​Search engine marketing can be a complex and scary topic. Endless opportunities to advertise and market, constantly changing trends and technologies, and overly complex solutions all come with the territory. So, what you don't need when you're evaluating or creating your search engine marketing strategy is lengthy explanations about how different techniques work. Instead, seek out advisors who can guide you with simple explanations and techniques based on real results. That's exactly what the following article is about. Here's a simple list of four things business owners can use in creating or evaluating their search engine marketing strategy.

1. Establish Your Internet Marketing Strategy Goal
Many consultants will tell you to set goals about what you want to achieve with your website. Forget it. These are distractions from the real question you need to ask yourself, which is

"What is THE purpose of my website?"  

Once you answer that question, all other aspects of search engine marketing strategy can be leveraged to help you achieve that purpose. 

2. Establish a Search Engine Marketing Plan
​There's a reason why search engine marketing is so hot. It works. It consistently generates leads, sales, etc. at a lower cost-per-lead or cost-per-sale than traditional mediums like TV or direct mail advertising. It makes sense when you think about it: when people want to find something online, they go to Google, Bing, Yahoo! etc. and search for it. Once the results come in, they click on what they consider relevant to their search objective.

3. Conduct Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The goal of search engine optimization is to make changes to your website to get higher rankings in search engines. Yet, search engine optimization is a confusing sector.  On one hand, there are "snake oil salesmen" ready to get you a #1 ranking with their latest trick. On the other hand, the things that do work are very simple, and frankly, just not very "sexy."  

Here's a sample list of SEO standards to enforce on your website:

• Write descriptive HTML page titles that really describe the page it is on (in 255 characters or less)
• Write a summary sentence that really describes the page it is on (in 255 characters or less)
• Write page content that is focused on 

4. Leverage Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Pay-per-click advertising helps you get more traffic from search engines through advertising in search results. You pick terms that people search on. You bid a price per click on the ad that you are willing to pay. Your ad shows up when someone searches on that term, and, if you have selected the ideal set of words to catch the attention, chances are they  will click on your ad and visit your website.

​Picking keywords is all about knowing what terms your customers, clients, etc. would use when searching for your product or service. There are several tools to help you generate ideas. The best tools also check to see how many searches-per-month your target keywords receive. You typically want to find keywords that generate a lot of searches every month, but are focused enough for your business. In some cases, long tail keywords with less volume, but more prone to secure a sale are also a good option.  

​Determining what to bid for your keywords can be a highly-scientific process, sometimes managed by complex software and several key metrics. To keep it simple, let a tool like Google Adwords recommend to you what to bid on first. Start there, and start small. Your best bet is to lock-in a low daily budget limit until you are comfortable with the impressions your ads are getting, the flow of traffic from the ads to your website, and what those people do once they get to your website. 

​Writing ad copy comes down to writing a headline that people will click on, and creating compelling copy below that headline/link that will get people to click.  

Headlines are best created by following what magazine covers do: focus on getting attention through eye-catching, short phrases. Using words like best (i.e. "Best Tips for a Summer Barbeque"), ultimate (i.e. "Ultimate National Park Vacations") 

You may be a bit surprised to learn that monetization is the last of the 4 steps. Many business owners position monetization as their first goal. Everything they do from conception of the business is geared towards making money. After all, that is the point of owning your own web business, right?

Ultimate Secret #4) Monetization Will Flow When All Steps Have Been Followed.

​When I first learned of the four step approach to making successful web businesses, I was a bit skeptical. I have never heard of such a risky business idea - think of making money as the last goal. That sounded absurd to me! In all of my small business education the emphasis was on profit charts and balance sheets and projected annual returns. Being online does change some things. One of those things is how you start and run a long term and profitable business.

​Following the process of starting a web business often involved very little capital. The risk is typically much lower and the return on investment arrives in a shorter time span. Because of this you have a unique advantage to allow the natural progression of your site visitors come into play.

Letís back up a bit and review. People search for information, not products, online. They are not looking to spend money. 

​Once they are on your site, their objective has not changed.  They still want information. So give it to them. As you provide valuable content that satisfies your visitors, you should be developing trust and positioning yourself as the expert. Make recommendations to your products or services. This is the natural progression of an online visitor. They want information, they find you, they receive answers from you, they develop trust in you and think of you as an expert. It is only when those criteria have been met that you gain customers.

