Integrated Search Engine Marketing. Merge your marketing efforts for a commanding online presence

Transcription

1 Integrated Search Engine Marketing Merge your marketing efforts for a commanding online presence

2 Table of Contents Introduction...3 Successful Integration...4 Search Engine Optimization...5 Pay Per Click Advertising...6 Social Media Marketing...7 Blog Marketing...8 Local Search Marketing...9 Mobile Marketing...10 Link Building...11 Conclusion...12 About E-Power Marketing...13 Sources & Further Reading

3 Introduction Search engines are how a large percentage of buyers find the products and services they are looking for. That is why it is vital that your Website appears in top search results. For your brand to receive top page ranks on search engines, you need an effective Search Engine Marketing strategy that integrates your various online efforts. E-Power Marketing defines Search Engine Marketing (SEM) as an umbrella term covering Organic Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Advertising, Social Media Marketing and other aspects of online marketing including Blog Marketing, Link Building, Mobile Marketing and Local Search Marketing. While all of these facets of search marketing are beneficial individually, the integration of these online marketing strategies is the key to strong search visibility and online success. Integration is what makes all of the individual aspects of a search marketing campaign come together to make your online presence successful. 3

4 Successful Integration You want to be found wherever your audience travels on the Web. The broadest reach and greatest potential can be achieved by marketing your business through the variety of online channels available. Different audiences will see different parts of your campaign. A visitor might discover your brand s Website by clicking on a paid advertisement, or maybe they found your Website through Facebook or LinkedIn. Perhaps a visitor discovered your Social Media profile through a QR code or mobile advertisement. Maybe they found your Blog via a posting on one of your Social Media profiles. When all of these marketing channels connect, the possibilities become endless. The more active you are, the more likely your audience will find you. 4

5 Branches of Integrated Search Engine Marketing The Art and Science of Search Engine Optimization Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a top priority for online marketing efforts because without a search optimized Website, all of the other online marketing initiatives can only reach so far. Keyword research is the first step. Once you determine what your customers are actually searching, you must use those keywords in your site s content, page titles and links. Weave your target key phrases naturally throughout your Website s content, so that both search engines and your customers understand what you re offering. Search Engine Optimization is not an island. It should be one piece of your integrated marketing efforts. When done properly, SEO and the other pieces of your online marketing campaign should feed and complement the others to generate better results and higher ROI. Integrating Search Engine Optimization Use the data you collect through SEO initiatives (keyword reports, searched phrases, most popular content) and work that messaging into your offline and other online channels. Remember that Facebook isn t a search engine; optimize your Social Media profiles so that your fans can find you on those channels. Promote that URL on all of your offline marketing efforts as well. From commercials to brochures to newsletter content, you can make the most of your marketing initiatives when you repurpose and optimize them for use online! Optimize your PPC landing pages with SEO in mind as well. While PPC pages are often tailored to a specific ad campaign and goal, that doesn t mean they can t earn you organic search visibility as well. 5

6 Drive Traffic with Pay Per Click Advertising Well-optimized and managed Pay Per Click (PPC) programs can be a cost-effective way to drive targeted traffic to your Website. PPC ads only cost a brand when they are clicked on. Relevant keywords and compelling ad copy are two major components to keep in mind when creating PPC ads. In order to determine which keywords will be most effective, it is vital to conduct thorough keyword research. Focus on the relevancy of keywords because broad, generic key phrases will not help drive quality traffic to your Website. Monitoring PPC campaigns and measuring their success are necessary for a cost effective program with strong ROI. First you need to see how well your efforts are working and if you are achieving your goals. Ongoing analysis gives insight into how to improve your campaign for higher ROI and profits. Integrating Pay Per Click Advertising Develop multiple PPC ads to test message points and calls to actions. Use the best performing message points on your Website and across other marketing channels. Measuring results at the key phrase level gives you the data to prioritize SEO based on phrases that result in the highest response. PPC ads have the capability to bring the visitor to whatever page the creator chooses, including Social Media pages and Blog posts. If you are looking to create a PPC campaign aimed at increasing brand awareness, use the ads to drive traffic to your Social Media accounts. Educate yourself on the opportunities and effectiveness of Paid Social Media ads. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all offer paid programs for brands, and in the right instance, Paid Social Media ads can be effective. 6

