It's All About Eyeballs
You want as many people as possible to see your website, so of course you want your website to be #1 at Google. What's an e-business to do?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is the first step towards search engine listings and involves making changes to your website that will improve the way search engines list and rank your site. At the heart of the process are keywords. In a nutshell, keywords are phrases or single words for which people might search.
The Keyword Report
Before you spend time and money getting your site listed by particular keywords, it would be nice to know what keywords related to your website are actually being used in searches. PerfectWeb can generate a keyword report that provides the answer. We start with a list of keywords you provide and add any suggestions we might have. Then we use a tool provided by Yahoo that shows exactly how many searches were done in the previous month for the list of keywords and related terms. Results often reveal new keywords to consider and we attempt to hunt down all the best keywords for your website. We analyze the results and provide you with a summary of keywords ranked by popularity and all the individual keyword reports. We highly recommend this first step as a way to get your feet wet in the world of search engine listings and to get comfortable with PerfectWeb's approach. Cost: $350.
Website Optimization
Once keywords are decided upon, your website needs to highlight those keywords in ways that will improve ranking at the search engines. In order to pursue any keyword, it must appear in text on the site, the more prominently the better. This means creating page titles and text that use all the keywords and figuring out the best places to insert them. PerfectWeb can provide a list of suggested website changes and implement the ones you approve. Cost: approximately $250, depends on size of website and number of keywords.
The Ranking Report
Before you submit your newly optimized website to the search engines, it would be nice to measure any increase in keyword ranking. PerfectWeb uses a sophisticated program called Web Position that creates detailed reports of search engine position by keyword for all major search engines. We will run an initial "baseline" report to provide a starting reference of your website's keyword rankings. Approximately six weeks after your website is submitted to the search engines, we will do a follow up report to measure any increase in rankings. We recommend generating reports at regular intervals (monthly or quarterly) to keep tabs on your keyword ranking. Cost: $100 for the initial report, $50 for each subsequent report.
Search Engine Submission (SES)
You want as many people as possible to see your website, so of course you want your website to be #1 at Google. What's an e-business to do?
Getting listed does not mean that you will necessarily rank well for particular terms, however. It simply means that the search engine knows your pages exist.
Think of it like a lottery. Search engine submission is akin to you purchasing a lottery ticket. Having a ticket doesn't mean that you will win, but you must have a ticket to have any chance at all.
Free Submissions
Many of the search engines offer a way to submit your site for free. There are many automated submission services available on the internet, but our experience shows that search engines do not like submissions from any automated process and attempt to filter them out. The best method requires a hands on approach, which we provide. Your site will be submitted to the free search engine submissions which include Yahoo, Google, Open Directory Project, and MSN Search. We will submit the site by hand to each of these services individually, ensuring the best result. Cost: $300.
Playing the Lottery
The results of free submission can vary widely. Most likely, your site will be listed at the search engines to which it was submitted, but being listed does not necessarily mean you will rank well for a particular keyword. It only means the search engine knows your website exists. Danny Sullivan at searchenginewatch.com says, "Think of it like a lottery. Search engine submission is akin to you purchasing a lottery ticket. Having a ticket doesn't mean that you will win, but you must have a ticket to have any chance at all." Everyone wants their site to be #1 at the search engines, and older, more popular and more established sites than yours have probably been pursuing the #1 spot far longer than you have. One of the single best ways to improve your ranking is to have a link to your website from a well established website of an industry leader (and you don't have a link back).
Sponsored Listings
So how can you break through the bottleneck of websites vying for kewyord ranking? In a word...money. Most search engines are now using a format that shows a few sponsored listings at the top of search results, followed by the non-sponsored results, and perhaps a skinny column down the right with more sponsored listings. Sponsored listings usually cost the advertiser a specified amount each time someone clicks on the link. Everything mentioned above will help your positioning in the non-sponsored listings, but there are no guarantees, and sometimes it can take some time to rise up in non-sponsored listings. For the right price, you can make your website #1 in the sponsored listings for any keyword. Most of the search engines are using a bidding format to determine ranking, so you simply have to be willing to pay more than anyone else for each click.
Google AdWords
Since Google is the most popular search engine, we recommend starting with Google AdWords for sponsored listings. We will setup an AdWords account on your behalf, create listings for the individual keywords desired, and provide the current bids on those keywords. You will decide the current bid for each keyword and a maximum monthly budget, then we will setup your AdWords account accordingly. Getting your site listed in Google's sponsored listings sometimes has a magical effect on your rank in Google's non-sponsored listings. Cost: $300.
Yahoo
If you wish to expand on your sponsored listings, a Yahoo Search Marketing account would be next. The process is similar to Google. Additonally, Yahoo has a service called Yahoo Search Submit Express. They charge $49 for the initial submission and then 15 or 30 cents a click depending on the category of the site. That guarantees you will be in the Yahoo non-sponsored listings, but does not guarantee any position. Your conversion rate will ultimately determine the worth of the service, and you can turn off the account at any time. Cost: $300 for setting up a Yahoo Search Marketing account, $50 + Yahoo fees for Yahoo Search Submit Express .
Maintenance
You will want to regularly review your keyword rankings, bids, and budgets at your sponsored listing accounts. Since you will have access to the accounts, you may do this yourself or have PerfectWeb perform scheduled reviews of your accounts. A review includes adjusting bids to maximize your ROI, communicating with you about any suggested budget changes, adding any new keywords, and a performance report for you. Cost: $150 per review.
A La Carte or The Whole Enchilada
PerfectWeb is ready to help you with your search engine marketing, whether you just want to try a Keyword Report as a way to test the water or go for a full search engine attack. If you are interested in the full suite of services we offer, package deals may be negotiated. Please contact us to get started today.
