Is your Web site making/costing you money?

If you already have a Web site, or are in the process of designing one, you need to consider implementing site-based search engine optimisation. In order for you to get targeted traffic to your Web site, you will need to invest in some SEO.

It is almost a guarantee that someone is looking for your service/product online right now, considering there are more than three billion (3 000 million) searches done on Google alone on a daily basis. This is basically money just lying there waiting for you to collect.

Now, you may be asking yourself “What is this term SEO or Search Engine Optimisation” that I am hearing for the first time here and on the Internet?

Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO, is when you take a Web page that is built by humans and make it easily understandable for both humans and for search engine robots.

“Modern marketing cannot be achieved without some investment in SEO. Billions of consumers around the world use search engines every day. Google alone records over three billion queries in a 24-hour period,” says Rand Fishkin, CEO and co-Founder of SEOmoz.

“Your brand and your market are at stake when you don't invest in making a site search-engine-friendly, conducting keyword research, targeting terms on your pages and earning links (the basics of SEO). And your competition is more than happy to take those clicks if you don't do the work to earn them.”

At the moment, most of the Web traffic comes from three major commercial search engines - Google, Bing and Yahoo. If your site cannot be found by search engines then you are missing out on the incredible opportunities that are available online. People who want your service or product will not visit your Web site, but your competitor's Web site. Also, it is a known fact that browsers see companies that appear higher on search engines as being a stronger brand and they are therefore more willing to support them, both online and offline.

Search engine traffic can make (or break) an organisation's success. Getting targeted visitors to a Web site can provide publicity, exposure and revenue like no other form of marketing. The best part of SEO is that it can be tracked and your ROI (return on investment) can be seen.

“Bottom line, not focusing on SEO is the same as leaving money on the table. Well-executed SEO campaigns can significantly increase site exposure, traffic and goal conversions,” says Jon Henshaw, co-Founder and CPO at Raven Internet Marketing Tools.

“They also can be cheaper than PPC, because organic rankings tend to remain or increase well beyond the completion of an SEO campaign. Plus, your competitors are doing it.”

Search engine algorithms (ranking factors they use to put certain pages on the top of search results) change nearly on a daily basis. Google has said that it uses more than 200 factors for ranking a Web page to appear in its SERP (Search Engine Results Page). There will always be a limit to how search engines can operate and understand your content on a Web site. Performing SEO on your Web site can get you thousands of visitors as well as brand awareness; however, the wrong move when approaching online marketing can hide or bury your site deep in the search results where visibility is minimal.

Below is a graph from a study done by Chikita on How much is a Google Top Spot Worth” Chitika's numbers were based on a sample of 8 253 240 impressions across its advertising network.

As can be seen in the graph, over 70% of traffic goes to the first four places on SERPs. This figure should be enough to convince you that if you are not on the first page of search engines, then basically your Web site is simply hanging around in cyberspace and costing you money.

Only 10% of traffic EVER even makes it past the first page! It is for this reason that it is SO important for companies/Web sites to have SEO incorporated into their marketing campaigns.

Online marketing is becoming increasingly competitive, and those companies that perform SEO will have a decided advantage in visitors and customers.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people (engineers, marketers, and even some CEOs) who honestly believe they know all about SEO and choose to do it themselves. This can be detrimental to your Web site and cause more damage than good.

The answer couldn't be clearer. Without SEO, you really aren't on the Internet because almost no one will ever find you through the search engines.

Do you need some advice/help with your Web site or online marketing campaign?

Please contact us for a no-obligation initial consultation.

Web site: www.webseo.co.za