Step Wise SEO

There is an old saying: ‘You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink’ and in the context of search marketing this is most relevant.

One of the main reasons cited by search engine marketers for a failed campaign is the fact that the traffic didn’t convert.

This has two possible reasons: the first is related to search and suggests that the traffic being driven to a website is not relevant.

Or that the site itself is failing to convert visitors into customers by not qualifying each visit and directing the visitor’s path throughout the site to the desired conversion point.

This flaw of failing to convert has been identified by many companies and as such there are services available from vendors specializing in the area of finding improvement in the design of a company’s website, from the homepage through to the confirmation page of the conversion.

The thought rationale behind a conversion assessment is relatively simple and follows the thought process of many marketing principles.

By developing the AIDA (Awareness, Interest, Desite and Action) model the approach is to refine the user’s experience of the site by ensuring a qualification process and an enticement process, a desire, and finally, creating a prompt to provoke an action.

One such company, Future Now Inc, suggests on their website (www.futurenowinc.com) that, by using conversion improvement processes, some websites can see increases in conversion rates from under 1 per cent to over 54 per cent.

The tools available to the search market are varied; however, when the strategies are created the following summarized components will form the backbone of the tactics and control mechanisms:

• The major search engine mechanisms are paid for placement (PFP) provided by companies like Overture and Google. Paid for inclusion (PFI) and Organic `natural’ optimization.

• The search engine components are keywords and creatives and both possess the key to a successful campaign within the search engine mechanisms.

• Accurate search campaigns need appropriate tracking and analytics tools. Be it log file-based or cookie-based these systems allow for accountability of clicks, especially when recorded against distinct conversion parameters.

• A successful campaign needs technological involvement and should the PFP engines be engaged the use of a bid management tool is highly recommended.

 These mechanisms allow for automation of the bidding for keywords freeing up valuable resources.

• If the measure of a campaign is in the branding or awareness performance within a particular market or organic optimization is engaged, rankings tools are necessary for accurately depicting market conditions.

• A search campaign is not limited to the major search engines only. Other mechanisms from engines specializing in a particular industry (vertical engines) or focusing on purely retail models (shopping engines) are available to increase the marketer’s options.

• It is important not to look at search engines alone for success. Sometimes the performance of the website is so poor that it can hinder the overall success of the search and online marketing campaign.

Look to conversion improvement companies or suggestions to make sure the website is performing up to standard.

Keywords: Conversion, PFP engines, Paid for inclusion, PFI,