Plenty of acronyms are thrown around the internet when it comes to marketing practices for websites. It can be a lot to try and process for a business or website owner looking to drive traffic to their site. Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) are two such acronyms that are extremely important to a web presence. SEO is one part of an overall SEM strategy. SEO is to apples as SEM is to a fruit salad. Apples are part of a fruit salad but a fruit salad is not part of apples.
The first place to start is the website in question. SEO takes aspects of that website and makes it more efficient to navigate and index. This can be in the form of meta-tag clean up, keyword rich articles, adding meta-tags to images for relevant words, coding clean up, appropriate titling, efficient link-structuring and much more. One could think of SEO in the same way they think of an automobile tune up. It helps to streamline and correct problems before they can have a significant, negative impact.
Why is that important and what does it mean in English?
Simply put, a search engine’s goal is to provide the most accurate results for a given search inquiry. They want to ensure their users are finding the best possible results for what they are seeking so they continue to return and use that search engine. Optimization practices allow the search engine bots and spiders to accurately and quickly catalog what information is where. If the website is bloated and congested with broken links and garbage information; the search engine will not be want to provide your information to their users.
Simply put, a search engine’s goal is to provide the most accurate results for a given search inquiry. They want to ensure their users are finding the best possible results for what they are seeking so they continue to return and use that search engine. Optimization practices allow the search engine bots and spiders to accurately and quickly catalog what information is where. If the website is bloated and congested with broken links and garbage information; the search engine will not be want to provide your information to their users.
Does hosting matter or affect my SEO efforts?
Deciding on a web host should be approached the same way one would approach any investment. Extended downtime of the website will reflect negatively on your rankings. Why would a search engine want to send users to a website that is not up? One should shop around and probe into some user reviews about a potential host before agreeing to anything. Diligent research ahead of time may circumvent frustrations later on.
Deciding on a web host should be approached the same way one would approach any investment. Extended downtime of the website will reflect negatively on your rankings. Why would a search engine want to send users to a website that is not up? One should shop around and probe into some user reviews about a potential host before agreeing to anything. Diligent research ahead of time may circumvent frustrations later on.
What is SEM? Why does it matter to my website and interests?
Search engine optimization is one facet of overall search engine marketing. SEO deals with the efficiency of which a website is indexed and addressed. The SEM strategies used are meant to promote awareness and get relevant traffic on your website. The following are some of the more popular SEM methods to help bring traffic in.
Search engine optimization is one facet of overall search engine marketing. SEO deals with the efficiency of which a website is indexed and addressed. The SEM strategies used are meant to promote awareness and get relevant traffic on your website. The following are some of the more popular SEM methods to help bring traffic in.
Link Building
Link building is an activity that every website owner should be interested in. A website’s PageRank is determined by the number of one-way links that are directed to a given page. Search engines view people linking to your content as meaning they find it useful and helpful enough to provide it elsewhere. Link building is a long-term part of SEM strategy and should not be overlooked. Popular ways to do so are through article submission or running a professional blog on the domain.
Link building is an activity that every website owner should be interested in. A website’s PageRank is determined by the number of one-way links that are directed to a given page. Search engines view people linking to your content as meaning they find it useful and helpful enough to provide it elsewhere. Link building is a long-term part of SEM strategy and should not be overlooked. Popular ways to do so are through article submission or running a professional blog on the domain.
Paid Inclusion
Some directories offer the user the ability to pay a fee to get indexed quicker with that search engine. The overall usefulness of this is debatable. If it is within budget it can be a worthwhile investment to get things going a bit quicker. Regardless of whether or not one opts for paid inclusion, the website will eventually be indexed and appear in the search engine. Pursuing normal link-building activities will expedite a website being indexed naturally.
Some directories offer the user the ability to pay a fee to get indexed quicker with that search engine. The overall usefulness of this is debatable. If it is within budget it can be a worthwhile investment to get things going a bit quicker. Regardless of whether or not one opts for paid inclusion, the website will eventually be indexed and appear in the search engine. Pursuing normal link-building activities will expedite a website being indexed naturally.
Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising
PPC is a popular method to help generate targeted traffic. Essentially, there is an automated system in place which takes bids from the participants when someone clicks on a link. The winner is the user with the highest bid and the clicker is subsequently sent to that website. This is a great advertising method because one only ends up paying for targeted traffic rather than general. Though it can significantly increase PageRank, it does have its pitfalls.
PPC is a popular method to help generate targeted traffic. Essentially, there is an automated system in place which takes bids from the participants when someone clicks on a link. The winner is the user with the highest bid and the clicker is subsequently sent to that website. This is a great advertising method because one only ends up paying for targeted traffic rather than general. Though it can significantly increase PageRank, it does have its pitfalls.
A number of people enter a PPC campaign thinking they can just set a high maximum bid and pick a few keywords. That is the quickest way to utterly demolish an advertising budget. High competition keywords are expensive and may not necessarily even be worth it. Let us take a quick look at a generic example to drive the point.
Example Co, Inc. sells peripherals and replacement parts for computers, they do not build or sell prefabricated systems. Their niche is the parts that make up the computer. If Example Co, Inc. chose “computer” as a PPC keyword; every time a user searched for it a bid would be placed on it. If Example Co, Inc. wins that bid, the amount of the winning bid will be deducted and the user directed to their website.
What if that user does not know much about computers? What if they were looking to buy a prefabricated system? Example Co, Inc. just paid for a click that was never going to generate them a sale. It being such a popular keyword, it is likely they would have paid a lot. Consider the fact that this would be occurring constantly until the account was dry. A better choice in keywords would be “computer parts” or “computer repair” for Example Co, Inc.
It can be a wise idea to research search trends or even consult with a PPC specialist before embarking on this method of advertising. Used well, it can be great for traffic and sales. Not used well will only result in an empty bidding account without much to show for it.
How do I plan a successful SEM campaign?
The soundest method is to build a website that will provide great, useful information to the visitor. Offer well-crafted content that is relevant to the business or message of the website. A professional blog creates a great opportunity for regular updates and potential link-generation from other bloggers or professionals. Various websites offer ghostwriting services for those that are not inclined to write their own posts for a nominal fee. Building a web presence takes time and patience to do it properly. Anyone that promises immediately exceptional results is not to be trusted. It simply does not work that way.
Source http://isedb.com/ The soundest method is to build a website that will provide great, useful information to the visitor. Offer well-crafted content that is relevant to the business or message of the website. A professional blog creates a great opportunity for regular updates and potential link-generation from other bloggers or professionals. Various websites offer ghostwriting services for those that are not inclined to write their own posts for a nominal fee. Building a web presence takes time and patience to do it properly. Anyone that promises immediately exceptional results is not to be trusted. It simply does not work that way.
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