Wednesday, May 7, 2008

SEO's Role in Internet Marketing

I found this article today online and thought you just needed to see it. It makes some very good points about SEO and how to get it done.----

The SEO's vital role in internet marketing

Most companies realize the importance of SEO to their Internet marketing strategy. While SEMPO's State of Search Marketing 2007 tells us SEO is still a small percentage of the search dollars spent (10.5%) compared to PPC advertising (87.4%), it is more important than ever, as shown in the data.

* Nine out of ten advertisers (89%) use SEO
* Over half (56%) said they expect to spend more on SEO in 2008 vs. last year
* 54% of advertisers will manage natural search entirely in-house this year

When it comes to in-house SEO, it's important to get the program working right to achieve the best possible results. Attaining in-house SEO functionality is a complex process that takes time; not only that, progress is dynamic and planar rather than static and linear.

1. Get the management team on board

To develop SEO successfully in-house, the entire management team must be involved and in agreement. One way to do this is to show people the research behind the facts. SEO is the most popular search tactic, hands down. Here's some ammunition for getting non-believers on board for SEO success.

a) Start off with the most recent SEMPO data showing 89% of advertisers use SEO. An earlier report (Ad Age 2007 Fact Pack) shows organic SEO was the most popular form of search marketing: 75% of advertisers used SEO, while 71% used paid search. With over half of North American advertisers increasing spending on SEO this year, marketers realize the tremendous power of SEO to generate and increase conversions and provide excellent ROI. Not only that, when you combine SEO with paid search or display ads, you may get a lift.

b) SEO is the mainstay for Internet marketing. Why? Perhaps because SEO links are preferred over sponsored links. B2B users clicked on organic results 75% of the time (Marketing to a B2B Technical Buyer, Enquiro, 2007).

c) Search gives you brand lift. A Google-commissioned study found significant correlation between companies in the top organic/sponsored links and lift in consumer brand affinity, brand recall, and purchase intent (The Brand Lift of Search, Enquiro, 2007).

d) SEO and paid search are top tactics for lead generation. Organic search led the way in lead generating tactics for UK firms (78%), with paid search and email coming in second (72%) in a study performed by E-consultancy.com and commissioned by Clash Media, 2007.

2. Prepare prior to hiring the in-house SEO manager

Challenges and departmental turfs should be explained so the new SEO manager knows what battles he or she may be facing. This kind of preparation can help anticipate cooperation or resistance when determining what assets will be useful from various departments.

a) Announce hiring of the new SEO manager beforehand.

b) Publish the accomplishments of the new SEO manager so he or she will be well received.

c) Arrange for the new SEO manager to meet with various departments beforehand to gain perspective on how SEO can enhance various departmental objectives.

SEO might be a part of marketing, or it can be a department of its own. At any rate, a new SEO manager must leverage any enthusiasm to build the types of lasting relationships with other departments that will serve well in implementing vital changes in site structure and content. Get this buy-in from the very start.

3. Eliminate red tape

Kevin Cheng made a point regarding the role of bureaucratic red tape that can hinder SEO progress. How do you eliminate the red tape to execute needed changes? Again, the answer is early education and pre-selling ideas to stakeholders.

Upper management must have a clear picture of how SEO can help the company achieve its goals and why SEO trumps all other Internet marketing tactics. The SEO manager must identify potential roadblocks and get upper management to support him or her when there's resistance.

Hire an SEO consultant to work with your SEO manager to get the team started in the right direction. With top management backing you up, you can implement the changes and track progress toward achieving goals.

a) Start with small projects and the low-hanging fruit, working up to more complex projects after recording a few successes.

b) Top management must give the SEO manager the authority to get changes made, tracked, and then reported on as progress is made.

c) The SEO manager should sit in on meetings in various departments to be aware of customer needs and product trends.

d) Provide the SEO manager with access to analytics reports for site assessment and to identify areas for improvement.

Basically, the new SEO manager needs to win hearts and minds over to the overarching SEO philosophy while getting to know the company and its short- and long-term planning goals, as these factors must be taken into consideration in planning the SEO strategy.

Success is the result of communication between management and the SEO manager on overall business goals and long-term company planning. Knowing the business goals, the SEO manager can develop a useful plan and strategy. This is critical because SEO executions will require consistent reporting progress to prove positive direction on a day-by-day basis.

