Eight Cylinder SEO
Convertible
(or How to Learn Search
Engine Optimization)
by Mike Banks Valentine
I started at ZERO (or maybe lower) with my advertising budget,
but I've just read an article that convinces me beyond a doubt
that the best method to accelerate small business or home
office
web sites is to work at tunig up search engine optimization
and
submission.
There are barriers to entry starting to be raised for the
newcomer
to ecommerce. It used to be that the web provided a level
playing
field and allowed everyone entry into the race of internet
commerce.
Some large companies are now paying upwards of $15,000 to
$20,000
per MONTH for visibility and marketing through public relations,
press release campaigns and search engine optimization.
As a guerilla marketing specialist, I emphasize the affordable
grassroots method of learning to effectively promote yourself
online.
Here's an extensive list of articles addressing these issues
for
small business, read them and learn some of the "Secrets"
that
are usually *sold* to newbies looking for success online.
http://website101.com/arch/
Statistics show that the average purchaser online saw your
message
(link, newsletter, banner ad, classified ad, direct mail piece,
newsgroup posting, email signature line) up to 7 times before
they chose to visit your website and consider buying. Then
only
one percent of them actually do so. If that were true then
you
would have been expected to make only 4 sales with 400 visitors.
And that is only if they came because they were ready to buy
what
you sell! People comparison shop looking for best price, free
delivery, perks, frequent buyer clubs, discounts, etc., and
if
you don't offer the right combination to capture that surfer,
you are gone in the time it takes to click a mouse.
The surprise to many new online businesses is the extremely
high
amount of traffic they must generate in order to produce each
sale.
*Assuming you make it easy to buy by offering real-time credit
card
approval only one or two clicks deep into your site with clearly
labled links that they understand easily.
*Assuming your site is attractively designed and professional
looking.
*Assuming you have convinced your visitors that they can
trust you to handle their money or their credit card.
*Assuming they are satisfied at your posted privacy policy
and
your promise not to offer their personal information to third
parties like advertisers or even spam lists.
*Assuming all of that, you can expect to make sales to about
one
percent of your visitors.
This means you must increase your traffic tremendously to
generate
any sales, even if you are doing everything well. Statistics
show
that 46% of all traffic comes from the search engines. If
you
don't do well in the search engines (show up in the top 30
listings for your chosen keyword/subject) you can forget about
making it online unless you DO have a massive advertising
budget.
It all boils down to one thing. Learn to do search engine
positioning, optimization and submission yourself and do it
effectively. All of this is the main reason that web marketing
"secrets" are the biggest sellers online for the
internet
marketing gurus. It's getting tougher to make it online, I
wish
you luck in the future as you learn the art of search engine
positioning and guerilla marketing tactics.
But I won't leave you stranded by the side of the road, here's
a tutorial to help you to learn Search Engine Positioning.
If you'd
like access to "Eight Ingredients to Search Engine Success"
just
drop by WebSite101 at http://website101.com/metatags.html
and we'll
give you the keys to this little beauty so you can take it
for a
spin. You'll see for yourself how to zoom to the top of the
search
engines.
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WebSite101 "Reading List" Weekly Netrepreneur Tip Sheet Ezine
emphasizing small business online http://website101.com/arch/
e-tutorial online at: http://website101.com/shortcourse.html
By week's end you're ready expand your business to the web!
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