Many companies have spent a great deal of resources creating websites that have not yet delivered a return on investment (ROI). The reason is simply that potential customers are not aware your website exists. Various research statistics indicate that most Internet users find websites via search engines.
This means your website must appear on the first page of search results for phrases that your target market are using to find your type of products or services.
A search engine looks for content in other websites and gives this content weighted relevance by allocating "points" according to a specific algorithm. When a search is done that matches the content of a website, the search engine presents the sites (sometimes millions of them) in order of relevance to the search phrase.
Very few Searchers go beyond the third page of search results, which means only the top sixty websites are viewed out of the millions of results. The challenge, therefore, is to first find the search phrases your target market is using and then to get your website to the first page of search results for those phrases.
Says Gary Terrazas, marketing manager of HitechMarketing.co.za: "Search engine marketing is the solution to this challenge and provides a unique opportunity to segment a market from a psychographic perspective by optimising a webpage to match the exact phrase capturing the unique sales proposition of the product."
Search engine experts study, analyse, compare and keep up to date with the latest search engine algorithms to ensure websites are listed on the first page of search results for selected search phrases. This process is called natural or organic optimisation. Another option, Cost per Click, is also available. Search engines have their own targeted traffic advertising by adding sponsored results to their results pages. These sponsored results are sold to website owners in a bidding system, where the highest bidder for a phrase gets highest rankings.
Search engine marketers have access to search engine statistics indicating the total number of searches, and the specific key phrases used to search for products and services. Terrazas explains: "Because Searchers are specific about their needs, it is possible to choose very targeted phrases and niche market a website by differentiating its product offer. As an example, a Searcher looking for computers will usually describe what is important in the search. If the main concern is money, he/she will search for 'affordable computers'. Similarly if he/she is looking for geographic availability, the area in which the product is required will be included in the search as in 'computers Sandton'."
Search engine marketing, however, does not stop at bringing traffic to a website. The next step is to measure success, by interpreting visitor behaviour through monitoring traffic statistics.
If, for example, visitors leave almost immediately, without going deeper into the website, there may be a content or design flaw. Search engine marketers will then address the visitor conversion or web site usability issues, based on their expertise and experience regarding what works, to prompt visitors to make a purchase or an enquiry.
This combination of technology and scientific application of marketing principles makes it possible for a website to be successful online.
