Five things you need to know about SEO/SEM
A successful SEO or SEM campaign not only needs to follow basic principles, but also find ways to capitalize on the changing landscape of SEM. OakTree has recognized the importance of this growing field by integrating SEM and SEO into our core competencies.
There’s a fine line between SEO and SEM. SEO efforts aim to build content relevancy for the entire internet while SEM strives to optimize a specific site for search engines as well as marketing, link building and gaining blog exposure for your site.
Here is an overview of the five principles of optimizing and marketing your web site to gain maximum exposure and targeted users.
It pays to know your market. Search results now often contain “vertical” results if your search is perceived to be relevant to a specific market. For instance, a search for “Timex expedition watch” yielded the following results on Google. The top left area of the results page, which is the most primary piece of real estate on the page, is reserved for vertical paid ads (with the light blue background) and product results. If you know users will be looking for a specific product, make sure they can easily find it.
However, it’s also important to know your market as users could be narrowing their searchs by using local qualifiers like “Portland OR” or “97213.” We advise clients with a strong local presence to focus on local advertising and a local SEO/SEM strategy. Similarly, if a client is product-focused, target search engine shopping services to ensure product inclusion.
Keep the content fresh. Major search engines look at the web site’s content, especially in key places, to determine how relevant it is to the searched topic matter. Additionally, many sites will determine if your site is worth linking to by looking at your site content. What will sink a SEO/SEM campaign is the impression that once you set up a web site, you can forget about it. A web site should be considered a living, breathing thing—you should be constantly tweaking your site’s content to make sure it is relevant to the actual phrases people are using.
Hang out with the right people. The search engines derive their idea of your site’s relevancy by looking also at who is linking to your site. It’s important to note, however, that not every link is equal. There are three considerations here: first, you might get flagged as a spammer if another spammer starts linking to you. Secondly, is the site considered an authority according to a favorable Google page or Alexa ranking. Lastly, is your link accurately descriptive? Be explicit. If you want the search engines to think of you as a Portland bike repair expert, your link should say “Portland bike repair expert.”
A good site does not replace an advertising budget. "Content is king,” but that should only be one part your SEO/SEM strategy—it also helps to have a targeted advertisement campaign. For example, buying links to help with “natural” search rankings or pay-per-click ads to appear on search engines and related content providers.
Track and adjust. Tracking what happens once your site launches is vitally important. You can’t tell where you’re going until you know where you’ve been. It is tremendously important to monitor the search terms users are using to find you. A good SEO/SEM campaign always involves establishing benchmarks and evaluating ongoing site traffic against these benchmarks. Remember, your site is a living, breathing thing. Use data as a baseline to adjust and rewrite pages on your site. You can then track your progress.
About OakTree Digital
OakTree Digital is one of Portland, Oregon’s most established internet design and development firms. The company has been creating partnerships with a wide range of clients from small companies to technology giants since 1993. Organizations benefit from OakTree’s balanced approach to great creative and smart technology, helping clients with a stronger brand, increased revenue, and a broader market presence.