SEARCHING FOR SALES: Nacho Hernandez knows that thinking like your customers is key to successfully marketing via search engines. 60 I ENTREPRENEUR In the Click By Catherine Seda ou can’t resist the temptation. Fixated on ample, if you type a keyword into MSN Search your computer screen, you anxiously type on Microsoft’s consumer information and enter- Ykeywords relevant to your business into tainment site (www.msn.com), the Web site list- your favorite search engine. A list of search results ings displayed could be from Inktomi, Microsoft appears. You cringe as you spot several competitors, or Overture. Overture provides search results not then grumble because your company’s Web site only to MSN Search, but also to AltaVista and is nowhere to be seen. Where is it? That depends. Yahoo! Could a top site on Overture then appear Where is your search engine marketing strategy? as a top site on a distribution partner’s site? Yes. Gone are the days Unfortunately, these distribution relationships when adding keywords change frequently, making it difficult to deter- want all the right people to in meta tags to your mine exactly where results come from. site produced rankings. The challenging part, however, is figuring out how notice your business? then you Search engine marketing to land a top position in the search engines. There has evolved into a com- are two complementary yet completely different plex and competitive types of methods: optimization and advertising. need to make the most of today’s program. It’s also prof- Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to en- itable—according to a hancing your Web site design to make it more ap- March 2003 report by pealing to crawler-based search engines. An auto- hottest marketing method— Piper Jaffray senior re- mated robot, also referred to as a spider, is sent out search analyst Safa to crawl the Web looking for site pages to add to search engine optimization. Rashtchy, online search the search engine’s database. A mathematical al- is the most cost-effective gorithm then determines the ranking of pages in direct-marketing method. the database for the keywords consumers use. These The average cost per lead from search is 29 cents, rankings are referred to as natural or organic listings. far less than e-mail (50 cents), the Yellow Pages ($1.18), Search engine advertising, on the other hand, banner ads ($2.00) and direct mail ($9.94). enables you to buy listings for your keywords. Gather your Web design and marketing staff; both Positions achieved this way are referred to as paid teams are required. Understanding search engine or sponsored listings. The most popular program marketing basics will help your team execute a in this category is pay-for-placement. These pro- strategy in-house or outsource it to specialists. The grams typically allow advertisers to open an ac- CHULMAN sooner your site is visible for relevant keywords, count for $5 to $50, then bid on keywords for a C. S the sooner future customers will find your company. minimum amount of 5 or 10 cents per click. Ad- vertisers outbid each other for a higher position COTT How Do Search Engines Work? by increasing their bids by 1 cent per click. Only © S Many business owners are unaware that search when a consumer clicks your listing is your ac- HOTO P engines feed their results to each other. For ex- count debited. AUGUST 2004 I 61 Are you disappointed to learn that 30-year-old co-founder of online Mexi- “The credibility boost is huge,” search engines don’t magically and ob- can grocery store MexGrocer.com, a says Gary Salzman, 47-year-old co- jectively find the “best” sites on the Web? La Jolla, California, firm that projects founder of coffee resource retailer site That’s understandable. However, it was 2004 sales to hit more than $1 million. WholeLatteLove.com. The Victor, New always possible to influence search re- “A majority of our customers are York-based business projects 2004 sults. Today, it simply costs more. Yet, English-speaking Americans, but sales of more than $10 million. “Con- for companies willing to invest the time most use Spanish keywords because sumers see that natural listings are and money, it’s well worth it. The plan they want the more authentic prod- awarded to highly relevant sites. That’s begins with the right set of keywords. ucts. So they’ll search for ‘salsa verde’ the match they want.” instead of ‘green sauce,’” Hernandez To make your site relevant for your Making Keywords Count says. “While we market hundreds of keywords, it’s important to realize that If you have the wrong set of terms, keywords equally split between Span- sites don’t compete against other sites your site won’t rank well in algorithm- ish and English, we were surprised to for rankings. It’s Web page against Web based search engines. Plus, you’ll waste see [that] 440 percent more traffic and page. Therefore, each site page needs money on pay-per-placement pro- 200 percent more sales come from the to be assigned a set of keywords. Fo- grams by attracting browsers, not buy- Spanish words.” cus on the pages that have valuable ers. To create an effective list of key- Of course, if nobody is looking content for your visitors and are good words, start with these suggestions: for certain keywords, it’s pointless to for new visitors to land on first. A few MCompany names: Start with the promote those. That’s why a popu- places your keywords need to be in- name of your company, products and larity check is important. Search en- clude: services. Include misspellings and gine marketers typically use Over- MMeta tags: This tactic alone has ab- plural forms of words, if appropriate. ture’s free Search Term Suggestion solutely no impact on your rankings, MThemes: Consider related words Tool (www.overture.com) and the but your keywords still need to be in the your customers might use to describe subscription-based program Word- meta title, description and keyword tags of each site page you’d like ranked. The page title get professional help and description are often used as the Web site listing in the search results. Do you prefer to let a team of specialists worry to define spam, then refer to your resources to MAlternative text (ALT tag): about fluctuating algorithms and bids? You’re see if experts agree or disagree. Mouse over an image, and not alone. However, finding a quality search MAvoid responding to e-mail spam. The “Get you may see a text box ap- engine marketing firm is challenging, espe- a number-one position for $99”spam is likely from pear if the Web designer cially for search engine optimization (SEO), companies that will spam the search engines, too. has used alternative text. because much of it happens behind the scenes, MSpeak to client references. Ask them to Try to use a different, but and you can’t easily tell if a company is using describe their experiences, results and recom- related, phrase for each ethical tactics. Here are a few tips: mendations for working with the company ALT tag on a page. MFind the experts. Read articles and books, you’re interviewing. MPage copy: The keywords and attend conferences to identify the compa- MOutsource. Some companies manage their you want your site to rank nies with strong industry visibility. Even if own paid placement campaigns in-house while well for must be in your they’re not good matches for you, they could other companies manage SEO. Find out what page copy. The thought is, recommend other reputable firms. your options are. if your site visitors can see MInterview firms. Don’t be afraid to quiz com- Programs and pricing vary tremendously in them, then your page is rel- panies about their marketing philosophies, this industry. However, with a little research, evant for those terms. process, tools, reporting and results. Ask them you’ll find the right marketing partner. MHyperlinks within your site: Don’t link “click here” copy to other pages within your business. People looking for an tracker (www.wordtracker.com). your site. Hyperlink keyword phrases automobile insurance company might These tools reveal how many people instead, because search engines type in “car insurance” or “auto in- search for your keywords. Moreover, follow these links and the keywords surance.” Perhaps drivers are likely to these tools and Google AdWords’ free in them. switch insurance providers when they Keyword Suggestions tool (https:// Link popularity is also a chief in- buy a new car or used car, which adwords.google.com/select/main?cmd= gredient in an SEO campaign. Your would be good terms, too. keywordsandbox) will provide sug- site needs to link to other related sites MProfile your competitors: Your com- gestions of related phrases consumers and, more important, well-ranked and petitors are excellent sources of ideas. use. Finalize your list to include rel- content-relevant sites should link to Study the keywords in their Web sites evant yet popular keywords. yours. Run a search for your keywords and their metatags. From your browser in Google or Teoma (www.teoma. toolbar, click on “View,” and then se- Getting Optimal Results com) and evaluate the natural listings. lect “Source.” If they’re using metatags, Modifying your site to please the Contact sites that aren’t direct com- you’ll see keywords listed at the top search engine spiders can be tedious. petitors, and offer to trade links or buy of the page. Be prepared to wait weeks or months one.