Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally

On the development of search engine marketing strategies

By Pandia Guest Writer Steve Winkler

Along with the memories of your first car, your first love and college applications are the dreaded memories of high school mathematics. While much of what was learned had come in on and gone out the other, math did teach us many life lessons, which are useful in ways unrelated to mathematics.

One may recall PEMDAS, the "order of operations" without which we would have never found the right answer. Our early years of math concentrated on learning the fundamentals, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Then a time came when lessons involved long division, square roots, asymptotes, angles and when it was all said and done these skills were combined. The "order of operations" offers rules that one can follow to achieve the correct answer to a problem.

The "order of operations" applies to the task of Internet Marketing as it does to mathematics. Without this order of operations it is more than difficult it is impossible to get the right answer. Probably the most common of all online marketing mistakes is to not have a clear understanding of the order in which strategies should be implemented.

Search engine marketing is among the most cost effective methods for new client acquisition, however understanding how this crucial step compares to other options allows the marketer to more effectively spend marketing dollars. A proper order of operations enables a spending strategy to maximize ROI and minimize risk.

Remembering the Order of Operations

You can approach the above problem in a variety of ways and get a different answer each time, but only one strategy will allow you to achieve the proper answer. PEMDAS states that you must do the math within the parenthesis before you do any work with exponents, multiplication, division, addition or subtraction. Doing the above problem properly should yield an answer of x= -10.

Let's take the above equation and try this. 5*4+3-9*25/5 using this strategy our answer is x=70.

The description above exemplifies just how important having a strategic order to solving a problem is. Getting an answer is not good enough, as marketers and representatives of the firms which we are a part of, we owe our companies the proper answer, the first time. Online marketers often do not focus on the order in which their marketing campaigns are implemented, thus they do achieve an answer, but not the correct one.

The Scenario

ABC Widgets Inc has just launched their revolutionary new Widget that is being distributed through a national network of retailers. Part of their marketing and sales strategy includes building a new website to support their new widget.

As the website nears completion the business owner has a host of online marketing options to choose from and rather than consult on strategy they have decided to go it alone and experiment with a few different options to find their niche.

Their 3 Main Online Marketing Choices are:

1. Search Engine Marketing
2. Email Marketing
3. Pay Per Click Marketing

Their 3 Main Objectives are:

1. Minimize Per Visitor fees
2. Build Brand Awareness
3. Stabilize Online Marketing Strategies

A quick analysis of their objectives allows the formulation of a clear and succinct strategy to approach their online marketing options. Of the three choices above search engine marketing seems to be the best fit to achieve these initial objectives. Search engine marketing allows for maximum traffic at a stable non-fluctuating fee.

Search engine marketing enables a great and in many cases an unparalleled opportunity to establish and fortify brand awareness in that typically main competitors are already well positioned under competing search terms. The third objective, which requires stability, also makes a good fit with search engine marketing.

The goals of the company must be considered in the decision making process. There are other situations where there are other options than search engine marketing in the short term. For example, email marketing would be a more suitable start if cost and potential ROI were not as large of a consideration but rather instant notification to an already established customer base.

Making Sense of Order of Operations

Another marketing strategy analysis for ABC Widgets Inc indicates that new widgets will be launched to the market every 3 months. For these launches ABC Widgets Inc want to fortify a solid ongoing marketing strategy with quick and visible promotions.

The need to build awareness of periodic promotions indicates that their search engine positioning will need timed, corresponding fortification from means such as email marketing and the occasional Pay-Per-Click campaign.

As it is few if any online marketing programs compare to the value that can be achieved through the use of proper search engine marketing. Search engine marketing is universal in its approach. It is passive, it is reliable and it is highly valuable in that studies show that about 85% of people find web sites through a search on a search engine.

A results oriented marketer is typically going to gravitate towards the option that has the highest potential for ROI with the lowest inherent risk. This being the case search engine marketing is usually going to be the first option to a successful online marketing campaign.

Conclusion

Most online marketing has a specific value in a particular context but in order to prioritize the implementation of the smorgasbord of options available, one must understand the use and reward of each of the options available to formulate a strategy that meets both near-term and long-term goals.

About The Author

Steve Winkler is the Business Development Manager of the www.KeywordRanking.com team of marketing and search engine specialist professionals.

Steve Winkler has experience in demographic based marketing, interactive marketing and partnership/affiliate programs. KeywordRanking.com has grown to become one of the larger and more successful search engine marketing companies. They were one of the first companies to offer guaranteed levels of success using spam-free methods.

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