The Journey to the Center of the (Search Engine Marketing) Universe

After attending the four day Adtech conference in San Francisco last week, it’s abundantly clear to me that search engine marketing has become every bit as much an art form as it is a science. Yet despite the ever growing and changing landscape of search, so many of the fundamental marketing principles remain the same: profile your target, find your target, speak to your target and compel them towards action – and then of course measure everything!

I was amazed to see the number of new companies emerging around the growing concern of click fraud. Yet while the business of click fraud is growing, no one seems to yet have a handle on it. However the shear inconsistency and ‘human like’ activities (including completion of forms) that is occurring with click fraud, it doesn’t seem to be slowing the pace of advertisers flocking to the promise of paid search.

Ad:Tech’s trade show illustrated the health of the industry with an abundance of vendors selling their products and tools. There appeared to be more SEMs marketing their services as well as verticals and smaller search engines. Ask.com appeared to be the only search engine marketing itself with Google and Yahoo! somewhat conspicuous by their absence on the show floor.

A not so new marketing strategy has become one of the hottest issues in search: Local Search. The notion that buyers may actually be looking for a local source of supply on the Internet – a dry cleaners, shoe repair or pizza joint. With 20 billion local searches predicted for 2006, finding new ways of getting in front of the searcher when they are looking for ‘Saratoga Italian Restaurant’ is a growing concern. Contact us to learn how our proprietary search submission system enables local listings to be listed on the search engines’ local platforms like Google Local, Yahoo Local and others.

The most insightful session I attended was a discussion on ‘Disruptive Innovation’ and developing products and solutions in the marketplace. Again, traditional marketing strategies being applied to the Internet's innovation and technology driven industry.

Attending an Internet conference in San Francisco is unlike attending one anywhere else. While the conferences held in Chicago, New York even San Jose are enriching and dynamic, only in San Francisco is the digital dialog omnipresent not only at the conference, but on the streets, in the restaurants and even on the elevators. The Internet is not an industry in San Francisco; it’s a culture (and in some ways a sub culture!). Technology, media and marketing not only converge at Ad:Tech, they truly appear to be the center of the universe in San Francisco.

SEO and CEOs

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is considered by many to be some kind of a ‘black art’ especially by those who are still not too sure about its value. And while Internet marketing gurus and now even more mainstream marketing managers realize the power of appearing within the ‘golden triangle’, few CEOs have yet to realize what a priority it needs to be within their organizations, whether it be a multinational conglomerate or sole proprietor.

The number one reason businesses engage in search engine marketing according to SEMPO, is indeed to increase brand awareness (62%) closely followed by directly selling products online (60%). Nonetheless, there are CEOs who remain unaware how their online image and presence can impact their business positively if managed properly and negatively if not managed at all.

SEO for the CEO need not require an understanding of meta tags, 301 redirects or link building but rather the fundamentals of building brand awareness in an environment where potential customers are searching and more importantly shopping. In other words, it’s Marketing 101.

To learn how to effectively manage your company's online image and positively impact your business from an SEO professional and marketing partner, visit http://www.gdmi.net/.