Search Engine Marketing (SEM) for Start-Ups: How to Get Prospects to Visit Your Website

Local, Global and Green ConferenceUniversity of Illinois – ChicagoMarch 28, 2009

Presenter: Rey VillarOnline Marketing ManagerNorvax/GoHealth

Search Engine Marketing: an internet marketing approach that promotes website traffic and online sales — by increasing visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs).

Paid placement (pay per click)

Contextual banner advertising

Paid index inclusion

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Successful SEO begins with an understanding of the Google search engine

Web crawlers

Indexing the Internet

Secret algorithms constantly being tweaked

Primacy of keywords and links

Google is focused on the user experience…and they reward websites that share that philosophy

1. Onsite: Build Your Site for SEO

2. Onsite: Keyword Targeting

3. Onsite: Keyword Placement

4. Offsite: Get Free Links

5. Beware Google Hell

Positive Influences on Page RankLarger site sizes…but smaller file sizesOlder site ages…but fresher content updates

Add a site map Internal links that workCohesive page themesNo copyright violationsGive people a reason to visit

Determine Your Target KeywordsGet keyword ideas at: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

Check out the competition at: www.spyfu.com and http://adlab.msn.com/Online-Commercial-Intention/OCI.aspx

Prioritize your keywordsPay attention to local keywordsConsider modifiers and word variations

Put Keywords in Tags

Title URL Description Header (H1 and H2) Emphasized text Picture Alt Link Anchor

Prominent placement

Think like an online shopper

Don’t bother with keyword stuffing

Write copy for your prospects and clients — not the web crawler

Relevant links rank best

Some links are worthless

Many links are bad for you

Trade Links With…

Friends and family

Vendors

Local businesses

Clients

Clubs and alumni groups

Professional associations

Member organizations

Work To Get Links With…

Your own blogArticles (EzineArticles, ArticlesFactory, Buzzle, ArticleDashboard, BusinessKnowHow, ArticleBiz, SearchGuild, Self-Growth, SearchWarp…)

Free Classified Ads (CraigsList)Press releasesBusinesses directories

Quality Links at a Price

BBB accreditation

PRweb

Paid directories

Sponsored organizations

You risk banishment from SERP pages

Avoid link farms

Avoid “black hat” tactics

The best approach — create websites with your customer in mind!

1. Commit to a customer focus

2. Determine what kind of help you need

3. Update your website structure

4. Brainstorm keywords

5. Strategically place priority keywords

6. Dedicate 2 hours a week to getting free links

7. Set up a budget for PPC?

Local, Global and Green ConferenceUniversity of Illinois – ChicagoMarch 28, 2009

Presenter: Rey VillarOnline Marketing ManagerNorvax/GoHealth