How To Apply Search Engine Marketing To Any Business

If you have done any learning or research on the topic's of search engine marketing and search engine optimization you know, this is one MASSIVE topic.

This Hubpage has been written as a newbie guide for those not so experienced on the subject.

There is also a strong focus on giving a general overview with information and links for you to undertake research and learning.

The thought of learning such a complex specialized field like search engine marketing scared the heck out of me.

Maybe it scares you too?

Well, rest assured, the basics of search engine marketing need not be difficult or complicated or even boring.

SEO may not be the most exciting topic but if you plan on running any kind of business online, then at the very least you should understand SEO 101.

Analytics

Understanding the ways people find and use your web site can give you insight into your marketing campaigns, your page content and your products. You should aim to find out which analytics program to use and then more importantly how to read and what you should do with the data you gather. Adding analytics to your website is as easy as pasting some code into the HTML coding of your website.

Blogging

Blogs are simple programs that allow web site owners to quickly and easily publish new content to their web site. To prepare yourself to blog, seek practical advice on setting up a blog, deciding what type of content you should publish on your blog and how you can use blogs to market your business. Your blog can be either personal or business focused depending on what will drive conversions best when you determine your target market. Blogs can be very diverse in nature, so it really depends on what will ensure your marketing success.

Brand Building

With social media and search engines driving a huge percentage of the traffic to a web site, it's essential to make sure you're building your brand and convincing people to come looking for YOU. Branding should be a core focus if you are marketing using attraction marketing techniques. Build a strong brand by positioning yourself in search results and by branding yourself through social media sites.

Content

Getting people to come to your web site is only the beginning. Once you have visitors, you need to be certain you're providing fresh, engaging content that is regularly updated. While writing is a skill that doesn't always come easy to everyone, it is a skill worth developing.

Conversions

When you are running a business, it is very important to remember, traffic is not your friend. Conversions are your friend. Your marketing campaigns and information on your web site should be greared towards making sales or ensuring you are driving leads, and sign-ups. Learn how to define your conversion rating and then focus on improving them through split testing. Conversions tie back to Analytics, in that you should be collecting creditable data, reading same and using it to your marketing advantage.

Keywords

Put simple, keywords, are the words or phrases people type into the search engines to find the web sites they're looking for. Your aim with keywords is to learn how to identify the best keywords for your site and how to integrate them into your headlines, title tags and page copy to improve rankings and reach your target audience. Optimize for words that people are searching for and aim to use some long tail keywords also. Long tail keywords is just the fancy term given to phrases people type into search engines.

Related - Keyword article.

Link Building

There's no denying the power of links in terms of online marketing. When you consider how to apply search engine marketing for your business, this should be one of your top priorities. Search engines use links as a way to determine how valuable and relevant your site is for your relevant keywords. And there is the obvious advantage that people use links to move from one site to another, the more links 'out there' that point back to your website, the better. Building quality links from relevant sources can go a long way toward improving your search rankings, but probably best of all, it can also drive tons of targeted traffic to any website.

Free backlink building tool.

Local Search

It is very probable that your paper Yellow Pages gets quickly buried in the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet never to come out again. These days, the local search directory has become an essential part of any online marketing campaign. You should aim to learn which sites searchers are turning to for listings and reviews and find out how you can get a piece of the action. This may be as simple as submitting your website or blog for a search engine crawl and often this is a free service. Look for local search directories relevant to you and your business and do some research.

Online Public Relations

Public relations isn't just for big companies. All online business owners need to be mindful of how they are presenting themselves online. The web has taken conversation global which means one angry customer can do major damage to your brand, image and business bottom line. On the flip side of this, it also means one very happy customer can launch your brand into the stratosphere. PR is a reality for all online business owners. Read more in "online name and business reputation"

Online Name and Business Reputation

Most business owners have it all wrong and worry someone might say something bad about them online. What they should be worried about is that someone might say something bad about them online without them ever knowing it. The internet is global, and as such the are many opinions, backgrounds and freedoms being expressed about online business - good and bad. So what do you do? Simple, learn how to track the conversation about your company, your products and even yourself. Get practical tips and advice on how to stay on top of what the market is saying about you.

Paid Per Click Internet Marketing (PPC)

Purchasing keyword targeted advertising on major search engines or content sites can be a great way to drive targeted traffic to your web site. Whilst PPC is fantastic once your business is in profit mode, it may not be the best option for the beginning internet marketer. As a search engine marketing tactic, PPC, will send targeted traffic to your website (as long as you create your campaign correctly) and many search engines factor traffic into ranking qualifications.

Search Engine Marketing

The most important factor with search engine marketing is so obvious that it can easily be overlooked. Ask yourself.....can the search engines read my site? How are the search engines viewing and catagorizing the information on my site? Below you will find a link to a free tool, The Spider Simulator, "Eye's of A Spider", that will give you some valuable insight into bigger search engine marketing picture. Your search engine marketing has to begin somewhere. Perhaps it will be by writing articles or hubpages associated to your branding and keywords? Over time you will realise the need to combine several forms of online marketing to build stronger results.

Search Engine Optimization

SEO is the practice of increasing your rankings in the organic (non-paid) search results of a search engine. As a general guide, you should be making sure your site is search engine friendly and always be working on ways of increasing your rankings through an increase in links, content and planned keyword focus.

Social Media

There's a conversation, no check that, millions of conversations going on around you. Are you part of it? Social media sites focus on giving people a way to connect and share creations, ideas, content and thoughts. Business owners are figuring out ways to contribute to and become part of this conversation and profiting big time. The reasoning is practical and simplistic in nature....social media and networking sites are DOMINATING internet traffic rankings right now. They are hot and everyone is using them. What better way to get free traffic, advertising, backlinks. leads and more than by tapping into these sites. Learn how to join in without putting people off and getting your account deleted. A great way to participate in this marketing medium is by using forum posting.

Universal Search

Search engines used to focus solely on providing you with a list of the best web pages for a search. Now, they're also integrating video, images, blog listings, product listings and more. Universal search engines are influencing search engine optimization and savvy marketers are taking advantage of it to increase their presence in search results.

Usability

Ever been to a site that made it difficult for you to find your way around? Tried to buy a product, but couldn't find the buy or put in cart option? If so, you experienced a usability problem. More than likely you didn’t buy the product, so it’s fair to say that this website is loosing money. This example highlights why you should focus on the need to build your web site around accepted standards so users can quickly and easily find their way around.

Viral Marketing

Every now and then someone comes up with a little piece of marketing genius and it takes off with lightening speed and finds its way to half the computers on the Internet. MySpace is one that comes to mind and should be a good illustration of the point I am making. Keep on top of internet and marketing trends no matter how tried and true other marketing methods have been in the past. It is better to be on the front end of a good idea than the back end!

What do Search Engines Look For?

Have you ever wondered what information search engines are reviewing when they visit your website? Considering that when most of use build a webpage the design and presentation of the website is usally what we think about. However if you want to make a website that is search engine savy, you also must understand how the engines view your website.

Balance Onsite and Background SE Optimization

SE's are not smart, they can not think or 'see' images. So rather than just finding the best picture and content, and putting them on your site, optimize your content. Give the image file a name relevant to your site. If you are drag car enthuiasts, name your image files like, dragcar.jpg, fastcars.jpg etc.

Use this free tool, the seach engine simulator, to view how your site is being indexed by the search engines. Simply type in the URL you want to check and the online search will begin.

http://webconfs.com/search-engine-spider-simulator.php

The search engine blogs listed above are the offical sites for these engines.

If you get your search engine optimization and marketing information from the source, it will never be watered down!