How to Choose the Right Internet Marketing Approach?

Search Engine Optimization, Pay-Per-Click, Search Engine Marketing, Social Networking, Social Media Marketing, E-mail Marketing, Social Networking...

You have so many choices when it comes to marketing your products and services online and choosing the right ones for your goals and budget can be overwhelming. Before you waste money on costly PPC or put time into a blog, start by defining your objectives.

Define your goals |

What do you want your online marketing efforts to do for you?

• Brand Recognition
• Online Sales
• Reputation Management
• Engage Current and Prospective Customers
• Drive Site Traffic
• Convert Existing Site Traffic to Sales or Inquiries about your product or service
• Recruit Employees

Define Your Target Market |
Who is your target market?

• Age
• Sex
• Location
• Interests
  
• How Does Your Target Market Use the Internet

Define Your Budget |
What is your monthly advertising budget?

• Print
• TV
• Internet
• Other

Examine Your Competition |
What are your top competitors doing and is it working?

• List Top 5 Competitors
• What Do They Spend on Internet Marketing Monthly?
• What Methods Are They Using? PPC, Blogging, SEO?

Once you know what you want it is time to bring in the experts! Although you can do surgery on yourself at home to save time and money on hospital expenses, you will most likely end up spending more money on professional help to fix the mess you've made. The same can be said of do-it-yourself internet marketing. Sure you can setup your own blog or PPC campaign but unless you are a highly skilled and experienced you will inevitably waste precious time and money.

If you are able to tell your prospective SEO company what you need and who you are, they should be able to get down to business. Not all SEO companies are equal. I will post a questionnaire for use in sourcing internet marketing providers.

Organic Search Engine Optimization Vs. Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Organic Search Engine Optimization | Organic search results are the listings that appear in search engine results pages (SERP) because of their relevance to the search term. They are located in the center frame of the page. More people click on these results than on paid advertising.

Organic Search Engine Optimization is the process of getting a website to rank in on the first page in the organic results for key phrases. If done well, the website will get traffic and conversions. Organic Search Engine Optimization takes more time than PPC to produce results but the results are superior, longer lasting and more cost effective.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising | PPC ads are listings that are designed to look like the organic search results. Except for their placement and minor visual distinctions such as background color, their appearance on all major search engines is similar to the organic search results. Advertisers bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market. They are located on the top and sides of the search results page.

Advertisers like PPC advertising because it’s simple, you have greater control over your ad campaign, and you receive comprehensive data on its performance. The importance of online marketing makes PPC an attractive option for Jewelers who need immediate results. Return on investment is easily calculated with Pay-Per-Click campaigns.

Search Engine Marketing | Quick Tips

How Does Search Engine Marketing Work?

The objective of the search engines is to return relevant results. They seek to provide the best information, most closely matched to the search query. If they returned irrelevant results or only paid advertising, people would quickly stop using sites like Google, Yahoo and Bing.
There are many factors that search engines take into consideration when determining how to rank a website or PPC advertisement; website age, click through rate, number and authority of incoming links, ad copy, and much more.