SEO? PPC? FB? OMG

By Chris Behan

With so many different options to choose from when it comes to marketing your website, it can be difficult to decide which strategy is right for your company’s unique marketing needs. You may be asking yourself, “Should I do a pay-per-click program, or optimize my site so that it appears in the free side of search? Perhaps I should run a social media campaign, or even a combination of all these strategies?” Among all of this confusion, one thing is for sure: the choices you make will certainly be the difference between success and failure.

This decision is made more complicated by the countless individuals and companies telling you how you should market your website, even though in many cases, the advice you receive is contrary to how all of us actually use the web. For instance, you may be told to blog, Tweet, use Facebook, etc., but will all of this work really make a difference in your bottom line? This is not to say that that social media is totally ineffective, but is it really the smartest place to start?

Owning one of the largest search engine optimization firms in the state and having conducted thousands of consults with business owners and marketing directors, I have found that the people I advise usually have a better understanding of where they should start than they realize, it’s just a matter of connecting the dots and coming up with a plan that will offer tangible results.

Here are some Internet marketing strategies that may be right for you, listed in an order that works well for most companies.

1. Search Engine Optimization – Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of marketing a website so that it ranks highly in the free/organic listings side of a search engine result page. These listings run down the center of the page, generally below and to the left of the paid/sponsored links. SEO is usually the best place to start once you have made the decision to market your website.

• SEO Market Reach – Essentially 100 percent. Approximately 70-80 percent of every single search conducted results in the user clicking on a free or organic listing. In a recent study, 100 percent of Internet searchers report clicking on the organic listings consistently.
• SEO Pros – Search engine optimization works for just about every website, and when executed correctly, can offer some level of ownership in the solution, which drives marketing costs down. Organic listings usually are perceived as more trusted listings and typically convert from a site visit to an action (such as calling you or buying your product) at a higher rate as well.
• SEO Cons – In certain cases, it may take some time before SEO efforts can produce results. This is especially true if your domain name/URL was just recently purchased, since search engines like Google tend to filter out newer domains names when generating listings.

2. Pay-Per-Click – Pay-per-click (PPC) or sponsored listings are the results that run down the right-hand side, and sometimes at the very top, of the search engine listings.

• Market Reach – Approximately 20-30 percent. This number can vary depending on the industry and what the offer is.
• PPC Pros – PPC programs can deliver traffic quickly to a website and offer very high levels of control when managing a campaign. It also offers precise control of geography-specific marketing, allowing you to essentially draw lines around specific areas that you want your ad to show up in. Through Google’s PPC program, called AdWords, you can also run what is called a “remarketing campaign.” Remarketing essentially gives you a second chance to show your ads to someone who previously visited your website but did not make a purchase or fill out a form. With this tool you can develop graphical and text ads that will follow previous visitors for 30 days. The ad will appear on other sites that they visit, reminding them about your company.
• PPC Cons – Besides not reaching a large part of the market, PPC can be a little pricey and offers no ownership in the solution. It is important to consult with the right company to manage (not spend) your PPC budget. Remember to focus on keywords and phrases that are known converters to help keep your cost-per-lead or per transaction down. Another possible negative to PPC is that Internet consumers clicking on the sponsored ads typically tend to be price shoppers.

3. Social Media – Social media includes outlets like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other collaborative projects online.

• Market Reach – It is hard to determine the exact reach of social media since there are so many different outlets, but obviously it reaches a large audience. However, it is important to keep in mind that social media is a bit more passive than advertising your website directly on search engine result pages.
• Social Media Pros – Social media works very well for building your online reputation and connecting with existing users of your products and services. There are also banner advertising campaigns that can be run on social sites like Facebook that allow you to target very specific demographics.
• Social Media Cons – When it comes to generating new business for many industries, social media has difficulty driving traffic when compared to other forms of online marketing. Examples of industries where social media has a limited impact would include manufacturing, furnishings, construction, etc. For social media to be truly effective, it helps to attach your efforts to an online community, culture, ideology, etc.

4. Blogs – “Blog” is blend of the term “web log” and is usually part of a website, or is attached to a website through an outside content management system. Blog content is usually written in an informal, conversational tone and may be used to provide commentary on recent news events or offer tips to readers.

• Blog Pros – Blogs are excellent for connecting with users in a more casual sense than you would on your website. A properly written blog can help with conversion of your website since it helps put a face on a company.
• Blog Cons – In most cases, blogs don’t rank well in search engines. This is a big negative. I know that a lot of people may be telling you that blogging is great for ranking on the free side of search engines, but the reality is that it just doesn’t work well. But don’t take my, or their, word for it. Simply conduct a search for phrases that you would want to rank on and see if any blogs come back on the first page of Google search results. Unless the topic is related to sports, politics, arts and crafts, (you get the point) etc., blogs just don’t rank well.

While there are certainly other forms of Internet marketing, the above four methods are the most consistently utilized and they all have their place in an Internet marketing strategy. However, in this age of technology overload, it is important for companies to focus their efforts more closely on the program that offers the highest return on investment, and that certainly begins with search engine optimization.

About the Author
Chris Behan is the President and Chief Optimization Officer of Socius Marketing, Inc. (www.sociusmarketing.com), Tampa’s top-ranked search engine optimization company, which provides Internet marketing services to small, medium, and large businesses looking to expand their online presence. With offices in Tampa and Atlanta and clients across the country, Socius Marketing is one of the largest, and fastest-growing online lead generation firms in the United States.  Specializing in organic, white-hat search engine optimization, Chris has more than 11 years of Internet marketing experience and has helped hundreds of companies generate leads online. Chris can be reached at chris@sociusmarketing.com or by calling (813) 282-8300. – Offices Rocky Point, Tampa