Both are valuable and both are part of your web presence. In this series we will define what they are, how they can help, and how to utilize them.

Search Engine Optimization is defined as all the things you can do on your site, and for your site to make it more appealing and indexable by Search engines (google, yahoo, bing, etc.). For our purposes we will use Google in referencing search engines, since it is by far the most prominent and widely used (boasting over 2-3 billion searches a day)

Search Engine Marketing traffic that you pay for and control directly. This is essentially purchasing a link to your site, and then controlling exactly who sees it. You can specify your purchased ad to appear for people who search for something specific. For example, if you sell shelves, you can specify that your ad will appear on googles paid listing when people type in “cabinet shelves chattanooga” or “closet shelves tennessee”.

Below are graphics depicting paid listings and regular or “organic” listings.

Some people say that SEO encompasses SEM and some will argue the opposite. They are both valuable to your overall web presence though.

What does it mean to “Know your audience”?
1. You know who they are: Males, ages 22-30.
2. You know what they like: Outdoors, sports, action movies.
3. You know where they are: nationwide in suburbs
4. You know their behaviors: they buy jerseys, electronics, and mt. dew

Grassroots discussed this in relation to their behavior online, and what users gravitate towards. You can either market to people’s tendencies using google ad words and specifying your audience, and you can follow statistics on your site to see what pages people are visiting the most, what they are clicking on, where they are coming from, and where they are going.

Knowing your audience doesn’t give you a good product, but knowing your audience allows a good product to reach the people it is made for.

1. Put your web address on EVERYTHING:
- Business cards
- Stationary
- Brochures
- Email signature
- Any other marketing material or communications
- If possibly, include your web address with your companies logo

2. Establish links with other sites (reciprocal links)
Many sites have a “Links” page or section. Find sites similar to yours, or sites that offer complimentary products or services. You can support each other by adding reciprocal links.

Be active on blogs, forums, and other online communities. Most forums and blogs allow your web address to be included in with your signature. Your activity will generate visits to your website.

3. Social Networking
Create a Facebook account and establish a Dedicated “Page” featuring your company and website. This is very simple and requires no ongoing maintenance
Create a Twitter account. This service allows communication and updates from one Twitter accounts.
We don’t really like MySpace, but it can be an effective avenue to your website.
Your videos can be posted on YouTube and Vimeo (both video sites) along with links to your site. We prefer Vimeo.
Many other social networking sites are available. Explore.

4. Update your site frequently.
The best way to gain exposure and encourage repeat visits to your site is to keep your site current. Visitors love fresh content.

5. Be innovative; think outside the box.
You may want to sponsor or host a local event. If so, make sure your website is prominently featured on all promotional material. Create a press release about your site and your company. Send it to newspapers and media outlets in your region. Smaller newspapers and publications are often more receptive and accommodating, and sometimes they’ll follow-up by writing their own story.
*Here’s a great document to help you prepare an effective press release: press-releases-how-to. This document is from MSR Associates.

6. Consider renting booth space at a conference or business expo.
These provide great opportunities to meet and interact with potential clients. Renting booth space is not required–you may want to just go to the conference and exchange business cards.

7. Make sure you monitor your website statistics.
When you try something new, or expand your marketing, your website stats will clearly indicate whether or not your efforts are making a difference. This will help you determine the most cost-effective marketing strategies.

8. Create an email newsletter specifically for your clients.
Collect email addresses and establish your newsletter distribution list. Make certain your newsletter contains relevant and valuable information for your clients. Do NOT send newsletters too often (we suggest monthly), or with too much information (short and sweet is best). Be sure to always include a link to your site.

Take a look at SheJustGotMarried.com owned by Denee King. She does a great job of marketing her site, and taking advantage of social networking. We’d like to feature Denee’s ideas and recommendations in a future blog.