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What are the most important steps in creating a successful search engine marketing strategy? The goal of search engine marketing is to maximize the visibility of your web site in the leading search engines to ensure that your target markets find your site when searching for your products or services online. The key success factors in creating a successful search engine marketing plan are: 1. Conduct Keyword Research Keyword research is the practice of identifying the most popular and relevant keyword phrases used by your desired target markets online. The first step in search engine marketing is to identify a ‘short list’ of targeted, relevant keywords that are likely to represent qualified buyers and ultimately lead to sales. 2. Optimize Your Site for Search Engine Success Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of editing the content and design of your site in an effort to rank well for your ‘short list’ of keyword phrases. Some of the factors that influence your site’s search engine rankings include site design, content, keyword repetition, page titles, META tags and link popularity. For more information about how Google ranks sites, go to: http://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html 3. Increase Your Site’s Link Popularity Link popularity refers to how many other sites provide links from their site to yours. Google and other search engines regard link popularity as one of the most important factors in how your site ranks. To see how many sites provide links to your site (and your competitors), go to: http://www.marketleap.com/publinkpop/default.htm 4. Create a Pay Per Click Marketing Campaign Pay per click (PPC) search engines provide an auction for keyword phrases where advertisers pay for placement in the top search engines, with the top spot going to the highest bidder. Google AdWords and Overture are the top PPC search engines. They provide search results, typically labeled “sponsored” listings, through affiliate search engines, such as AOL, Yahoo! and MSN. PPC search engines are the fastest way to get targeted traffic to your site. Keys to Successful Search Engine Marketing • Identify your ‘short list’ of popular and relevant keyword phrases • Benchmark where your site ranks in the top search engines for these keywords • Optimize your site to rank well in Google and other search engines • Acquire links from industry portals and directories to boost your link popularity • Setup a pay per click marketing program and test the results • Measure your ROI, adjust, measure again For a free evaluation of how your site ranks in the leading search engines, go to: http://www.twentysix2.com/web-ranking-report.htm John Waddy is President of TwentySix2 Marketing – a leader in Atlanta Internet marketing and Atlanta Web Design. For more information, visit TwentySix2.com or call (404) 541-9780. |
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Atlanta Web Design, Atlanta Internet Marketing & Atlanta Search Engine Optimization |