Traditional marketing and search engine marketing, often referred to as search engine optimization, are very similar regarding competition and business goals. You are competing, sometimes fiercely, for the most important space in your business categories. What is the value in that particular online real estate? This really depends on a number of factors, including your business category, your keywords, and how competitive the space really is.
Traditional Marketing vs. SEM or Search Engine Marketing
There is a significant difference between the potential customer in traditional marketing compared with search marketing. At the heart of the difference is motivation, as well as their place in the buying cycle. SEM allows one to measure and calculate costs and return on investment at a level that is not possible in traditional marketing.
The way company's used to market, and the way some still do today, focuses on interrupting the potential customer. After a busy day at work, you sit back and relax while watching your tv show that you've been looking forward to all day. Then, in the middle of a great scene, there is a break for a commercial. You didn't actively turn to this commercial. In fact, in most cases, you are focused on the return of your program of choice. You might be amused by the commercial, but you could easily be annoyed. The advertiser or company selling their product, is hoping they throw a wide enough net out, make their ad interesting enough so that you aren't annoyed, that they have 30 seconds to create enough interest so that you'll remember them after you return to your show. And when the opportunity arises to make a purchase in their product category, those advertisers are hoping that their interruption ad resonates and causes you to select their product out of the many that are available.
Now compare that to customers who are looking for you through google. These people are engaged. They are motivated to look for your product or service. These potential clients may even have their credit in hand at their computer or smartphone and are all set to make a purchase. Regardless, they are a much better prospect for you and your business. The ability to track your prospect on your site is unprecedented in traditional marketing terms. You can find out where they came from, how far they scrolled down on your pages, what links clicked on etc..
Better Keywords Bring Better Visitors
The proper keyword research is the foundation of any search marketing campaign. If you don't start with the right keywords, you could end up doing a mountain of work and not really achieving anything meaningful. You may be showing up number one for "fitness freaks who eat french food" but if this search term is never actually searched, then what is the point. Understanding where you want to focus your efforts is a big part of the keyword research process. Having the big picture view of your approach to keywords is also critical to your success.
How do you pick which keywords to focus on? Highly competitive words may not be the best place to start. They take longer. You'll have less data to review. And it is easy to get discouraged if you are new to search engine marketing.
Be sure to add some less competitive terms to your search campaign if you are new to this. That way, you can get some feedback and data that will give you the confidence you need to move forward and the insight to make changes when adjustments are needed. Naturally, there are risks to seeking out only the most competitive terms. That includes the length of time required to see a return. As well, you may not be able to distinguish the signposts along the way. Gaining the proper perspective to evaluate what is working and what needs changing can be costly if you have not run a large volume search marketing campaigns in the past.
All of this can lead one to give up on the effort. Or alternatively, to seek out a strong partner to manage their search engine optimization campaigns.
Traditional Marketing vs. SEM or Search Engine Marketing
There is a significant difference between the potential customer in traditional marketing compared with search marketing. At the heart of the difference is motivation, as well as their place in the buying cycle. SEM allows one to measure and calculate costs and return on investment at a level that is not possible in traditional marketing.
The way company's used to market, and the way some still do today, focuses on interrupting the potential customer. After a busy day at work, you sit back and relax while watching your tv show that you've been looking forward to all day. Then, in the middle of a great scene, there is a break for a commercial. You didn't actively turn to this commercial. In fact, in most cases, you are focused on the return of your program of choice. You might be amused by the commercial, but you could easily be annoyed. The advertiser or company selling their product, is hoping they throw a wide enough net out, make their ad interesting enough so that you aren't annoyed, that they have 30 seconds to create enough interest so that you'll remember them after you return to your show. And when the opportunity arises to make a purchase in their product category, those advertisers are hoping that their interruption ad resonates and causes you to select their product out of the many that are available.
Now compare that to customers who are looking for you through google. These people are engaged. They are motivated to look for your product or service. These potential clients may even have their credit in hand at their computer or smartphone and are all set to make a purchase. Regardless, they are a much better prospect for you and your business. The ability to track your prospect on your site is unprecedented in traditional marketing terms. You can find out where they came from, how far they scrolled down on your pages, what links clicked on etc..
Better Keywords Bring Better Visitors
The proper keyword research is the foundation of any search marketing campaign. If you don't start with the right keywords, you could end up doing a mountain of work and not really achieving anything meaningful. You may be showing up number one for "fitness freaks who eat french food" but if this search term is never actually searched, then what is the point. Understanding where you want to focus your efforts is a big part of the keyword research process. Having the big picture view of your approach to keywords is also critical to your success.
How do you pick which keywords to focus on? Highly competitive words may not be the best place to start. They take longer. You'll have less data to review. And it is easy to get discouraged if you are new to search engine marketing.
Be sure to add some less competitive terms to your search campaign if you are new to this. That way, you can get some feedback and data that will give you the confidence you need to move forward and the insight to make changes when adjustments are needed. Naturally, there are risks to seeking out only the most competitive terms. That includes the length of time required to see a return. As well, you may not be able to distinguish the signposts along the way. Gaining the proper perspective to evaluate what is working and what needs changing can be costly if you have not run a large volume search marketing campaigns in the past.
All of this can lead one to give up on the effort. Or alternatively, to seek out a strong partner to manage their search engine optimization campaigns.
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