7 Interact With Social Media Marketing Social Media Websites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Google+ are incredibly popular and are continuing to grow in importance. From search visibility to brand awareness, the opportunities for brands on Social Media Websites continue to grow. Customers expect to find brands on Social Media sites, and if they can t find a brand, they will probably find a competitor. 84% of search marketers say social signals (likes, tweets, +1 s) will be more important to their SEO in the next year. Actively maintaining a Social Media presence is necessary. Brands must take a non-sales approach to publishing content on these channels; fans want to be educated and entertained, not sold to. Establishing relationships through interactive dialogue and addressing customer service issues are the fastest ways to become successful on Social Media. Integrating Social Media Marketing Make sure all of your online channels are interlinked! List your Website s URL on your Social Media pages and create Social Media buttons on your Website. Occasionally include links to your Website, Blog and other online channels within Social Media posts to build your link profile. Use your SEO and PPC messaging successes to tailor your content on Social Media. Which ads drove the most actions? Use those message points on your Social Media channels! Which Social Media posts elicited the most response from your fans? Turn that content into a Blog post or PPC ad. E-Power s LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook all appear on Google s top 10 Organic search results when searching E-Power Marketing. 7

8 Branding Through Blogging Blogs are an important tool for both branding and organic search visibility. Active Blogs are excellent resources for audiences to turn to on a regular basis. When visitors return to a Blog, this signals to the search engines that the content is significant and deserving of search visibility. Blogs present the opportunity to improve a Website s search visibility by showing the Website is actively growing new content. Adding relevant links and key phrases will boost your search visibility. Search Engine Journal reported that companies that Blog have 434 percent more indexed pages and companies with more indexed pages get many more leads. Companies that Blog have 434% more indexed pages than companies that don t. Integrating Blog Marketing When writing Blog posts, write industry related content that readers will want to share. This will attract valuable backlinks and better organic search visibility. Promote new posts on Social Media Websites for fans and followers to read to increase visibility and branding. Blogs add naturally occurring, keyword rich pages and increases the potential for incoming links from high quality Websites which helps drive traffic. Blogging also enhances your Website s Organic SEO. 8

9 Get Listed With Local Search Marketing Local Search Marketing is essential for businesses focused on a smaller geographic area. An effective Local Search Marketing program is a cost effective way to drive customers to both your Website and to your retail location. To have an effective Local Search Marketing program, claim your brand s listing on Google Places, Yahoo Local, Bing Maps and other local directories such as Yelp. Customers will post reviews which can help your business. However, don t be afraid of bad reviews. And don t try to hide them. Keep tabs on your online reputation through Local Marketing Websites and directories. Ask your happy customers to post reviews on these sites. E-Power s Google Places listing is optimized with its top keywords. Integrating Local Search Marketing Local directory submissions often appear within organic search results, making it easier for your Website to get local visibility. After claiming your listing on local directories, optimize your description with keywords and current contact information. Include links to your Website and Social Media accounts so any and all information is available and accessible. Customer reviews add a social aspect to your local presence and help establish trust in your local listing. 1 in 5 searches on Google are related to location. This means there are 400 million daily local searches. 9

10 On The Go With Mobile Marketing According to Marketing Profs, Mobile Marketing generated revenues of $39.17 billion in 2011, up 27.8 percent from The explosion of mobile devices has opened up new doors for brands, which is why creating an optimized, accessible mobile presence is important. Review your Website for mobile friendliness. This means checking images, buttons and scrolling features to be sure it is as easy as possible for mobile users to access your Website. If your Website doesn t work for mobile, consider implementing a mobile Website or creating a mobile app. Integrating Mobile Marketing Mobile friendliness should extend to all aspects of your Online Marketing. Test all components of your Website: images, landing pages, content, scrolling, etc. Consistent testing leads to consistent improvement. Don t forget to test your Blog for mobile friendliness, too. Specifically building PPC campaigns for mobile devices allows you to experiment with ad copy, landing pages and bidding strategies. QR Codes are an effective way for your brand to link to any kind of digital content on the Web: your Website, Social Media profiles, directions, downloads, coupons or a variety of other options. 10

