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PERSPECTIVE
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SEO: In it for the Long Haul
Paid-search advertising can have a remarkable impact on a business's bottom line. It is a critical element of any well-balanced search-engine marketing campaign; but it is not the only element. Today, many SEM professionals are fighting an uphill battle when it comes to convincing clients to abandon this all-or-nothing approach. The challenge is finding a balance between the immediate gratification of pay-per-click and the long-term benefits of search-engine optimization.
Understandably, businesses often cite quantifiable return-on-investment data available with a paid-search campaign as reason for dedicating most, if not all, of their Internet-marketing budget to this medium. However, research has proven, dollar for dollar, a Web site that is written and designed to speak the language of its target audience and the search engines consistently draws more customers and is a wise long-term investment. It has the strongest chance of climbing to the top of organic search-results pages and staying there – without the need for daily attention to the competitive marketplace or an ongoing budget.
While its ROI measures may not be as immediate, a well-built SEO site does have markers by which it can immediately be judged. Certainly, these are not the only elements of a well-developed site, but businesses should expect it to at least include:
- relevant keywords by which consumers will search;
- appropriate meta data by which the site will be cataloged;
- sufficient content per optimized page;
- limited HTML file sizes;
- meaningful page titles; and,
- functional links.
And, although they make take time to show – sometimes up to one year after launch – optimization has quantifiable results businesses find well worth waiting for, including: higher prospect retention; more free advertising from search engines; highly targeted prospects that convert; savings of time and money; and, ultimately, net profit.
So convincing clients of the necessity for SEO may be an uphill battle for today's SEM professionals; but for the businesses that listen, this fundamental strategy can have a lasting impact that gives executives and shareholders more gratification than any paid-search campaign ever could.
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