Search engine marketing is an umbrella term for techniques that boost performance in search engine results pages. There are two main aspects of search engine marketing – pay-per-click (PPC) and search engine optimisation (SEO).
Further reading: Search engine optimisation | SEO Manchester | Online marketing | Search engine market share
PPC (Paid Results)
Under the PPC model, companies pay search engines every time a user is brought to their website via paid listings.
Businesses bid on a selection of keywords identified for their sector and ads will be presented as sponsored links to users who type in relevant terms. These ads typically appear above or to the right-hand side of regular search listings.
PPC is the primary source of revenue for search engines so there is fierce competition between the key players. Google AdWords is the market leader, reflecting the fact that Google currently accounts for more than 90 per cent of all UK searches, according to Hitwise. But a number of advertisers also rely on Microsoft adCenter and Yahoo Search Marketing – PPC offerings from the other two major search engines. At theEword, we use all three platforms to arrange and track PPC campaigns for our clients.
SEO (Natural Results)
While companies pay search engines for PPC traffic, no payment is made under the SEO model.
SEO covers all the techniques used to boost a site's visibility in natural or organic listings, such as link-building strategies, optimised sitemaps and regularly updated content. We have extensive experience of using industry-standard tools such as Google Analytics to measure the effectiveness of our client's SEO strategy.
Just like PPC, the ultimate goal of SEO is to drive conversions by making the site feature prominently on search engines for relevant keywords.
The importance of search engine marketing
Time and again, research has underlined the importance of search engine marketing. A study of international web users found that 85 per cent relied on search engines to find what they were looking for online, so businesses must not underestimate their importance. If a site performs poorly on search engines, it will be ignored by the majority of consumers and online conversions will be disappointing.
Unlike traditional marketing strategies, search engine marketing boasts a wealth of accurate measurement tools. These metrics give a far deeper insight into industry trends and allow businesses to increase revenues by tracking the exact performance of individual ads and campaigns.
It's important to understand that theEword is no stranger to major contracts. We have operated search engine marketing campaigns of varying sizes, including those with budgets in excess of £50,000 per month. And rest assured that we have a track record of providing impressive returns on investment. For example, one of our marketing campaigns delivers an average of £8 for every £1 spent.
Many UK companies are investing heavily in search engine marketing services. PPC and SEO enable site owners to bring their services to the attention of consumers who are actively searching for relevant terms. Put simply, any business that overlooks search engine marketing is overlooking the huge revenue-generating potential of the internet.
If you would like more information about the work theEword does,
please call our MD Al Mackin on 0161 872 3011 or contact us online.
Alternatively, read more about:
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