• 68% of the US population - an estimated 226 million people are online in the US at work or at home, 80 percent of whom are estimated to have made some type of search request during the month. This link will take you to a page where these figures are updated regularly, and this one will show you the relative popularity of each search engine.
• This reveals how useful search engines can be for directing traffic to a company's Web site. If you are not considering search engine marketing (SEM) in your marketing mix, it is as if you are ignoring a major medium such as TV, radio or newspapers in the offline world.

USA Today reported that Corrugated Metals in Chicago netted "millions and millions of dollars in sales" after investing just $200/month for a top ranking in Google. This intriguing quote appeared in the February 4th 2004 article entitled: "For Google, many retailers eagerly jump through hoops"

The article went on to interview a number of businesses, most reporting great successes in both paid Google advertising as well as free top rankings acquired through the process of search engine optimization. Another interesting quote from the article:

"We get 3,000 hits monthly from Google without spending a dime," said ExperiencePlus Tours founder Rick Price. Price goes on to explain how he once spent $100,000 a year on catalogs, postage, and classifieds. According to USA Today, he now spends much of his marketing time updating his site to achieve a top ranking in Google. "We bust our butts to make Google like us," Price says.

How do these people do it? They fine-tune their Web pages to be Google-friendly and they build link popularity. One of my oldest clients used to fly expensive salespeople around the country to find new clients. Now they get most of their business - millions of dollars worth annually - from their web site.

Online businesses should place the same importance on search engine optimization as brick and mortar businesses do on yellow pages directory listings, a post office address, and signage. In fact, as local search becomes more commonplace, brick and morter businesses can't afford to ignore SEO either.

Since most visitors do not return to a site faithfully, a steady stream of new traffic is essential for the health of any e-business. Every business must add new customers on a regular basis; however, in cyberspace, business relationships are even more transitory than in real communities.

Some web marketers still cling to the notion that if they build a site visitors will come. But unless steps are taken to ensure search engine visibility, this is as realistic as assuming that because technically, everyone in the world can call your new telephone, it's going to start ringing off the hook.

How does Search Engine Optimization compare with other forms of web promotion?

There are many ways to promote a web site. It seems that most of the ads in the print media and on radio and TV these days mention the company's web address. You will probably want to diversify your marketing effort, but whatever else you do, you should include search engine optimization.

A study by WebCMO ranked the effectiveness of web advertising strategies on a scale of 1 to 5 as follows:

• Search Engine Submissions 3.35
• Solicited or Opt-In Email 3.34
• Offline Advertising 3.04
• Press Releases 3.00
• Banner Advertising 2.85
• Discussion Forums 2.83
• Sponsorships 2.61
• Newsgroups 2.46
• Strategic Linking 2.44
• Spam (unsolicited e-mail) 1.8

Search engine positioning is the most cost-effective way to promote a Web site.

Banner ads bring traffic, but their effectiveness has been steadily declining for years. Banner ads result in average click-through rates of less than 1% (NetRatings study, June through December 1998). Also, banner ads are relatively expensive. They generally cost between $40 and $60 per one thousand "impressions." This means you pay every time someone sees your banner, whether or not they click on it to visit your site. Your $60 of banner ads may only result in six or seven site visits!

The beauty of visitors coming from the search engines are that they are all well-qualified prospects who are far more likely to make a purchase than someone clicking on a banner ad out of curiosity. If someone is actively searching for what you have, they are much more likely to be a serious buyer. Therefore, even if you generate fewer overall visitors from search engines than from your other advertising sources, you'll find a much greater percentage of those visitors will convert to actual sales.

Spam (bulk email) is the most odious form of web advertising. You may get a few customers by using it, but you may also get hate mail, nasty phone calls, and a tarnished reputation. Many web hosting companies will shut down your site without warning if they catch you spamming.

Search engine positioning is simply the best and most cost effective way to become visible on the Internet. Without search engine optimization, your business is in the foothills. Let me help you reach the summit!