Posts Tagged 'seo'

It is all pretty zen really. Forget your profound metaphors of trees falling in the forest and the sound of single hands clapping. If you are on the web and can’t be found then are you really there at all?

Sure your website may well be the design statement of your generation. The flash interface worthy of a Pixar showreel. Your mission statement inspirational and your prices unsurpassed. But, and it is a big but, who the hell is going to know if you are hidden away in some dark corner of the dubya dubya dubya? Your mum was right. If you’re not prepared to blow your own trumpet then no one else will. Hide your site and unless you have very deep pockets to plug your URL to the world it will never deliver any meaningful return on investment.

Unfortunately many bean counters take this as a failure of the medium rather than of its application. Better to throw money up against familiar walls than think through the issues. Web marketing is still just basic marketing.

The place of importance is not a post code but rather a placing on the search results screen of a Google or Yahoo. For many it is indeed page one or oblivion. It is important to remember that these things rarely happen by accident.

Let’s face it the vast majority of bricks and mortar companies are not going to be turned on their head by e-commerce. For every Virgin Atlantic there are a hundred widget manufacturers. It is not just about getting seen. It is about being found by the right people. Delivering motivated window shoppers to be exposed to your sales pitch and convinced to pick up the phone, walk in the door or send in an email enquiry.

Search engines are the key. What key terms are your potential customers searching for and how well does your site attract them? It is important to remember that for most companies the product of their web site is not the inventory in their warehouses. It is the information about that inventory and the provision of a convenient means of accessing it. Amazon is an online giant not because its books are bound better than anyone else’s or the stories contained within are better than the same title from the discount bookseller down the road. It is successful because it delivers its information product so well. If you doubt the importance of search engines in this process try typing a book title into Google and viewing the results. Smart marketers refine and update their optimization strategies for new products, brands and opportunities.

We’re talking email lists before the mind starts to wander. More specifically the difference between purchased lists and lists grown organically from within the business, the list that comes from interactions with individuals who know your brand and know your product – the reason why nothing beats a bit of home grown.

A word of warning about purchased lists, more specifically purchased consumer lists. Don’t expect to get much of a response. Why? Well if you’ve never heard of the company who drops the email into your inbox, and you didn’t give the express permission to email you, would you visit their website and buy their product? No, me either.

Its not all doom and gloom though, acquisition marketing via email can be successful. It just works a lot better if you can build your own house list. It’s slower, yes, but your response rate will be so much better. List co-registration with a relevant partner site is an option too. Just try where possible to avoid the purchased list if selling product directly from the email is your objective. There are plenty of other options available that deliver a better CPA for you to explore SEO and PPC for starters….