The Real Reason For Being At The Top
Copyright 2006 Vision Business Concepts Inc
It happened again.
Almost every day I hear the phrase, "I want to be at the top of
the search engines". What does that really mean?
Unfortunately, most people say that phrase without actually
thinking about what they mean by it. Do they want more visitors
to their sites? Do they want more money to come into their
businesses?
Simply being at the top of the search engines does nothing for
your business. I can send thousands of people to any site on the
web. But if I send a thousand vegetarians to a site selling
steaks, is it going to be of benefit?
Instead, what people really are asking for is to get noticed. To
have quality people come into their site for the opportunity of
creating a sale some time in the future. People want leads.
Good quality leads can come from a variety of sources. Just like
with traditional marketing methods, you'll find clients in a
variety of different methods. If you take a look at your last
five clients, you're likely to discover they came from a variety
of sources. From places like:
* a referral from a past client;
* an ad in a niche targeted magazine;
* a direct mail postcard;
* a meeting at a local networking group; and
* a friend of the family.
The key to traditional marketing methods is not putting all of
your eggs into one basket; instead relying on a number of
different sources.
But up until now, the Internet has been somewhat different.
People are still putting up websites, and expecting people to
magically find them. Or they expect to be placed on a search
engine in the number one position (out of millions) and be
instantly recognized.
A good Internet strategy takes its cue from a traditional
marketing plan. It realizes there are dozens of ways to reach a
potential customer, and finds ways of capturing each of those
methods. So a well marketed site might receive visitors, and
ultimately purchasers, from things like:
* a banner ad on a complimentary site;
* a click from a pay-per-click ad;
* a referral from an article on an association site;
* a link from an ezine; and
* yes, a top placement on a strong keyword within the search
engines.
Having a clear vision for your business allows you to market
your business directly to your ideal target market. The same
applies to your website. The clearer you are on your ideal
client, the easier it is to reach out to them.
With the Internet, a lot of your marketing strategy relies on
searches - what are your customers searching for when they reach
your site? Different people search for different things, yet all
wind up on the same site making an identical purchase.
How do you capture those visitors?
It's a matter of thinking like your customers. Why do they come
to you? If you don't know, start asking how they found you. Did
they see you in an advertisement, or was it a referral from
another company? What were they searching for when they found
your company?
As you find different techniques, concentrate on building
advertising methods using those techniques.
While many business owners have the belief that a top ranking
placement of one keyword will bring in the traffic, in truth
concentrating you efforts on multiple, less searched keywords is
an easier task to accomplish.
Instead of being at the top of the search engines for a strong
keyword such as "marketing", concentrating on a more targeted
phrase such as "small business marketing for health spas" may in
turn help you gain more business.
The word "marketing" is huge, and can contain hundreds of
different meanings, depending on the searcher. Yet when you
narrow your focus to "small business marketing for health spas",
your focus becomes clear, and you have a much greater chance of
gaining the attention you are seeking.
And when you have focused on key phrases, it will open up other
marketing opportunities. You may find a directory to place a
banner ad, or an ezine that is looking for quality articles.
Your focus leads you to better quality contacts.
And isn't that the real reason to be at the top of the search
engines?