Hope you had a Wonderful Holiday with your family and friends along with a Joyous New Year.
It’s forecast that overall advertising will grow by 5% in 2011, according to Borrell Associates. More interesting is that online marketing will increase 14%. But even more interesting is that LOCAL online advertising will grow by 18%. That’s right, small and mid-size businesses are recognizing how important the internet is in this competitive climate.
So the question is, do you have a website? If you do, do you know where you rank on Google?
There’s more to internet marketing then just having a website. SEO/SEM (Search Engine Optimization/Management) is important for small and mid-size businesses that want to be seen on the internet, however most businesses owners believe that having a website is enough. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Don’t agreed? Consider this: 97% of people with online access will research products and services online before they purchase AND over 80% never click beyond Page 1. There are many factors such as visibility, ease of use, properly working links, content which we talked about in the September Marketing Tip and much more. Like a car engine needs to be firing on all cylinders to perform well, the same applies to your website.
So how do you choose a good SEO/SEM Service? They should be experts with how search engines work. There are more than 200 factors that determine the rank of your webpage. They also need to pay attention to your business goals, one size does not fit all. They should pay close attention to keyword research, know what is prevalent to your business. Keywords can be tricky, have an expert pick them out for you to get the best results.
On a similar note your website designer, if you have one, should pay attention to site architecture. Your website should be well-maintained and should have well-defined hierarchy, i.e. easy to navigate. They should use all the SEO parameters and shape them to your business.
Let’s all start with a BIG BANG in 2011!!!
Dave Segatti, MAD Media, www.gomadmedia.com
