I love everything about baseball. The complicated strategy of the game as well as the emphasis on statistics, suit my nature. And how can anyone resist an afternoon at the ballpark on a summer’s day with a beer and a hot dog? I even like baseball movies and can’t make it through “Field of Dreams” without tearing up a few times.
But the sad truth is that Kevin Costner did the advertising industry no favors with his reaction to one of the movie’s best-known lines: “If you build it, they will come.” This strategy worked great for attracting dead baseball players and their fans, but is not as effective if you are hoping to attract live customers to your Web site.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the ranking of a site by editing its content and the coding to increase its relevance to specific keyword searches. While site optimization can be addressed retroactively, SEO is most effective when a strategy is in place from Day One. But it doesn’t end after the site is programmed. Ongoing activity is necessary to maintain and achieve higher ranks. Google Analytics is a great free tool that can help companies track traffic sources as well as other useful statistics.
SEO efforts are referred to as “natural” or “organic,” and like all growing things it can take time to see results. For instant gratification, companies can utilize paid search options – like pay-per-click (PPC) – which allows advertisers to bid to display their ads based on specific keywords. One of the biggest advantages to paid search is that you reach customers when they are researching a purchase or ready to buy. It is also trackable and allows you to adjust budget daily, if desired.
SEO and PPC may not be part of your traditional advertising budget, but they are critical tactics in today’s digital world and can’t be ignored. Having a relevant site with up-to-date and meaningful content is the first step, but it’s meaningless without the traffic to impact your bottom line. Committing to an ongoing effort in each of these areas puts you in position to start hitting leads out of the park.
