Search
Engine Optimization in an eCommerce World
Search Engine Optimization in an eCommerce World
Before one can fully understand the importance and necessity of
implementing a search engine optimization program into their marketing
mix, it is important to look first at the phenomenal statistics
regarding Internet use.
For example:
•There are 7 new people on the Internet every second.
•Every 4th person online is buying something right now.
•One billion dollars in e-commerce transactions will be conducted
this month.
•Over one trillion dollars in e-commerce business will be
generated this year.
•1 out of 8 dollars spent by consumers is spent on online
transactions.
(Source: ACCUTIPS.com, December 2003)
Furthermore, according to glreach.com, there were 649 million
Internet users online worldwide in March 2003---a 14 percent increase
in just one year! That comes out to be about 88 million new users
in that year alone.
There can be no question that the Internet is continuing to grow
at an amazing pace. While the fact that so many consumers are online
is important, it is even more crucial to understand what these consumers
are doing while online. The two most outstanding reasons people
use the Internet is to communicate (e-mail) and to research (using
search engines).
Again, here are a few statistics regarding how people spend their
time online (for more statistics and a list of sources, visit http://www.10xmarketing.com/information.asp):
•88% of all Internet users use search engines
•37% of online shoppers used Google to search for online
retailers. Search was used by 25 percent of consumers searching
the Web for holiday purchases
•For car buying decisions, search engine advertising proved
itself a stronger influencer (26 percent) than TV ads (17 percent)
•Virtually all affluent adult shoppers (HHI $100K+) use the
Web to make or research their purchases. For automobile, computer
and travel purchases, Internet use is extraordinarily high (over
90 percent of those surveyed)
When consumers go to the Internet, they use search engines because
they are able to find the products they want, reviews, descriptions,
consumer ratings, and the best price possible. Consumers are less
concerned with where they buy their products as much as they are
concerned with how much product they can get for their dollar.
Thus, each day millions of people use search engines to look for
items they want to buy on the Internet. Those businesses that appear
on the first page of these searches are getting 50% to 70% of the
business from these customers. There is little doubt that potential
customers are currently using search engines to search for the products
and services your company sells. The only real question is, “What
are you doing to help them find you, instead of your competitors?”
There are two ways to have your web site to appear on the first
page of any search. The first is to engage in a pay-per-click campaign.
The second is to appear on the first page due to “free”
or natural search results. Getting high, natural rankings in major
search engines is one of the most efficient and cost effective ways
to market and sell your products on the Internet.
Search engines use complex, mathematical algorithms to determine
which web sites are ranked high and which are not. If your web site
matches the criteria, you’re ranked high. If it doesn’t,
then you’re not. It’s that simple.
Search engine optimization, then, is designing your website and
all of your eCommerce actions so that when consumers search for
keywords that are central to your company, your website will appear
at the top of the search results.
For example, if your company sells running shoes (a keyword that
receives 127,575 searches per month), it would be very beneficial
to be one of the top websites on the search engine. If you received
only a small percentage of new visitors each month from that top
ranking, it would still result in a significant source of revenue.
It might help to think of it this way: At least 10 million Internet
searches are performed every month within each major business category.
If only 1% of those searches found your website, you would have
over 100,000 new visitors to your site each month. If only 1% of
those visitors purchased your products or services, you would be
making more than 1,000 new sales per month. (The worldwide average
is 2.5%, making these conservative estimates.)
The scope of this article is not to look at the methods behind
search engine optimization. Instead, it is to look at the importance
the Internet is playing in business development today and in the
future. The traditional marketing schemes of the past still have
their place, but advertising dollars must be allocated to Internet
marketing.
As Bruce Carlisle, CEO of SFInteractive said, “If you aren’t
putting money into search engines you are letting business walk
out the door.”
About the Author This article was written
by Mike Barton, of 10x Marketing which provides companies with Internet
marketing solutions that will increase consumer visits on a regular
basis, thus increasing potential sales and revenue. Contact 10x
Marketing today for more information about your company's Internet
potential.
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