1 peas in a pod: how SEO and online marketing have become the same thing

SEO and online marketing both have the goal of increasing relevant traffic to websites. SEO was originally about gaming the search engines; online marketing about reaching customers with the goal of moving units. As Google and marketers have both gotten wiser they have become too overlapping to work on one and ignore the other. Basically in the past few years SEO and online marketing have become one in the same. Customers see meta-tags on search pages and Google follows click-thrus on Gmail. Fundamentally, SEO is about moving up the search engine results (SERP) page. Online marketing is leveraging the power of the internet to:

• Increase consumer awareness,
• Establish/build your brand,
• Sell your product,
• Better serve existing customers

Still with me? Let’s talk about how to get there. First, we need a well designed web site. Site design is a lengthy discussion beyond the scope of this article. In general, we want a unique look, a user friendly experience, and most importantly an easy conversion. As a user I shouldn’t have to click more than three or four times to buy your product. Beyond that, our old marketing rules still apply, such as having a USP (unique selling proposition) and strong calls to action. While writing content for your site, make sure to do a bit of keyword research and use these phrases plenty. Despite all the changes in SEO/online marketing content is still king. All the optimization and PPC in the world will never equal a meaningful, compelling article. Journalists and writers (Hi Dad!) rejoice.

So now we have a good, functional web site with meaningful content and strong calls to action. Let the marketing (and SEO) begin.

First, let’s deal with some of the on-site factors.

Initial Organic SEO:
This is essentially making your site easier for the search engines to see, and most importantly easier for them to decide just what exactly the point of your site is. The major factors are (always changing):

Keyword research: This is where you find out that you think of your business completely differently than your customers do. I think of us as an “end to end technology solutions provider for small and medium businesses in South Florida.” They think of us as “computer support 33173.” Sure it stings a little, but you have to understand how/why clients will look for and find you. Once we know these terms make sure to use them plenty (without overdoing it) on your site.

Page titles, Meta tags, H1 header, and picture alts: All are very important; however this is beginning to change as search engines better mimic the end-user experience. In general you should place your keywords throughout these. Don’t know what a meta-tag is? Go to a well designed site and right-click “View Source.”

SE Friendly URLs:
Among the items search engines use to decide who ranks where are the URLs. If you were Google which would you give the higher ranking to?
Mysite.com/asp45531%$45 or Mysite.com/worlds-best-product

Internal Linking:
Link your pages to create a circular effect to your website. This is fairly complicated and you should consult an SEO professional (me) if this is an undertaking you want to begin.

Submit your website and sitemap to Google, MSN, and Yahoo.
Pretty straightforward. Create a sitemap (free tools are available, a hand-coded one is typically better) and submit it to the major search engines. Now they know you exist.

Directory Listings and Local Pages:
Directory listings are a great way to get the SEO ball rolling. In particular the most important are DMOZ.org, Yahoo Directory, and MSN. There are about a dozen others that will help, but I have to keep something to myself, no?

Now we have (or should have) a search engine friendly site. Don’t have number one listings yet? Of course not, SEO is never “done.” Your competitors are constantly working for those top listings and so should you. The fundamental goal here is to build as many relevant back-links as possible. The best links are from authoritative sites and use effective anchor text. You want links like custom software 33131, not click here for www.sdsol.com. How do we get these? There are a lot of methods, including:

Press releases
Press releases are the “in” thing now, which means Google will probably discount them very soon. These not only provide back-links, but also give you the opportunity to put your branding message out there for the world to see.

Link exchanges
This dates back to the old days of the internet. Essentially “You sell cats in Florida? I sell them in Chicago. Let’s mention this on our websites.” Since then link pages can be seen as tacky, so three way linking has grown in popularity. This is where you my site on your page, and in exchange I place you in my directory.

Comments, comments, comments
Be careful with this one. You don’t want to become the next big spammer, you just want to get your business out there. Make sure to include your url (with the good anchor text from before) in all your correspondence. If you do want to become the next big spammer this works too.

Let the internet do the work for you
Hours or days spent link building don’t equal even 10 minutes of legitimate interest in the site. Create some actual interest in your site and bloggers, journalists, and even grandma will link to you. My favorite example of this is BKs “Submissive Chicken.”

Don’t cry about it, blog about it
Blogs are great for generating interest in your site. Say something interesting or useful and you will get subscribers. Blogs are also great because you can use them to capture long-tailed keywords that don’t mix well with your home page text. Also, you get to take a more candid tone, which is why I love them.

Well, that’s a bit about SEO, online marketing, and link-building. There are a few issues I didn’t address, including:

• E-mail marketing
• Dos and Don’ts of comment/forum spam
• Why PageRank is such a headache to SEO folks
• Why decent search engine listings don’t guarantee success
  

All very important and if I have the time I will get to them. Please comment, subscribe, or send a nice hand written card to keep me motivated.

Best,
Bobby