Why Do You Need Search Engine Optimization?

Fueled by a steady stream of new online shoppers (more than 12 million new users went online in the past year) and new product category sales, US eCommerce will grow at a 19% CAGR over the next five years. Most significant, online retail will reach nearly $230 billion and account for 10% of total US retail sales by 2008. - Forrester Research

Consumers' use of search engines to find Web sites increases with their online tenure, but search marketers beware: so does distrust for paid listings. - Forrester Research 9-26-2003.

Marketers flock to search marketing. But consumer mistrust of paid listings and the complexities of search marketing mean that marketers must refine their strategies to get the ROI they want. - Forrester Research 06-30-2003

Search engines reach valuable, motivated, and ready customers. To capitalize on search as a marketing tool, marketers should shift acquisition email and ad dollars to search and use an outsourcer firm with a proven track record and no setup fees. Forrester Research

It's official: -- Search Engine Optimization -- has changed the game for every retailer. So in 2005, retail CEOs must put their money where their mouths are and use technology to create a strategic advantage. Those who limp along with out-dated strategic marketing plans will most likely end up. . .Gone.

The most cost-effective advertisement would have to be both inexpensive and directed to the right customer. Years ago this was something of a pipe dream--today it is a reality.

The Internet is the most comprehensive source of information in human history. But like any library of knowledge, it must be catalogued and organized to be effective. And therein lies the perfect solution: search engines.

Like the card catalog of a library, search engines are a customer's way of sifting through the Web to narrow their search. And what better way to make sure your website is found than to have an influence on what they find?

Search engine listings meet both of our criteria in terms of focus and affordability. No other form of advertising is so focused that the customer is actually searching for you. A search engine user is a highly receptive and targeted audience because you are trying to sell them on something they already want. They came looking for you and they want what you have to offer.

No matter how large your company is, you need to advertise. For most businesses, Dot-com or otherwise, traditional advertising methods require immense capital and human resources. This is exactly why many smaller businesses fail--they spend too many of their resources trying to compete on somebody else's turf.

The most obvious medium of advertisement is television. However, television's effectiveness in attracting customers is questionable. Its effectiveness lies in achieving brand recognition. Television advertising is also the most expensive medium.

Targeting an Internet-based audience is more effective at driving traffic to your website.

Banner ads and mass E-mailings are much less expensive than television; however, they have their limitations. While remarkably cheaper than a TV spot, a small banner ad on a major portal website can still cost over six thousand dollars a month. It is generally agreed that banners are not a cost effective way to bring visitors to a website. Most potential customers see banners as just a nuisance.

Mass E-mailings have a similar drawback. If you opt out of spending money for your own list, you can buy space in someone elses. But you'll be competing for the customers' attention with whomever else bought space.

Banner ads and mass E-mailings aren't targeting the people who are most likely to be interested in the content you have to offer. They may reach a wide audience, but most of that audience will delete your ad before reading. Both methods can and do work; however, they require a lot of planning, time and money.

According to the Georgia Institute of Technology, 88% of Internet users find new web sites through search engine listings¹. WebCMO data shows that in a side-by-side comparison of different forms of promotion, search engine listings are the number one way to generate traffic on websites². Top 30 search engine listings will send droves of potential customers to your site.

Getting listed on a search engine below the top 30 simply won't work. A listing near the top of your category will allow your site to collect all the traffic a search engine can deliver.

It takes some key modifications to your website, planning, a long-term commitment, watching the search engines for changes and a lot of thought. Using a search engine optimization service firm like IntelliTeam to handle every aspect of the Search Engine Optimization process, you will get guaranteed results. With good search engine listings any business can get the kind of traffic that will expand profits. Top

¹ Georgia Institute of Technology, Tenth WWW User Survey, 10/98
² WebCMO