It is estimated that 90% of all online traffic is achieved through the various search engines. If your web site does not have a page appearing in the top 10 search engine result positions (SERPs), the chances of someone clicking on your listing, and actually visiting your site, are low. If you are not in the top 20, the chances that someone will scan through the SERPs and find your page, drops dramatically. Hence, Search Engine Optimization tries to help organise your page/site so that it will move up the Search Engine Results and thus be found.
Search Engine Marketing has been controversial in the past with many Search Engine Optimization companies using unscrupulous methodologies to get sites up the rankings quickly. These methods are now largely discredited and using them can get a site banned from search engines.
The importance of Search Engine Optimization is further highlighted by the results of the list of SEM studies quoted below:
* A study from IMT Strategies demonstrates that a company’s presence on relevant search engines is the most important medium for maintaining high brand awareness ‘ more important than the printed media, radio or TV commercials (Sales & Marketing Management Magazine, January 2001).
* A study by Direct Marketing Association found that search engine optimization/positioning was evaluated by webmasters as the single most important activity for generating traffic to the website (66%), followed by e-mail marketing (54%).
* A poll by Iconocast concludes that 81% of UK internet users find websites via search engines (Source: June 2000, Forrester Research Inc., “UK Internet User Monitor”).
* The tenth user survey from “The Graphics, Visualization & Usability Center” (GVU) showed that 84.8% of respondents found information on websites from search engines.
* According to a study published by NPD Group, 92% of online users making a purchase over the net use search engines to find the relevant website.
* A study carried out by IMT Strategies discovered that search engines were the most popular medium (46%) for finding websites. Random surfing and word of mouth shared second place (20% each).
* Search engines are the “busiest” and most used websites on the net - cf. RelevantKnowledge or MediaMetrix studies.
* A study carried out by Jupiter Research in March 2001 gives search engines 9.1 points on a scale from 0 - 10 as the most important online media. The No. 2 spot got 6.3 points.
* According to a study among marketing executives search engine optimization/positioning was considered the most profitable website marketing activity. Far more effective than, for instance, banners, e-mails and offline marketing (Source: WebCMO).
* A study carried out by the NPD Group showed that more than twice as many of those asked could recognise the names of the companies in the top three placements of the search engines as could recognise the names of companies which used banners.
Is your company looking for someone to improve your search engine rankings through search engine optimization and marketing? Let us help you today!