Buy It Or Build It: Seo 101

By Author: Alan Moore
Total Articles: 11
Comment this article

A great search engine optimization (SEO) program should always start with pay per click advertising (PPC). But why?

At ReachLocal, our pay per click campaigns are focused on quickly learning what keywords are generating phone calls, leads and figuring out buyer intent. Instead of guessing on what keywords to optimize around for SEO purposes, should you not find out which words are actually worthy of your time, money and focus? Would that not make more sense than the alternative which is to blindly go into a SEO campaign that focuses on words that may bring a lot of visitors to your site but never create any meaningful business?

These are questions most businesses do not consider. SEO firms focus on reports and Google Analytics as a benchmark on whether they are successful or not. What if I told you that the 115 visitors for dentist Baltimore generated 2 phone calls and no patients while 24 visitors for emergency dentistry brought you 10 calls and 6 new patients? SEO firms would focus on the SUCCESS they brought with the 115 visitors when the reality is that it was a miserable FAILURE for your dental office.

Too ...
... often in online marketing we focus on stats and spreadsheets and lose sight that numbers are misleading. At the University of Maryland, where I received a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, I had a professor that said "Figures Lie and Liars Figure." That is so true when it comes to search engine optimization.

Is your business debating whether to invest in a search engine optimization campaign this year? Are you trying to decide if it’s best to invest in a pay per click advertising campaign or a search engine optimization campaign? It all depends on your business goals. For instance, if you want immediate traffic to your company’s website, I wouldn’t suggest investing in a search engine optimization campaign because it takes more time to build traffic.

Nonetheless, if you are leaning towards a search engine optimization campaign, you need to familiarize yourself with your options. There are numerous ways you can invest in a search engine optimization campaign, and luckily, SEOmoz and AYTM have done some of the work for you on this subject. In a December 2011 survey, SEOmoz asked over 500 search engine optimization consultants and agencies about their business models. The survey included answers across the world, covering countries like Germany, India, and New Zealand to name a few. Take a look at the results in the infographic below.

Alan is an Internet Marketing Consultant with Reach Local Baltimore. His mission is to help you increase your revenues and decrease unproductive advertising expenses through proven, online marketing strategies. He manages over $1,000,000 in yearly marketing budgets and has worked with local businesses, agencies and the US government. Give him a call at (877)655-3438 to schedule a free consultation.

seo baltimore, ppc advertising,, how to be number one on google, search engine optimization baltimore and offer internet marketing consulting services.