| Millions of websites attempt to seduce Google | | | | click ads, hence, potential clients are twice |
| and its competitors to score high search | | | | as likely to click on the organic listings. |
| engine rankings. But what is the best path to | | | | Moreover, organic results build credibility |
| this lucrative romance? | | | | in the marketplace, which further establishes |
| | | | your business and brand for long-term |
| While there are more than a few website | | | | success. |
| promotion tactics, you have two primary means | | | | |
| to establish a relationship: court Google and | | | | Wear a white hat |
| other search engines with alluring web | | | | |
| content; or simply pay to get lucky. | | | | Whether you conduct the organic search engine |
| | | | optimization campaign or have someone do it |
| Pay per click campaigns | | | | for you, be sure to play by the rules. This |
| | | | is often referred to as "white hat" SEO. |
| This popular search engine marketing tactic | | | | |
| can get you substantial presence in just | | | | Try to manipulate the likes of Google with |
| hours or days. However, after you clear the | | | | "black hat" SEO and chances are you'll be |
| floor of fraudulent clicks (from competitors | | | | deemed a 'spammer' and disappear from search |
| eating up your marketing budget) and tire | | | | engine rankings altogether. Not good for any |
| kickers, you might end up with | | | | bottom line considering Google alone receives |
| less-than-anticipated conversions, if any at | | | | more than 350 million searches per day, and |
| all. | | | | provides the search results for AOL Search, |
| | | | ICQ Search, Netscape and others. |
| Big businesses with hefty marketing budgets | | | | |
| might be able to absorb such losses. But if | | | | To oust those who've entered the dark side of |
| you're a relatively small business, blowing | | | | SEO, Google performs frequent updates |
| your budget with nothing to show for it can | | | | industry types call the "Google Dance." While |
| be crippling. | | | | these events were initially held monthly, |
| | | | Google now maintains a database that's |
| Depending on the market demand for your | | | | updated continuously. As a result, the |
| keywords and clicks, a pay per click campaign | | | | 'dances' only take place when Google needs to |
| could range from just a few dollars to | | | | make major changes to its algorithm (a |
| thousands per day. Hence, if you go this | | | | complex set of rules used to determine |
| route, be sure to have someone well informed | | | | website rankings). |
| and reputable conduct meticulous testing and | | | | |
| analysis on your behalf. That way, you can | | | | If you play by the rules and feature relevant |
| identify what's not working and swiftly make | | | | web content and high-ranking inbound links, |
| adjustments to improve conversion | | | | each update or dance can bring you closer to |
| efficiencies. | | | | the top spot. On the other hand, if you break |
| | | | search engine rules and regulations, it could |
| Organic search engine optimization | | | | be your last dance, at least for a while. |
| | | | |
| Organic search engine optimization (SEO) is | | | | To pay or not to pay? |
| achieved by optimizing your web content with | | | | |
| the right keywords and acquiring inbound | | | | If you can afford it, a combination of |
| links. Both tactics help boost search engine | | | | organic search engine optimization and pay |
| rankings and drive traffic to your site. | | | | per click advertising can generate leads and |
| | | | sales in both the short and long term. But if |
| The con of this website promotion strategy is | | | | you have to choose between the two, going |
| it typically takes three to six months to | | | | organic provides the most significant margins |
| advance to search engines' top pages. | | | | over the long term. |
| However, once you get there, it's possible to | | | | |
| maintain your position with no budget and | | | | Regardless of the website promotion route you |
| little effort. | | | | choose, your web content must promote |
| | | | usability and readability, and comprise |
| Plus, web users consider organic search | | | | strategic calls to action to turn the |
| results to be more trustworthy than pay per | | | | additional traffic into sales. |