooner rather than later?
About the Author:
Diane Hibbs is an online marketing specialist focusing on small business owners to help them win in the game of search marketing. Her free Lunch and Learn Webinars are full of tips and tricks that help business owners learn ways to increase website traffic. To register or to learn more internet marketing strategies for your business, visit Page One Marketing today.