There are three things you need to effectively market your website or online business.
They are Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing and a good Analytics Package.
Each one will help the other give you your desired results.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) You've created a great looking website, you've got beautiful graphics and you mom says she's so proud that you paid attention in that expensive art school she sent you to.
A month later you're not seeing much traffic.
You do a search and can't find yourself in the results.
You can't find yourself anywhere! That is because search engines don't see your website the same way you do.
You will need to tweak you site a little to get the search engines looking and indexing you so you show up close to the top.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Jim, the neighbor, is a venture capitalist or you just happen to have an extra $100 lying around and you want to do some advertising.
This is where Search Engine Marketing can help.
You could always throw your money into a newspaper ad or put signs up all over town.
The problem with that is the police will throw your signs away and the newspaper ad may never reach a single customer that is looking for your product.
With Search Engine Marketing you only pay when people come looking for you.
My dad is a recruiter.
In the old days he would send out hundreds of letters asking people if they know anyone that is looking for a job.
It was called head hunting.
Today the tables have turned and people come looking for him.
This is what has happened with advertising through the miracle of Pay Per Click (PPC).
Analytics This is what will hold all of your actions accountable for each other.
By installing a good analytics package on your website you can see exactly what your customers are doing on it.
You can see where they came from, how long they stayed, how many thought your website was lousy and left.
With time you will have so much data that you can more effectively administer your SEO and SEM.
If you think of the total package as a triangle, the two sides coming down from the top point are your SEO and SEM, analytics is the bottom side holding them up.
You need to start at the top, work your way down and with the results you get you can work your way back up.
Of course there is a lot more to this but what I've given you here will start you off in the right direction.
Nothing happens by chance.
If all of this had been around in the 90's then maybe the dot com boom wouldn't have burst.
They are Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing and a good Analytics Package.
Each one will help the other give you your desired results.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) You've created a great looking website, you've got beautiful graphics and you mom says she's so proud that you paid attention in that expensive art school she sent you to.
A month later you're not seeing much traffic.
You do a search and can't find yourself in the results.
You can't find yourself anywhere! That is because search engines don't see your website the same way you do.
You will need to tweak you site a little to get the search engines looking and indexing you so you show up close to the top.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Jim, the neighbor, is a venture capitalist or you just happen to have an extra $100 lying around and you want to do some advertising.
This is where Search Engine Marketing can help.
You could always throw your money into a newspaper ad or put signs up all over town.
The problem with that is the police will throw your signs away and the newspaper ad may never reach a single customer that is looking for your product.
With Search Engine Marketing you only pay when people come looking for you.
My dad is a recruiter.
In the old days he would send out hundreds of letters asking people if they know anyone that is looking for a job.
It was called head hunting.
Today the tables have turned and people come looking for him.
This is what has happened with advertising through the miracle of Pay Per Click (PPC).
Analytics This is what will hold all of your actions accountable for each other.
By installing a good analytics package on your website you can see exactly what your customers are doing on it.
You can see where they came from, how long they stayed, how many thought your website was lousy and left.
With time you will have so much data that you can more effectively administer your SEO and SEM.
If you think of the total package as a triangle, the two sides coming down from the top point are your SEO and SEM, analytics is the bottom side holding them up.
You need to start at the top, work your way down and with the results you get you can work your way back up.
Of course there is a lot more to this but what I've given you here will start you off in the right direction.
Nothing happens by chance.
If all of this had been around in the 90's then maybe the dot com boom wouldn't have burst.