A Guide to Search Engine Marketing

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ABOUT ESSENTIAL MARKETER
Essential Marketer is a fast growing UK online marketing and software solutions company based in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. We pride ourselves on ensuring that all of our clients receive a clear return on investment (ROI).

Over the last decade, online marketing, and in particular search engine marketing (SEM) have become an absolute necessity as part of business’ overall marketing strategy with millions of companies all aiming for important online exposure.

Essential Marketer takes a methodical approach to online marketing and use best practise techniques to ensure best possible results.

We offer a range of products and services which enable businesses to grow their online presence whilst improving staff performance through bespoke software solutions. We have a huge breath of knowledge and expertise, through years of working in the marketing, IT and finance sectors.

OUR ETHOS
Essential Marketer is driven by creativity and results. Our experience and knowledge provides engaging creative and content connecting your customers with your products and brand. Coupled with this, we offer bespoke software solutions to compliment and optimise staffing productivity.

We believe in being 100% transparent with our clients and offer an open approach to how we work. We’re a blend of marketing and IT specialists working together to improve the performance of your brand and business.

OUR SERVICES INCLUDE:
* Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
* Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
* Pay Per Click (PPC)
* Affiliate Marketing
* Email Marketing
* Display Advertising
* Online PR
* Web Design
* Web Development
* Software Solutions

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) has become an increasingly essential part of all businesses marketing mix.

Does your company undertake a focused strategical
Search Engine Marketing campaign
to increase and drive qualified leads and sales from your website?

If the answer is No, then maybe you should consider that 85% of all online searches are conducted through search engines - then your next question should be “Why Not?”

When Search Engine Marketing campaigns are implemented correctly, they can provide huge volumes of traffic that result in new sales and leads. You should consider that your competitors who are actively running Search Engine Marketing campaigns are winning business from being listed within the search engines for relevant search phrases.

It is now commonplace for business to allocate and even switch huge proportions of their marketing budgets to Search Engine Marketing due to the returns and that Search Engine Marketing is totally measurable.

Search Engine Marketing Options
There are two options that compliment one-another in search engine marketing, they are:

Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising - this search engine marketing technique requires you to pay a fee every time someone (a potential customer) clicks through to your website from an advert placed in a search engine’s results. Simply put, you only pay each time someone visits your site.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) - this search engine marketing technique is involved with the art of optimising your site through amending and enhancing so that there is a better likeliness your sites pages will display at the top of natural (organic) or free search engine listings for your selected search phrases (keywords).

Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising
Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising has continued to grow strong over the recent years with more and more businesses realising the available returns. Forbes estimates that by the end of this year (2008), online marketers will spend approximately £15.6 billion on pay per click advertising.

Pay Per Click advertising offers businesses an notable choice to achieving natural (organic) listings on search engines through Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Implementing Pay Per Click advertising is relatively quick and you can begin to see results within a matter of days.

The main Pay Per Click search engines in the UK are Google, Yahoo! and MSN.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Effective Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an intricate and time-consuming process. Many businesses do not even consider Search Engine Optimisation as they view it to be too complex to achieve natural (organic) listings within the search engines. Search Engine Optimisation is difficult, however when implemented precisely the benefits are both massive and long lasting.

Due to the intricacy and time-consuming nature of implementing Search Engine Optimisation correctly, most businesses that value the benefits of Search Engine Optimisation employ a specialist online marketing agency.

Not implemented and poorly implemented Search Engine Optimisation can have detrimental implications for your business - the worst case scenario is that your corporate website can be removed by the search engines, making finding your website impossible for your potential online marketing audience. This scenario is not a rarity, many business website's have dropped off and other businesses not implementing Search Engine Optimisation will continue to be removed while there are webmasters and search and online marketing agencies willing to drive traffic by unethical or ‘blackhat’ methods.

Comparing the Pros and Cons of Pay Per Click (PPC) and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Pay Per Click (PPC)
Pros
A PPC campaign can easily be set up
You have complete control over your budget
Once set up, your ads begin to show and generate traffic within hours
Your ads only appear for your chosen keywords/phrases
Can be used in conjunction with SEO - complementary strategy

Cons
If you stop paying for your listing the traffic stops as your listing is removed
Managing 'in-house' is time consuming as it requires you manage your bids on a daily basis
Depending on your market, competition can be fierce driving costs upwards
Click fraud can be an issue for businesses that have unethical competitors
If not managed correctly, campaigns can become expensive

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Pros
Unlike PPC, when a customer clicks on your advert, it is free
Good SEO processes ensure your site builds traffic and the results are long lasting
Users are more inclined to click on a natural listing as customers realise these are not paid for. They are also more prominent in the search results

Cons
SEO implementation is intricate and time-consuming
The effects of SEO can take some time to come into effect, often taking several months for true traffic to begin building
If implemented poorly or unethically SEO practices can have a harmful effect on your online presence

Essential Marketer
Essential Marketer is a fast growing UK online marketing and software solutions company based in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

SERVICES
Online marketing services and software solutions to help your website shine and your business grow

Essential Marketer offers a blend of professional marketers and IT experts, meaning we understand your needs, the outcomes you require and how to achieve your objectives.

We understand that online marketing is more than just about HTML, keywords and links, we fully utilise our experience in marketing, advertising, design, usability, brand management and copywriting to achieve bespoke strategies aimed at helping our clients to where they want to be.

Our team come from diverse backgrounds, sharing similar passions and ambitions; to deliver online marketing strategies that are right for your brand.

We take an integrated approach to online marketing by providing a centralised strategy, planning and creative design. Our team plan and deliver strategic solutions which include affiliate marketing, web design and development, online PR and viral marketing, search engine marketing (SEM), email marketing and social media strategies.

We fully understand how online marketing can be utilised for response-driven marketing, but we also understand how online marketing can be used for brand engagement. This understanding and knowledge enables us to build sites that balance usability and design, providing a superior experience for the user.

Our services include
* Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
* Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
* Pay Per Click (PPC)
* Affiliate Marketing
* Email Marketing
* Display Advertising
* Online PR
* Web Design
* Web Development
* Software Solutions