Online Marketing Event in Ohio

Leading online marketing experts will be gathering in Columbus on May 19th for an intense day of sessions, training and education, as the Ohio Web Leaders (OWL) hosts "Building a Roadmap for an Integrated Marketing Strategy", the group announced today.

The event will be held from 8:30 am until 4 pm at the Northpointe Conference Centre. Registration for the event is available at OhioWebLeaders.com.

The conference will focus on integrating online and traditional marketing campaigns to generate more sales, leads and awareness online through corporate websites.

"Ohio is home to a vibrant online marketing community," said Bill Balderaz of Webbed Marketing, a Columbus-based Internet marketing agency one of the charter members of OWL. "Online marketing agencies, technology firms, software solution providers, web design firms, and other Internet marketing experts all call Ohio home," he added. "This event is about bringing the online marketing community together to share knowledge with the larger marketing community."

The one day session will feature six sessions covering a wide range of topics including web design, search engine marketing, blogging for businesses, viral marketing and search engine marketing.

"Our goal is to have marketing managers from around Ohio attend this event and leave with a solid roadmap to help them drive more business with their web sites," said Tom Augustine, President of MindsOn Marketing, a marketing communications and web development agency. Augustine will be leading the web design session at the event.

"In one day, attendees will learn the basics for creating a solid integrated marketing campaign that uses both online and traditional tactics to drive visitors to their websites--and turn those visitors into sales and leads," Augustine said.

The conference will also feature Columbus-based ClearSaleing, ClearSaleing helps Internet retailers and direct marketers improve the performance of their search engine marketing and any other form of online advertising and prove their results through a technology that measures and optimizes online advertising. The company was founded by Ohio entrepreneurs Mike Lanese and Randy Smith and former Google executive Adam Goldberg.

"ClearSaleing has great clients and partners here in Ohio," Goldberg, who will be speaking at the event, said. "We're excited to take part in this event. This event is brining some of the most innovative online marketing minds in Ohio together. I'm looking forward to being a part of it."

The conference will feature a session on blogging for business by Jennifer Laycock, Editor of Search Engine Guide. Laycock, an internationally known speaker and blogger, specializes in common sense search engine marketing, viral marketing and customer outreach via social media and blogs. A former search marketing consultant and in-house trainer, Jennifer's clients have included companies like Verizon, American Greetings and Highlights for Children. She has been the featured speaker at dozens of online marketing events around the world.

"We're thrilled to have Jennifer Laycock featured at this event," Balderaz said. "Her support is key in building a strong online marketing community in Ohio."

"Blogging is one of those things that tends to get misunderstood in the marketing realm. Companies either push too hard, or don't push hard enough," Laycock explained. "Learning how to leverage blogs for conversation with customers and seeing the amazing results that can come with reaching out to your community online can go a long way toward helping a company improve their business prospects on the web."

Nihar Bihani, an organic search engine expert formerly with Columbus-based ECNext, will lead the day's session on organic search engine optimization. Bihani has managed organic search engine optimization programs for some of the largest and most visited business web sites on the Internet.

The conference will also feature a panel discussion with Ohio marketing managers who have successfully integrating online and traditional marketing to drive more business via the web.

"Integration is key," said Amy Marshall of Webbed Marketing, who will be leading the panel with Randy James from MindsOn Marketing. "The most successful web sites attract visitors from multiple channels, including both traditional and online campaigns."

"We're excited to have attracted such an all-star line up to our first event in Ohio. We know that attendees will learn a lot from the experts who are in this world every day. At the end of the day, we want marketing executives to leave knowing they have a plan to drive more business from their websites," Augustine said.

About Ohio Web Leaders
The Ohio Web Leaders (OWL) is an innovative group of marketing professionals located in Ohio who have a passion for helping businesses use the Web to drive their growth. By forming OWL and bringing similar professionals together with similar goals, we can learn and network with one another.

The mission of the Ohio Web Leaders (OWL) is to provide a platform for marketing professional to share effective Internet strategies that work to learn, integrate and understand how to utilize the Internet to grow their business. From building a compelling website to influencing target audiences online, Internet marketing strategies are quickly becoming a critical component to many businesses to drive their goals. And because the market is ever-changing with new ideas and technologies, it can be difficult to keep up with the latest online marketing trends and run your business. OWL wants to help marketing managers get access to the people and information they need to take advantage of the marketing opportunities using the Web.