42 Rules for a Web Presence That Wins by Philippa Gamse CMC

Author:Philippa Gamse, CMC
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Super Star Press

Fair Measures took a leap of faith and it paid off. Could the same happen for you?

Rule 22

Rankings Don’t Matter

Discover and concentrate on the keywords that make money for your business.

I’ve always felt that there’s a lot of hype around search engines. Back in the early days of the World Wide Web, being “Number 1” for your keyword of choice became the magic bullet of Internet marketing, and in many ways has remained so ever since.

Of course, holding the top position can be extremely beneficial. However, I’ve seen many visitors attracted to a web presence in this way, only to be completely turned off or so confused by what they encounter that they leave immediately. I’ve also audited search campaigns which are overwhelmingly successful in attracting entirely the wrong type of visitor (see Rule 36). This is especially painful if these visitors come from paid click-throughs.

In working with a wide variety of industries since 1995, I’ve observed that the usefulness of search engines depends on the type of business in question.

If you’re selling something which is widely available, and your target markets are heavily influenced by factors such as your location or your price, then clearly search would be a key marketing tactic for you.

However, I have found search marketing to be less effective for businesses such as those selling expertise or higher-end niche products. Decision makers in these markets are more influenced by reading articles and white papers, or referrals from trusted colleagues and peers. Often, prospects that come from search engines in these arenas can be less knowledgeable buyers who quickly balk on hearing the fees involved.

In these instances, some of your marketing budget may be better spent on promotion of your thought leadership material and your key experts directly to websites and social media groups frequented by your target audience.

Caveats aside, search engine optimization is still justifiably important to many businesses. Since algorithms and other rules change so quickly, it can be difficult—and expensive—to keep up.

I turned to optimization expert Andreas Mueller, President of Bloofu-sion, Inc. in Aptos, California, for advice. Andreas and I have known each other for years, and in a field where there are many dubious providers, his integrity has always been unquestionable.

Andreas offered the following:

Use a step by step approach. If you don’t like your website, don’t go for social media yet—get your core image and message right first. Take a tour of different media to see what makes sense for your available resources.

Keyword research is a big deal. It shows what language your markets speak, and your bloggers and writers need to use the specific words that customers search for. This also helps to engage visitors, because then they see what they’re actually looking for in your copy. No one would search for something like “profitable business solutions,” yet we often see that in the “About Us” pages text.

There’s hardly any industry where pay-per-click doesn’t work at all, and studies do show better conversions with a combination of both organic and paid search results, so you need to find the right balance.

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