Search Engine Marketing Or Search Engine Optimization: An Introduction

Computers have become an important part of our life. Any information that we need is often just a click away. The rate of information that is added to the internet daily is accelerating rapidly. Often we find new sites by using a search engine. As search engines improve their ranking mechanism and categorizing services for the web sites that they spider, we get better and more accurate results to our queries. More than 7.3 million pages of information are being added daily to the repository or the internet. Local and small businesses are realizing the immense potentiality of expansion of markets with the help of Search Engines. No longer does your customer have to be local to your business they can be anywhere in the world.

What is Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Search Engine Marketing is basically an art. It is the attempt to influence online traffic and to achieve higher sales on a web site. This is done in a number of ways: First we work on deep indexing of the site. This means being able to get into maximum possible number of pages of the site of the search engine database. Each page is submitted either passively by being linked to a page that is submitted or actively by going through the submission process with each page. Each of the pages then can market the site on it's own increasing the reach of the site. Second we work on better ranking of the site. This is art of modifying the Site/page for maximum user queries. This is usually referred to as optimization. It involves research into what the top ranked pages on the search engines for the keywords you are interested in are doing for optimization. Making your pages just a little more optimized than they are will bring you to the top of the queue when the keyword is typed in. You don't want to optimize too far because the search engines might think that you are too optimized. Like I said it is an art not a science.

SEM is of two types. First, the consultant changes the web site for optimizing the search engine for proper SEM work. For good editorial listing, the site has to be continuously interlinked with the best of other online sources. It takes about 6-8 months to produce viable results. Next, is the paid way of promoting a site with "pay per click." The SEM bids on your search phrases and when some one clicks on those phrases, the bid amount is deducted from your account.

SEM Navigators and Tools

For enhanced sales and revenue, your SEM campaign has to rank high at web design level itself. The two primary navigators or users who will see different picture of the same site are the human visitor will see the browser supported, colorful front end and the spider who sees just text. Spider software deployed by search engines to trawl information in text form. Sometimes the colorful front end interferes with the spider and your site will be not completely crawled.

A good consultant will adopt different strategies to optimize information for both users with the help of text for image blind spider, certain HTML tags, internal linking and external linking.

What the spider sees is different than what a person sees. So you need to take that into account when planning a web site. Search engines keep tweaking their ranking criterion and technological prowess. An updated and current campaign gets most noticed and clicked.

Certain HTML tags are important components in SEM tweaking. Using a variety of h1 through h3 tags and bold and italized text keeps things interesting for people and also tells the search engine what parts of the page you think is important.

Internal Linking: Site indexing and ranking is affected by its internal navigation and internal links. Having every page link to every other page in the site is important. Make it easy for the spider to find every page. Included in this is creating a Google Site Map to make it easy for the spider to find all the pages of the site.

External Linking: Web sites are known for the company they keep. Having your site linked from other high ranking sites is important to improving your ranking in the search engines. Avoid link farms, however reciprocal linking to other high ranking sites will help bring the site into ranking with the search engine.

When to Start SEM

Commercial businesses selling goods or services online or offline, or brands campaigning online to beat competitors need to commence their SEM strategy at the very start of web design process itself. Construct the site attractively with constant technological updates and brevity for both types of users.

Your higher site ranking will get maximum SEM traffic and revenue.

Victoria provides the tips, tricks and tools to help Stay at Home Moms start and run their internet business. To find out how Victoria can help you visit her website at www.YourWebBizHere.com. Victoria got her start while working from home and raising her children and knows the importance of family time. Email Victoria at Victoria[@ ]YourWebBizHere.com for a free 5 day E-Course on internet marketing.

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