Search Engine Marketing Strategical and Practical in 2006

Even if search engine optimization (SEO) is often a website’s first source of traffic and provides long-lasting visibility for a company and its service offering, it is still neglected by a lot of them.

Adviso has published a joint study with the RBC Financial Group’s Chair Professor Jacques Nantel on the subject. This article is a summary of the study, which has a very concrete methodology and tools to plan, implement and follow-up an effective website SEO strategy. The complete study is also available.

Why reference?

According to Doubleclick [1], an established company and pioneer in Internet marketing, the most popular method used, in 41% of cases, to identify a site with the aim of making a purchase, is a search engine. This is more than any other possible way of reaching a site: guessing the address by brand name, online or offline advertising or even word of mouth.

The consumer has integrated this tool into practically all their purchasing decisions, from identifying needs to obtaining information and getting the best price.

According to an American study by Piper Jaffray [2], the average cost of acquiring a customer through search engines is estimated to be between only $7 and $10, compared to regular mail ($60-80), e-mail ($40-80) and the Yellow Pages ($15-25).

A good evaluation of the use of SEO is however required, as in some cases it could be more prudent to use other methods to get visibility or sales. For example, keyword purchasing can represent a more performant choice if the result must be visible as of now. It is therefore important to properly define the status of Internet SEO in your global marketing strategy.

How to reference?

The guide proposes a three-step method making it possible to be well-positioned in commercial search engines.

Website optimisation

This is the crucial step, without which all others are futile. This is on-site work. You begin by identifying keywords and expressions which are sought by internet users and which represent the company’s service offering or website content. Then you have to apply these optimization topics to the site, in form as well as content. This is a very delicate step; the parameters and values to respect are clearly identified in the guide.

Technical modifications are then applied to the site to ensure that no functionality or technology impairs the site’s referencing.

Submit...to directories

This section reveals the advantages of Web directories that should be taken into account, and what can be found within them to help your referencing strategy succeed. It is noted that it’s sometimes more relevant to submit to directories than to engines themselves.

Links, always links

Google created the Pagerank concept which transforms a simple link from one site to another into a vote of confidence according to the directing site, the text used, the link’s context, its hierarchy and a lot of other criteria. This section discusses strategies and tactics to maximize the impact of links directed towards your site, while continuously improving their quantity and quality.

The study concludes by providing ways to measure the profitability of referencing efforts and their continuous follow-up.

With all these tools and arguments, no one can say that they have not been told: referencing is already part of fundamental marketing efforts that one should invest in. The consumer of the future can be found through it.

We hope that you appreciate our referencing guide, and especially don’t hesitate to contact us if you want to go further or let specialists of this art take charge of your referencing strategy.

[1] Doubleclick, Greenfield Online, Mars 2003

[2] Enquiro: http://www.enquiro.com/net-profit/Rashtchy’s-Golden-Search.asp