Start the conversation when interviewing Search Marketing professionals by first implementing 4 strategies that elevate you from spectator to participant in selecting the best Search Marketing partner:
- Know What Your Visitors Are Doing
If you do not have a Web server analytics tool telling you what is happening on your Web site, get one. Google Analytics has a free tool that provides a wealth of knowledge to determine where visitors came from and what they do after they arrive. Understanding current online activity on your Web site is critical in identifying strengths and opportunities to define Search Marketing strategies for your business. - Identify Your Most Valuable Customer
A Web site that speaks to everyone speaks to no one. Is your most valuable customer the easiest to close, returns often, or costs less to aquire? Think about your customers in terms of total cost to do business with them and how that factors into your bottom line. Discuss your most valuable customer with prospective Search Marketing professionals to observe how they would approach the problem of driving these specific visitors to your Web site. Be ready, a good consultant may question your list and help you to think about your most valuable customer in a different way. - Take Inventory of Your Marketing Mix
Are you getting the best return on your online marketing investment? If you are investing in Paid Search, traditional PR, or any other online marketing program, review the results of those campaigns by comparing with the results of your Web statistics. Consider reallocating dollars to pay for a campaign that may have better results. - Define Business Goals
Search relates to action and action can be measured. Once you’ve installed Google Analytics and identified your most valuable customers, business goals require measurement. If your goal is to increase sales of a specific product or service or to increase visitors in order to draw investors, you will begin to understand how many options are available in Search Marketing to achieve those results. As the mystery of Search Marketing begins to unfold, defining or re-defining your business goals will guide you in understanding strategies that any SEO company will propose.
The decision to introduce an SEO company can be a good one. You should not feel at the mercy of the SEO company due to lack of knowledge or experience in implementing Search Marketing strategies.
As the expert in your industry your focus is to collaborate with professionals who will work with you to understand the complex nature of Search Marketing, identify where your strengths lie and what opportunities are out there that fit into your business goals and budget.
Wordpress is an ideal open-source SEO friendly platform that is easy to install and easy to manage. You can buy a template online or have a Wordpress developer create a custom theme for a reasonable cost.
If you’re taking the opportunity to utilize this powerful platform, ensure you read up on security. Avoid making security mistakes by controlling directory and file permissions, backing up your blog site and following these Wordpress Security guidelines.
Is your Web site design layout speaking to your visitors as well as Search Engines? The balance between the two is related to two distinct elements in Web site design:
Search Engines capture only keywords and keyword phrases. Images are essentially ignored. Opportunities are lost when Web design does not take into account active content as a strategic element in design.
Learn how Eye Tracking and Heat Map studies have guided us toward SEO friendly Web design best practices.
There are instances where you would like to share your Google Analytics statistics with members of your online marketing team but would rather not share your login information for obvious reasons.
Google Analytics provides the ability to grant a user Read Only or Administrator access to your account.
Make sure you meet the following criteria before watching this video on how to Grant read only access to your Google Analytics statistics without giving out your user login information.
Search Engine Optimization strategies bring awareness to your Web site. Understanding your target audience and conveying a message that resonates with visitors is the key to great SEO.
GrokDotCom published this amazing story that illustrates the difference between conveying information and communicating a message that resonates with your target audience. When you know who you are speaking to, Search Engine Optimization becomes more effective.
