Business growth with Search Engine Marketing

Search engines have become the most popular method of finding products and services, and they are rapidly taking over from print-based ads and trade directories.

Yet many businesses ignore Search Engine Marketing (SEM), often because of assumptions like the following:

• The cost would be prohibitive
• We don't have the technical skills
• Internet marketing is only for corporates

• We already have a web site
• Our print-based ads are working fine
• Our customers don't use the Internet

For those who do invest in SEM, most discover one of the best methods for winning new orders:

Search marketing has a compelling logic: you advertise to customers at the exact moment when they are looking for the product or service you offer.

Organic Search Advertising

Search engines produce two types of results: organic (or natural) and sponsored (or paid). Organic listings are the web pages that the search engine considers most relevant to the user's query. Because the web site owner is not charged, every visitor is a free referral.

The growth of the Web, however, has led to increased competition for the top positions in organic listings (usually considered to be the first page). As a result, businesses are investing in a process known as SEO (search engine optimisation), which seeks to maximise performance by improving the site's relevance to the search engine systems and their users' search queries.

Paid Search Advertising

Sponsored search listings are usually displayed in a column to the right of organic results and are subject to a commercial agreement between the advertiser and the search engine provider. In return for payment - usually a pay-per-click (PPC) fee - the advertiser has greater control over the appearance and position of the ad.

Paid search is a powerful and effective tool for winning new customers, even for small businesses and sole traders, but it requires skill to set-up and manage. An inefficient PPC campaign will burn money very quickly and may result in excessive customer acquisition costs.

Which method?

SEO and paid search each have benefits and disadvantages, and the best business-growth solution often involves both.

Diadem offers a free initial consultation, during which we will assess the needs of your business and provide an outline action plan with an estimated budget.

What next?

Contact us for a free consultation.
Read this case study about SEM: Flame Heating & Plumbing.