Jon's In Waikiki (AKA The Waikiki Marketer)

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Search Engine Marketing/Advertising & SEO – It’s Not an Either/Or

March 12th, 2007 · No Comments

As I have probably said before in this blog, I’m mystified by clients and prospects who say they don’t want to do a search engine advertising campaign because ‘you have to pay for those’.

It surprises me because they seem to see this kind of marketing as somehow different. It’s like saying that they wouldn’t do any advertising in the offline world, because they ‘have to pay for those’.

The point isn’t whether you pay for it. The point is this: does the marketing pay off?

If your business profits from search advertising, should you really be upset that you pay for the ads? It’s looking a gift horse in the mouth.

You can say it’s like winning money from the lottery, but complaining that you had to buy a ticket. Does that make sense?

Here are some more reasons why you should at least consider search marketing.

1. You’re not reaching the same people as your organic search engine listing. Even if your ad does appear on the same page as the organic listing, it isn’t 100% that the searcher sees both your ad and your listing.

Eye-tracking studies have shown that a person doesn’t necessarily see every listing on a page. And even if they do, there is a difference between seeing a listing and truly registering it.

2. Even if the searcher sees both your search ad AND your search listing, that works in your favor. Why?

Because it is a reinforcement of you business name and brand. Studies have shown that this works in your favor, making it more likely that a person will follow through and visit your internet site.

Of course, you still need to have a good ad to truly set this psychological ‘trap’ for the prospect. That’s where a persuasive, knowledgeable marketer (like – ahem – us) earns their fee.

3. Market/Marketing Research – I’ve discussed this in more depth in other posts, but this is so important I will briefly return to it. Through search engine ads, you can target keyphrases that you haven’t in your SEO.

This allows you to find new, even better, opportunities and markets that you might have overlooked. It also gives you the chance to pursue experimental uses or pitches for your product (or your service).

Best of all, because of the large scale traffic that comes through search engines, you can get answers quickly and cheaply. No other avenue can compete for the amount of time and money that search engines will save you.

Give search engine advertising a chance. It’s not for every business, but it’s as close as a marketing outlet and method can get in this world.

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