Achieving this goal is possible with almost any business of any size. And,
while Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a complex, evolving issue and requires tons and tons of work, every
business Owner, President, CEO or CMO must recognize that without an organized Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign in place, you will fade off the map, lose sales to competitors and
bleed the value of your brand over time. You will spend tons of money on
traditional media buys and find it ever so difficult to track and tie sales to
those sources. To ignore Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in its traditional and new evolving forms is to
deny your company and its employees the opportunity to succeed online in the
long-term.
So what are some of the basic reasons for which business owners and senior
managers should take a closer look at Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Obtain Increased and Higher Quality Sales – just as you begin to optimize your
website, long tail search volumes will improve. Over the long term, with a lot
of hard work, you can achieve significant positions on the major search engines
leading to positive, bottom line results:
■Your website will perform better and receive more traffic shortly after you
begin to implement standard optimization tactics. This is not to say that if you
sell mortgages (a competitive area), you can optimize for “mortgages” and on day
#2 of your work going live on your site, you’ll have more traffic. BUT, if you
begin to work on your niche and provide more and more relevant information to
your users and to the search engines in a clear, concise manner, you’ll grow
your traffic from the outset of your program.■A lot of businesses are locally
based and rely on foot traffic for customers to be within a short drive of their
office or retail location. Search engines offer a plethora of local search
features, and strategies for local search abound. If you leverage these local
search tools and local search strategies properly, you are sure to increase your
sales.
Increased Search Engine Visibility – Spread your wings!
■With a solid Search Engine Optimization (SEO) program in place, you will cater to all major crawler-based
search engines. So, not only will you receive exposure on Google (at some point)
but also on Yahoo and MSN – and several other outlets. Once you optimize your
site for organic search, the 3 major engines will pick up your site and run with
it over time.
■As opposed to Push marketing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is “PULL Marketing” The quality of a lead that
find you through search is very high. When someone searches your keywords and
finds you, there is a darn good chance that they are going to be a solid new
business lead. When a searcher finds you, they have INTENT. They pulled
themselves right to you for a reason; they are looking for what you have. This
is just the opposite of PUSH marketing – direct mail, outdoor advertising, TV,
radio and other media mediums.
Brand Recognition – small businesses may not have large budgets for major
branding. However, strong niche oriented organic search results can lead to your
brand being associated with that niche over time. Your brand awareness and brand
recall strength will increase as time goes on.
■Your company’s name becomes associated with specific keywords that are embedded
in a customer’s mind.
■Control the terms that you associate with your products, services and brands.
■Impression on customers over your competitors – control your messaging with
your landing pages.
■The impression that you make on search results in crucial. To correlate this to
a more human level let me ask this: If you went to a business networking event
(Search Engine) where you might see a prospective client (Searcher), would you
arrive at the event in tattered clothing, hide under a table or hang out in the
bathroom for the entire event? Probably not. I’d suggest you’d opt for the
former and likely network, move around the room, show your face and be found.
This is the same as a search engine. Why hide? Why show up to a business event
in dirty tattered clothing? If you poked your head out for the one good lead at
the event, would you shake that person’s hand take their business card and hand
them a Post it Note with your company’s name and your contact information
scribbled on it? Probably not. This is the same thing as ignoring what is
returned in search queries about your products and services. That is, poor page
descriptions and poor landing pages make a really bad first impression – don’t
let this happen to you! Many companies have neglected page links that are in
search results which do not make for a strong impression on their prospects.
Have you ever searched and get results and click through and you suddenly
waiting for a .pdf to download? As a business owner, you must begin to recognize
that this is no longer good enough. You get one chance to make a first
impression, so don’t hand someone a Post-It with your name scribbled on it. Make
a clear, positive impression. Proper optimization can help you with this.
Enhanced Credibility and Legitimacy – Has anyone ever said to you: “I searched
your company’s name, but I could not find you.” Have you ever searched for a
company by their name (no matter how unique) and you cannot find them? Is that
frustrating? Does that make you think less of that company? For me, it does.
Some points to remember are:
■Search Engine’s organic / natural results are viewed as authority referrals.
■Google Trust Factor: Some studies suggest that a referral from a friend
exponentially increases the probability of closing a sale. Think of leads that
come through search as referrals from trusted a friend. Think: “Google is my
friend; Google is my brother referring his friends to me!” People trust search
engines, especially Google’s authority. Take advantage of the trust factor to
build your sales and qualified business leads. Google is viewed as everyone’s
trusted friend who makes a referral – what Google says goes. Please don’t deny
this fact.
■Each day, journalists go online and search for experts in subjects that they
are covering. Can’t afford a high end PR agency? Optimize your site for your
niche and be found for interviews in your subject, product and / or service
area. Show the world you’re an expert and they’ll come to you for commentary.