Search engine marketing techniques can be a complex and frightening topic. Countless opportunities to market and advertise, constantly changing trends and technological know-how, and excessively complex solutions all come with the territory. So, what you don’t need when you are evaluating or creating your search engine marketing strategy is lengthy explanations about how exactly different techniques work. Instead, seek out advisors who are able to guide you with simple explanations and techniques based on real results. That is what following article is about. It’s a simple list of four things business owners may use in creating or evaluating their search engine marketing techniques strategy.

1. Establish Your online Online marketing strategy Goal

Many consultants will explain to set goals about what you need to attain with your website. No way. Those are distractions in the real question you have to think about, that is

“What is THE reason for my website?”

Once you answer that question, other aspects of search engine marketing strategy could be leveraged that will help you achieve that purpose. Typically, people use the website for a lot of different purposes. Regardless, you still need to answer this question. The main focus you’re going to get from it will help you create a far better strategy.

Here are the top three most typical answers to the question “What is THE reason for my website?”

1. To sell things

2. To create leads for my sales team

3. To teach my audience

It may be this simple! Just choose which of the three answers above fits into your budget (or create your own) and then move on to step 2.

2. Establish the search engines Marketing Plan

There’s a reason why search engine marketing is so hot. It really works. It consistent generates leads, sales, etc. at a lower cost-per-lead or cost-per-sale than traditional mediums like TV or direct mail advertising. It seems sensible when you think about it: when people wish to find something online, they go to Google, Yahoo!, MSN, etc. and search for it.

Search engine marketing techniques is all about Showing up when individuals look for that which you sell, offer, or have on your website. There’s a growing body of data (books, articles, etc.) on how to do this. And like other things, it is over analyzed and too complex. To further complicate things, some search engine marketing techniques techniques are ethical and legitimate, although some aren’t. The best approach is to produce a search engine marketing plan that focuses on two aspects:

1. Search engine optimization – turning up in the “free” area of the search engine’s results

2. Pay-per click advertising – turning up in the “paid” area of the search engine’s results

For search engine optimization, first realize there is no “silver bullet.” There seriously isn’t a method to easily get ranked consistently high in the search engines. It’s a combination of factors that always get down to one underlying truth: build your website based on web standards, with a focus on accessibility for all.

The same as seo, there is no “silver bullet” for pay-per click advertising, either. Instead, the formula for PPC success is in well-placed bids (what you should pay to have your ad show up) coupled with meaningful squeeze pages (where people go once they click on your ad).

3. Conduct Search engine optimization (SEO)

The aim of seo would be to make changes to your website to obtain higher rankings in search engines. Yet, seo is a confusing sector. On one hand, you will find “snake oil salesmen” ready to help you get a #1 ranking using their latest trick. On the other hand, the things that actually do work are very simple, and frankly, just not very “sexy.”

The best strategy to consider is a common-sense method of SEO: develop standards for your website that pages must adhere to. If you do this, and enforce it, you can then branch out to a few of the other “niche” aspects of SEO.

Here is a sample list of SEO standards to enforce on your website:

1. Write descriptive HTML page titles that actually describe the page it is on (in 255 characters or less)

2. Write a summary sentence that really describes the page it’s on (in 255 characters or less)

3. Write page content that is focused on

4. Write descriptive ALT text for all images that describes the idea the image illustrates and not use images for text

5. Build all pages to comply with current web standards observed by the world wide web Consortium (W3C)

Only one time your web pages adhere to the above standards in the event you start more advanced SEO techniques, including keyword targeting, 301 redirects, link building (getting more links for your site), RSS news feeds, blogs, and SEO-specific metrics and tracking.

4. Leverage Pay-Per Click Advertising

Pay-per click advertising helps you get increased traffic from search engines through advertising in search results. You choose terms that individuals search on. You bid a price per click on your ad that you’re prepared to pay. You ad shows up when someone searches on that term, and, if you’re lucky, they click on your ad and are available aimed at your website.

So, pay-per click advertising really boils down to 3 components:

1. Picking keywords to market on (i.e. target keywords)

2. Determining what to bid for those target keywords

3. Writing copy for that ads that show up when individuals search

Picking keywords is about being aware what terms your customers, clients, etc. would use when looking for your service or product. There are many tools to help you generate ideas. The very best tools also determine the number of searches-per-month your target keywords receive. You typically wish to find keywords that generate lots of searches each month, but are focused enough for the business. For instance, a company that sells Keen high-performance outdoor sandals probably might be best served bidding on “keen sandals” versus “sandals” that could include searches for the all-inclusive resort, Sandals.

Determining things to bid for your keywords can be a highly-scientific process, sometimes managed by complex software and several key metrics. To make it simple, let a tool like Pay per click Traffic Estimator recommend for you what to bid in the beginning. Start there, and begin small. Your best bet would be to lock-in a low daily budget limit until you are comfy using the impressions your ads are getting, the flow of traffic in the ads to your website, and what those individuals do once they get to your website.

Writing ad copy is dependant on writing a headline that people will click, and creating compelling copy below that headline/link that will get people to click.

Headlines would be best created by using what magazine covers do: focus on getting attention through eye-catching, short phrases. Using words like best (i.e. “Best Strategies for a Summer Barbeque”), ultimate (i.e. “Ultimate National Park Vacations”) and number-based lists (i.e. “Top 5 Hybrid Cars for 2006″) have all proven to work.

Writing effective ad copy below the title/link is actually about reinforcing the term(s) look for. This means while using keywords within the ad copy, and starting the copy by having an action verb.

By using the approach above, you can create or evaluate your search engine marketing strategy, focus on what matters most when executing your plans, and more effectively achieve your goals.

Social Website Profiling by Adam Farson

Social Website Profiling by Adam Farson