Companies are getting fewer results for a higher spend using time-honoured marketing techniques. So we have to look at updating our modus operandi. We all know it’s vital that all commercial organisations are on the web. Yet that in itself isn’t sufficient. Buyers MUST know how to reach you.
Picture a new retail premises opening up shop: It’s cost a packet to get to launch time. The staff are all poised – But the street is deserted, and they discover it’s way out of town. Nobody will know how to reach them. What kind of sales do you think they’ll manage? Almost all the sites on the web have the same problem!
The World Wide Web has caused a paradigm shift in marketing. Ten years ago, as everyone was getting on the bandwagon, there was an idea that everyone needed a website. Vast amounts of money were spent on all singing/dancing web sites. (A happy situation for web design businesses…) Before long though, the site owners were complaining that no-one looked at their new website! People had thought that if they had a big website, it would be easily spotted. This proved to be a complete fallacy…
Web marketing needs a whole new approach. Off-line marketing people would suggest your website is like a sales brochure. As a result, they’ll try to get you to promote the site on radio, TV or in the press. Essentially they’re working in the same way as they’ve always done. First they make a nice looking catalogue. Then they utilise various marketing methods to get people to look at the catalogue. This view is completely and utterly flawed in the internet economy.
This approach purely sees the web as a viewing portal, which it isn’t. It’s a hugely dynamic environment with complex interactivity. Users drill down to investigate the services they’re interested in. In addition, terrific site indexes have been created by several major Search Engines (SE’S) so customers can find the things they’re looking for. Think of the chaos involved if the Business Yellow Pages wasn’t in alphabetical order: We’d be forever frustrated and disappointed.
The SE’s have got it all sussed. However, this means marketing is no longer the same. Now, if you wish to be visible online, you must be indexed by Google, Bing and/or Yahoo etc. Even that isn’t enough though. You might as well forget it if you’re several pages in!
So to bring in more profit and give all sites a chance to be top dog, the SE’s gave businesses an ingenious paid facility to promote themselves. You Pay Per Click, so you’re only charged for your ad when someone clicks on it. This created a lot of excitement… Basically, the only time you now paid was when someone who was already interested asked to look at your site. This is an incredibly targeted way of advertising, and done properly, can yield some exceptional results.
But Pay-Per-Click is heavily over-subscribed now in most sectors. Predominantly because of a wealth of new bidders who lack experience, the cost per click has been driven upwards. Now, in 2009, we’re seeing click prices that are so high, it can literally be unfeasible to make a profit. In particular, where a sale requires a large number of clicks. Consequently we’re seeing a renewed interest in SEO. This means websites are optimised in ways that naturally push them up the search pages.
Try the following: Enter some service or product keywords (relevant to your business) on Bing or Google. Look through pages one, two and three. Is your site there? Chances are – the answer’s no. Which puts you in the exact situation detailed above. Maybe it is there. But is it listed for terms that clients are actually using?
If you’re familiar with paid advertising on Google, you might be reasonably satisfied. Are you managing your campaign well though? Are you getting the best return on your investment? Do you know what the most successful areas are – with accurate statistics to track and measure the quality of your campaigns? All truly successful Pay Per Click campaigns must be fully monitored and split-tested. Without accurate statistics, you can’t get the best ROI.
It’s very evident today that both global and local commerce are moving swiftly onto the internet. Companies must acknowledge this, to survive and flourish in today’s economy.
(C) Jay Kendall. Visit EvolveSEM.co.uk for smart business tips on SEM Consultants and SEO Consultants.
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