Want to Use Search Engine Marketing to Thrive During this Recession?

Fact: There were 6.8 billion searches done in June 2006. Forty-three percent of search engine users are looking for a local merchant to make an in-person purchase. Fifty-four percent of internet searchers have substituted internet/search for the phone book according to the Kelsey Group. With the growing use of search engines by consumers for both shopping and researching before shopping, anyone looking to thrive during this time of economic transition would be wise to employ search engine marketing as a means to reach new customers.

First off, search engine marketing (SEM) is a kind of pay-for-performance kind of marketing. In case you are not familiar with it, just look at the sponsored ads at the top of the page when surfing Google or Yahoo. These ads link directly to your website. One benefit of search engine marketing is, you only pay when someone clicks on your ad and comes to your website. Never before has it been possible to gain access to over 100 million people (worldwide) in only 10 minutes. That’s how long it takes to set up a Google Adwords account.

SEM allows the user to drive very targeted traffic to their website almost immediately. In addition, you can track the effectiveness of an ad campaign and make changes within hours or days of starting a campaign before spending a fortune on a losing campaign. When handled correctly, that alone can bring exponential profits to your bottom line.

One of the keys to effective marketing is to make certain that your message is being communicated in the media where your potential customers are looking when they are ready to buy. More than 60% of US residents are internet users. In 2007, there were 186.9 million internet users (62%) in the US. That number increased to 192.8 million (63.4%) in 2008, and is expected to go to 221.1 million (69.2%) by 2013.

According to a February article in eMarketer, online research is driving offline sales. Any retailer who isn’t using the online channel to promote offline sales-as well as online sales-is missing a sizable opportunity.

“Today, online consumers think nothing of shopping across a retailer’s stores, Website and catalog,” says Jeffrey Grau, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the new report, Multi-Channel Retailing, “As a consequence, online product research is driving more in-store sales than online sales.”

Last year, eMarketer estimated that store sales influenced by online research totaled $471 billion. Comparatively, retail e-commerce sales were only $136 billion.

Looked at another way, for every $1 in online sales, the Internet influenced $3.45 of store sales.

“Online consumers are becoming precision shoppers,” says Mr. Grau. “They are availing themselves of the wealth of information resources online to discover and evaluate products, compare them and find where they can be purchased.”

Later on in that article, Forrester Research, in contrast, reported that Web-influenced store sales plus e-commerce sales accounted for 27% of retail sales in 2007-almost twice eMarketer’s estimate.

There is a huge opportunity for those put a well-developed marketing message into this space. A major mistake of any business owner would be to attempt to profit from search engine marketing without having a well-developed marketing strategy in place. That would be just like having a once-in-a-lifetime business idea, but failing to have a well-organized business plan ready for the potential angel investor who’s going to be in your office this week.

In order to make the most of every dollar invested in search engine marketing, here are a few tips:

1. Do the necessary market research to familiarize yourself with the market that you are wanting to reach. What pain are they struggling with? What problems to they want to eliminate? What things will make their lives easier, richer, more enjoyable? What do they really want?

2. Develop a laser-sharp unique selling proposition in order to differentiate yourself from anyone who appears to be a competitor of yours. In addition to a unique selling proposition (USP), you’ll also want to develop a marketing plan or strategy.

3. Implement your plan with the intention of being committed to it for at least a 12 month period. Search engine marketing is only one part of a larger strategic marketing initiative, and you should always think in terms of 12 months in order to position yourself for maximum effectiveness. If you implement your plan today and expect results too soon, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Research shows that business owners who plan for long term success are more likely to experience sustained levels of growth as opposed to those who are more spontaneous with their marketing efforts.

4. Consistently test and evaluate the results of your search engine marketing campaigns in order to systematically improve your return-on-investment. Testing can be done with Google Analytics. I know of a couple of companies that do a great job in this regard. They actually handle set-up and management of pay-per-click marketing from top to bottom. The company is Rocket Clicks. They require $75.00 for an initial consultation. The consultation fee is to discourage the tire kickers. Just consider their track record demonstrated by their testimonials before making your final decision.