Over the past two  years, the business landscape in Australian has changed significantly in its awareness of search engines, and the benefits and importance of an effective website. Two or three years ago, Pay-Per-Click services such as Google AdWords were more widely known and utilised, whereas focusing on developing and improving organic search results (natural listings) was mostly under utilised . Historically businesses invested less in organic search engine campaigns in favour of Pay-Per-Click. Today, changes in market awareness and the need to become more innovative has brought about considerably more competition in the organic search space. Like any effective marketing method, news spreads quickly both through the consumer market, as well as the number of people offering search engine services. Unfortunately as a result of so many trying to jump on the bandwagon, the search engines services industry also has grown to a point where a high number of businesses offering search engine services, have staff who have very little true knowledge of this ever changing industry and end up delivering mediocre results, or worse yet, result in websites being banned from the search engines altogether due to inappropriate application of search engine service techniques. So how do you know who the right search engine services company is to work on your website for the best result for your budget? Firstly, stay away from any search engine services firm whose only focus is on increasing your website traffic. I know that increased website traffic sounds really attractive when being pitched to you, but what if that website traffic brings you very little new business, or even worse, none at all? The number one focus of any campaign should be increasing the goals of the website. I.e. Is your number one goal to increase sales, newsletter signups, or promoting a service? Here are some of the most important considerations when choosing the right web marketing company.
- They understand without prompting, that your business needs are not just about being able to rank highly on keywords, but what will convert new business for you.
- What their methodology is for selecting keywords. I.e. Will they choose a keyword that will meet/exceed your website goals.
- Do they have a business background and understanding the effects of marketing for a business
- Understanding of the buying cycle – this is important, to adequately capture the right consumers, at the right time, based on your offering.
- Ability to interpret web analytics results – No marketing is an exact science. Testing and measuring results is important, and to do so, the right analysis of web analytics plays a critical role.
- Understand buyer behaviour – Why do consumers act the way they do when they are on your website, viewing your product or service? What can be done to make the user experience better, and so increase the chance they will buy from your company.
- With such constant change, the ability to adapt and change quickly is important – How are they keeping up-to-date?
- Do they understand how Social Media best fits in with your business?
These are important elements to consider, otherwise you face throwing your marketing budget away, on poor results. Looking to market your business across the web? Whether you have an existing website, need a new website, we can tailor a web marketing package that will suit your business. Contact us today.