SEM Tips

Follow Simple Steps to Success

Search Engine Marketing is the name of the game in getting a high ranking in Google. You need to follow a number of simple steps to succeed. Here they are:

If you are launching a new site, register the domain, put a simple page of explanation of what it is about, with some keywords in it, and in the title tag. Then leave it to get indexed by the search engines for one to three months before you do anything else. Then, start building the proper site. This way, the domain name gets some age rank, and gets indexed before you start building pages.

Make sure your website is designed with a sound navigation system, and with all the essential pages we mention. Ensure that the title tags reflect the contents of the page, and not the site. Use original content only, and put any text into the page as text. We have seen sites where a page from a catalogue was copied as an image, which means that all the good keywords in it were invisible to the search engines. Don't do that.

You Need 10 Pages

Ensure that the site has at least ten pages. Also, work out a programme of adding a page every 4-12 weeks. There is no hard and fast rule here, but the search engines like fresh content.

Build a blog for your site. It is very easy to set up a blog once you have a site, and it is also very easy to add posts (articles) to the blog. This is a good way of getting extra content, and this can be as simple as reports on recent sales successes, new products, new members of staff, and any relevant events.

Start Search Engine Marketing

Now that the site is in reasonable shape, let's move to the really important thing, Search Engine Marketing. The first step is to submit the site to dmoz.org, which you can do at no cost. Then, submit the site to 100-300 minor directories. Don't expect much from this; it is just something that helps.

It is important to recognise that you will not get instant results with SEM. Your site will improve in a few weeks, but it takes time to get a good ranking. However, next, you are ready to get some real links. You can write articles and submit them to article directories, which is a good start. You can also make comments on people's blogs. However, some are likely to be deleted, especially if they are just about your site or your business. You can also get 'bookmarks' placed on social networking sites, and buy individual links (this is a very expensive way of doing it).

However, the best way to enlist the aid of a SEM specialist who can build the right mix of links for you. We can provide you with a service tailored to your requirements, starting with keyword research, and then building links on a consistent basis so you get a good ranking for many keywords, not just one or two.

How long does SEM take?

That depends on the market. However, owing to the intense competition there is out there, you need to consider it part of your marketing and advertising budget. the reason is that your competitors are trying to get high rankings, too! Persistence is how you get the best results, as with most things.