11 Linkbuilding Your Roadmap for Online Success Links are the roads that connect the Internet. Both search engines and potential customers travel from site to site via links. Without links to the different pages of your Website, search engines and humans would have no way of knowing those pages are there. The links on your Website to outside sites are signals of what sites you think are valuable and important. Link to spammy sites, and you will be considered a spam site. Link to relevant, education, high quality sites and that reflects on your Website as well. Make sure you are using target key phrases on internal links across your Website. The text that you choose to link from is important to the search engines. Beyond using links as a way to access Websites, search engines also view links as votes of popularity. The more links to a Website from other quality, relevant sites, the more popular and important that site appears to the search engines. The more important a site appears to a search engine, the higher the search visibility it will receive. Building your backlink profile can be a time consuming job, but is critical. No linkbuilding program is successful without an integrated approach to your online marketing efforts. Integrating Link Building Create linkbait, educational, provocative content that will entice other Websites to link to your site. Use your SEO and PPC key phrase research to determine what text you should be linking from within your Website. Dig into your Analytics to see what other Websites are linking to you, and if a link clean up needs to be done. Actively monitor your linkbuilding progress to determine when action needs to be taken to remove links to your Website from spammy sites. Using outbound links on your brand s Website and Blog to quality, relevant Websites can help Google search positions and provide readers with additional industry resources. 11

12 Conclusion In order to create a strong online marketing campaign, every piece of your strategy must work together. Dedicating time, resources and effort to each individual piece of an integrated campaign is crucial. Each piece of the puzzle should feed and fuel the others to generate better results. Keep integration in mind during each step of the process and always look for ways to tie your initiatives together. As you begin to incorporate all your marketing initiatives, you will begin building a stronger, more dynamic online presence. This will result in higher search visibility and ROI for your online marketing initiatives. Search Engine Marketing is a complex industry that is always changing, so contact the experts at E-Power Marketing for more information on how to integrate your online marketing campaign. 12

13 About E-Power Marketing E-Power Marketing has been growing clients' businesses and online brands since As a full service Search Marketing firm, E-Power Marketing provides organic Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click advertising, Social Media Marketing, Google Analytics, Technical Consulting, Link Building and Local Search Marketing services to clients worldwide. 111 N. Main Street Suite 405 Oshkosh, WI For more information about E-Power Marketing, visit E-Power Marketing's Website or contact Larry Stopa, president of E-Power Marketing Inc., at (920) or [email protected]. 13

14 \ Sources & Further Reading Continuing Saga of Search Engine Marketing. E-Power Marketing, n.d. Web. 20 Aug < >. Davies, Dave. Writing For Search Engines. Search Engine Watch, 19 July Web. 20 Aug < DeMers, Jayson. The Definitive Guide to Local SEO. Search Engine Journal, 15 Aug Web. 20 Aug < Local Search Marketing Concentrate Locally & Steal the Spotlight. E-Power Marketing, n.d. Web. 20 Aug < Miller, Miranda. The 5 Ws of Social Media Marketing: Industry Survey & Insights. Search Engine Watch, 9 Apr Web. 20 Aug < Social-Media-Marketing-Industry-Survey-Insights-Study>. Mobile Ad and Marketing Now the Fastest-Growing Media Sector. Marketing Profs, 24 Feb Web. 20 Aug < Mobile Marketing Ads to Connect with Mobile Users. E-Power Marketing, n.d. Web. 20 Aug < >. Optimizing Pay Per Click ROI Starts with Keyword Selection. E-Power Marketing, n.d. Web. 20 Aug < Saracino, Adria. SEO for Facebook New Video Revealed. Search Engine Journal, 15 June Web. 20 Aug < Should I Optimize Meta-Tags? Do They Make A Difference?. E-Power Marketing, n.d. Web. 20 Aug < >. Siu, Eric. 24 Eye-Popping SEO Statistics. Search Engine Journal, 19 Apr Web. 20 Aug < Social Networking Websites are Where You Can Connect with Your Market. E-Power Marketing, n.d. Web. 20 Aug < >. 14

15 Social Signals Increasingly Important to Search Marketers. Marketing Charts, 9 Jan Web. 20 Aug < />. Tabeling, Jason. 3 Ways to Begin Aligning Your PPC & SEO Strategies. Search Engine Watch, 14 Aug Web. 20 Aug < Aligning-Your-PPC-SEO-Strategies>. The Basics of Google Analytics. E-Power Marketing, n.d. Web. 20 Aug < Quality Link Building The Critical Work towards Achieving Search Visibility. E-Power Marketing, n.d. Web. 20 Aug < Using a Blog to Build Search Visibility and Customer Relationships. E-Power Marketing, n.d. Web. 20 Aug < 15