This is relevant to just about all web marketing. Which means we have to consider our options. There’s no question that every business needs a web presence. Although simply being on the web isn’t enough. Customers HAVE to be able to find you!

Let’s compare it to a new store opening up… A lot of money has gone into setting it up. They’re ready to go… And only then realise they’re out in the sticks in a no-through road. What’s worse, they haven’t told anyone where they are. How do you think they’ll get on? This is exactly the scenario for 99% of ALL commercial websites in existence.

Marketing has undergone a huge change because of the internet. As we left the 20th century, we all thought we had to have a web site. Getting a presence on-line became the be-all and end-all. Companies often spent a fortune on the latest features for their site. Naturally, web designers were very happy. Then it became apparent that no-one was visiting these sites. They’d thought that simply having a site on the web meant customers could see them. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

A traditional approach to marketing breaks down on the web. An expert in old-style marketing would compare your web presence with a catalogue. Therefore, you’ll need to utilise all the normal marketing channels (print, radio, TV, media etc.) to drive traffic to that site. Basically keeping it within their frame of reference. Make the clever looking sales catalogue, and then promote it everywhere so customers want to buy from it. However, this process illustrates an absolute misunderstanding of website marketing.

The internet itself is not just a viewing portal. It allows us to search and research – to discuss ideas and interact with others. It’s completely interactive, bringing massive choice to billions of people. The Search Engines – such as Google and MSN (now Bing) – have made this easy for us as customers. They’ve put together massive directories to guide us. Just think how hopeless it would be trying to find something in a Business Directory with no index! How on earth would anybody get anywhere?

The Search Engines solve this dilemma. For companies though, this changes marketing completely. You MUST be indexed by Search Engines to have any visibility. Yet if you only show up a few pages in, you might as well forget it. Anything below the 5th position on page 1 is largely ignored.

So to bring in more profit and give all sites a chance to be top dog, the SE’s gave businesses an ingenious paid facility to promote themselves. You Pay Per Click, so you’re only charged for your ad when someone clicks on it. This created a lot of excitement… Basically, the only time you now paid was when someone who was already interested asked to look at your site. This is an incredibly targeted way of advertising, and done properly, can yield some exceptional results.

Alas, the market is bombarded with this form of advertising these days. Prices per click have rocketed in some areas. This is due to more and higher bidders entering the market. Today, it can sometimes be impossible to make a profit using PPC. This is particularly true if a lot of clicks are needed for every sale. So Search Engine Optimisation is now becoming a preferred method for many to get to page 1.

As an exercise: Go to Google or Bing RIGHT NOW and type in a few product or service keywords. Does your site appear in the first 3 pages of results? It’s very doubtful. In other words, you’re no-where to be found. If it is there, would clients really use those keywords?

Maybe you’ve already tried some Pay Per Click advertising so you appear in the paid listings, and maybe you’ve achieved some success so far. Can you be sure you’re working it as efficiently as possible? Is your ROI satisfactory? Are you aware of how to assess the quality and viability of each campaign? With PPC, testing and diagnostics are critical. You’ll never get the best results without correct figures.

It’s very evident today that both global and local commerce are moving swiftly onto the internet. Companies must acknowledge this, to survive and flourish in today’s economy.

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