Seismogram Archive
Seismogram | August 29, 2003
Make your own waves with a little ‘SEM’!
You have a spectacular web site! Now what? Just because you have a web site, chances are it won’t get noticed without some effort. This means you may have to do a little Search Engine Marketing.
The term search engine is used to generically describe both human-powered directories and crawler-based search engines. Although they produce similar results, these two types of search engines gather their listings in different ways.
Human-powered directories, such as Yahoo and LookSmart, depend on people for editorial listings. Your developer submits a
short description to the directory for your entire site. A search looks for matches only in the descriptions submitted. These descriptions are also known as “keywords”. A key when composing your keyword phrases, is to not get caught up in marketing hype. Stick to the facts about your product or service.
Crawler-based search engines, such as Google, create their listings automatically. They crawl or spider the Web, then people search through what they have found. Page titles, body copy, placement of
keywords within the body copy and other elements all play an essential role.
Search engine optimization refers to the act of altering your site so that it may rank well for particular terms. In simple terms, it’s increasing your odds. You should work with your web developer to determine the correct keywords to describe your product or service, as well as the proper use of meta tags. Meta tags are HTML code placed within your web pages. Although meta tags are not required, they tend to help in a crawler-based search.
Search engine submission refers to the act of getting your web site listed with search engines. Getting listed does not mean that you will necessarily rank well. It simply means that the search engine knows your page exists.
These days, with so many sites out there, companies are using paid search engine submissions as a way to speed up their ranking. A paid submission does not guarantee a listing within the top ten, however, your chances of a higher listing increase. Typically, if your web site is designed correctly and listed with Yahoo or LookSmart, Google will index it as well. If it is not necessary for your site to be “seen” right away, then the free site submissions may work for you.
The term search engine marketing refers to the overall process of marketing your site on search engines. This includes site optimization, paid or free site submission and management of paid listings. Paid listings are commonly referred to as “pay-per-click” advertising. These are the “mini-ads”, typically highlighted and listed to the side of the search results. Speak with your developer to determine the best marketing plan for your web site.
Always remember that getting your site listed is only a small part of your marketing effort. You should list your web site address (URL) on all print collateral (including business cards and brochures), print ads, television and radio spots as well as any press releases. This may involve redesigning and reprinting some of your pieces, but in the long run it is well worth the expense.