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You’ve heard the adage about the tree falling in the forest? The same might be asked about a website: If a company launches a website and no one visits it, does it really exist?
Well, we really can’t know about the tree in the forest, although we can make a pretty good guess about the noise it makes when it falls. But if your website isn’t drawing visitors and creating business for your company, it may as well not exist.
Simply having a website is no longer enough. You need to take the necessary steps to ensure that your website is an effective marketing tool for your company, one that results in increased business. So what does it take to make this happen? Here are some questions and answers to get you going.
Q. How do I turn my website into a tool for generating leads?
A. In the early days of HVAC website development, savvy contractors knew they needed to be online. There was a desire to have an “Internet presence” as more and more homeowners were logging on and searching for information. We refer to that phase as having an “online brochure” because that is basically what the site is: your corporate capabilities brochure—online.
In today’s world, we want more from our websites. We still want to show off who we are and what we do, but we also want leads and sales. We want to attract new business. We want a return on our investment, or ROI. And the answer to ROI lies in the world of search engine marketing (SEM).
SEM is the key that will turn your website into a lead generator. Employing an organic search (search engine optimization, or SEO) or paid search (pay per click or PPC) campaign will result in new customers coming to you based on your site’s ability to deliver the information they are looking for. Plus, this is one of the most effective marketing efforts you can make because every dollar you spend can be measured by visits, clicks, leads and sales, allowing you to not only see your ROI, but manage your spend in a way that is guaranteed to deliver ever improving results over time.
Q. What’s better, SEO or PPC?
A. First, let’s do some quick definitions of the two. Search engine optimization refers to optimizing your site for certain keywords, say “air conditioner,” so that customers who use search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN and others [together known as GYM]) can find you. A well-optimized site will land on the left side of the search engine’s results page. You do not pay to be listed here nor do you pay if someone clicks on your site, hence the “free” tag that usually accompanies organic results achieved by using SEO. (“Free” is somewhat of a misnomer because it takes a lot of time and effort to achieve optimal results with search engine optimization.)
Pay per click refers to “buying” certain keywords so that your business is advertised at the top or right side of the search engine results page. You do not pay to have your listing show up on the page, but you do pay every time somebody clicks on the link to your website—whether they’re a legitimate lead or not (more about that later).
As to which of the two is better, both SEO and PPC have pros and cons. The biggest advantage to the organic (or SEO) approach is human nature. Most people look to the organic side of the results page first, probably because it seems less “salesy.” On the other hand, it can take a long time to get your rankings high enough so that you appear on the first page of GYM, and you have to work to stay there. With pay per click, you buy your way into the top rankings. Depending on your budget, PPC can guarantee you top placement.
When comparing the two strategies, it’s also important to consider how “competitive” your keywords are. If lots of companies in your area are optimized for “air conditioner,” with SEO it is going to be harder and take more time to rank high in an organic listing. On the PPC side, you can beat out your competitors just by spending more money than they do.
Combining the two is a good alternative to consider. If you pair your SEO campaign with a PPC campaign, you have the best of both worlds. And, over time, as your SEO ranking results improve, you can reduce your PPC spend.
Q. What’s the best way to get my site to the top of the search engine results
A. Many factors affect search engine rankings. On the technical side, your site needs to be optimized with things like page titles, alt tags and meta tags. But there are other factors that are equally if not more important. For example:
| 1. |
keyword analysis and selection |
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monthly analysis of search engine ranking reports and re-optimization
of keywords |
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unpaid directory postings |
| 4. |
postings on discussion forums |
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postings on blogs |
| 6. |
inbound and outbound links |
| 7. |
fresh content |
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Item 7 may be the single most important factor. Search engines send out “crawlers” to find websites that will serve up content that is appropriate for a search. And one of the main things these crawlers look for is fresh content. So if your website was last updated in October of 2004, chances are you won’t show up on the first page of a Google search. By content, I mean press releases, blog entries, newsletters (not PDFs, must be html), seasonal updates and offers—all loaded with your selected keywords. In short, content is king.
Next column, I’ll explain what data and information you can track about the visitors who come to your site, and which information is most important to you.
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During a recession
consumers: |
- Look for reliability and performance rather than gimmicks.
- Favor tested brands over new untested ones.
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