Let me repeat that last line because it is the most important line in the entire 4 part series: it is only when the first three steps have been met that you earn income. The goods news is once you finish the first three steps (content, traffic, and pre-selling) you will continue to pull in hot, targeted traffic from the search engines month after month. All of this traffic is totally free!  No advertising costs! Monetization naturally occurs.

There are a few things you can do to help increase your conversion rates:

• Only recommend 2-3 services or products.  Having more than this makes it difficult for your visitor to decide which is best for them.  It is also very difficult for you to recommend them all.
• Place graphics of your product or service on each page of your content website.  This allows visitors to see your offerings more than once.

The first two parts of this series were geared towards both the search engines and your visitors. This article focuses directly on your visitor-more specifically your relationship with your visitor. You must gently and effectively pre-sell your visitors on your goods or services.

Ultimate Secret #3) Pre-selling is far more effective than selling.

Anyone can sell a product or service online.  All it takes is a link to a payment processor such as Paypal.  The difference between successful online business owners and those wishing to make a buck is in their "voice". A website has a voice.  The look and feel of your website gives your visitor an impression. When your visitor reads your words they should know the persona of your business and think of you as an expert.

​Generally speaking, 400-800 words can do the trick.  It can provide content, position you as the expert and gently pre-sell your visitor on a product or service.

In addition to how much content you provide you should focus on providing specific answers to your customer's problems or concerns. Most visitors are on your website because they want answers. They are not surfing your site to buy something. They want answers. So give them answers!

Itís how you provide your answers that matters. There is a difference between selling and pre-selling, and how you provide the answers or information your visitor wants is that difference.

Selling is cold, distant and forceful. Pre-selling is the opposite. Pre-selling can be thought of as a recommendation or side note to all the great content you provide.  You want your website voice to develop trust and rapport with your visitor. 

Forceful selling causes people to put up their defenses. It causes them to take a step back and wonder what your motives are. Pre-selling does not affect people this way. Pre-selling should lead those that are interested in your product without hesitation and those that are not interested should be led to more general content on your website-that will again attempt to gently pre-sell them. The more subtle this process is, the higher the conversion rate.

Part 1 of this series really got down and dirty about content. Content’s main focus is twofold - making your visitors and search engines happy. This article is all about making you happy! Think of this as your starter guide to increasing traffic and building a profitable business.

Ultimate Secret #2) Without Traffic - What’s the Point?
Traffic can be summed up in 2 words - free and paid. 

We consider all PPC (pay-per-click), on and offline advertising, and paid directory submissions a form of paying for your traffic.  We also consider any project that takes up your time to be paid advertising.  After all, in the business world, time is money. Paid advertising can result in excellent results as long as you push the right message to your target audience.  It also means that you are paying to receive traffic or any other form of call to action that you may be looking for - app downloads, e-commerce, newsletter signups or free e-book offers.

​Here are several ways to increase traffic.
Some are paid advertising options and others are totally free.

Write articles and submit them to several niche websites. Manually submitting articles to many websites can take a long time. We use a submission service to do all the hard work.  Contact us for more info.

Submit each page of your website to all major search engines. Also submit each page to all major search engines whenever you make a change on that page. Be careful with this one. Each engine has very specific directions and rules about submission rules. Make sure you do not spam! Submit pages according to each engine’s guidelines. Google Search Console is a good option if you want to DIY.

Look into advertising, web advertising and/or PPC. Each method takes an initial investment and some time to learn, but can bring back traffic. 

Print your website name on all business correspondences. This is a simple task, but one that is simple to do. Add it to your email sig line, forum sig lines, letterhead and business cards.

Create an atmosphere of amazing customer service. This always leads to referrals from current clients.  The more referrals the more traffic!

​The bottom line is without traffic your site is floating in a sea of doom. No one is seeing your content or services. Traffic is the lifeline for any business, and the rule of thumb is that more traffic means more income.

This brings me to my last and final point about traffic. Once you develop a nice flow of visitors you need to know specifics. Where did those visitors come from? How did they find you? What pages are the most popular on your site?