What, Really, Can Search Engine Optimization do for Your Business?

Are You Investing your company’s marketing budget in a Web Site?

Do you Really Know if that Investment is creating a Return on Investment?

Does Your Online Marketing Plan Include Creating Customers From your Online Investment?

If you are a business owner, business manager, or responsible for your business’ marketing, then you should be able to answer YES to all of the above.  What if you can’t answer all of these with a Yes?  Then, you should take a close look at your marketing plan or service providers to find out why not.

The age of businesses using strictly the traditional advertising and promotional methods is part of business history.  A bygone era.  Your competitors are rapidly moving to online web sites and promotion in order to gain the edge that will continue to generate revenue and grow their company.  If you don’t believe that, just read the mainstream publications as they report the increasing revenues on the internet. 

Over 75 Million internet users search each day…
Over 40 Million domain names registered to date…
Retail sales growing to $14 Billion by the year 2010…

What does Search Engine Optimization have to do with Your Business?

Search Engine Optimization is a technical reference to the process of establishing and growing placement in the search engines and establishing authority online.  Also known, in technical circles as SEO, it is the methodology that can bring visitors to your web site that are specifically interested in your product, service, or company.  In order to create a Return on Investment on a web site that your business has paid for or built internally, you need visitors to the site that are interested and willing to walk through your process to turn them into customers, or clients.  One of the common myths that business owners believe is that only products can be sold online.  To the contrary, businesses create leads for prospects online in the hundreds of thousands. 

Business comes to those who seek it out…

So many businesses in the past believed that the only purpose for a web site was to pass it along like a brochure.  Some also seem to think that once you build it, they will come.  Both only lead to a waste of precious marketing budgets.  If all your business needs is a brochure, then send it electronically or hand it to your prospect.  It is far more effective since you know your prospect has received it.  And, it is far cheaper!  As far as building it and they will come… Well, from where?!  The only road to your business site for your unknown prospects and future customers is from other sites and search engines.  Otherwise, there is no way for visitors to find it.

Promote Your Web Site for Business to Come To You…

Many businesses shy away from Search Engine Optimization once they have created their web site because they feel it is just another expense.  Well, they’re correct in that it is an additional expense.  Consider when you build a building to house your company, your products, and your employees.  Would you stop there with your business investment?  Obviously not.  You still need to invest more to promote your products and create customers.  Your web site is the infrastructure to create and grow this aspect of your business.  Ongoing investment to pull your customers into your business is always going to a necessary and important factor in building your business.  Online or offline, what is critical is to for that investment to be effective.

There is a beautiful fact of doing business online that is totally unlike offline business.  On the internet, your customers and clients come looking for you.  You don’t knock on their doors or call their homes or offices.  They sit down at their computers and actively search you out!  If you’ve been pounding the pavement looking for business then you can appreciate how wonderful this can be.  Is it for real?  Absolutely!  The people that you want to sit down with and tell how much your company can benefit them would be knocking on your door!  Sounds nice, doesn’t it? 

Ah, but here’s the trick to this wonderful dream.  You have to be there waiting for them to find you.  Much like the investment you make to advertise, cold call, direct mail, and all other “traditional” means, it takes some investment.  That investment includes applying an ongoing plan of Search Engine Optimization, site promotion, Press Releases, Link building, and a variety of other SEO related methods.  The Return on Investment is when your prospective customers land on your site and your pages convert them to a lead or actual customer.