SEO + SMO= The future of online marketing.

Most internet business owners are very familiar with the term SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). They may have spent thousands of dollars to ensure that their business would rank highly on the Google search engine directories or with one of the other search directories that are used regularly by millions of people. But, as with any market that becomes saturated, SEO is not a panacea for guaranteeing that an internet business with grow and thrive and other methods for reaching a target audience must be explored.

With the growing use of social networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter, etc., a new marketing avenue has been introduced to business owners to reach their audience through Social Media Optimisation. This type of marketing will increase a business’ ability to reach their potential customers on a more individual and personal level and will also provide instant feedback to the owner of what their customers want or need from their products.

Developing an effective marketing strategy using Social Media Optimisation will require internet business owners to learn a new method for connecting with their customers. While articles and advertising work very effectively as marketing tools for SEO, there is a more personalized and targeted method for reaching customers through social media outlets such as Facebook. In order to be effective, an individual will need to search social media blogs, chatrooms, forums, etc., that discuss the specific product or service that is being offered on their website. The social media network is not one that will respond to a global mailing to every source of advertising. The approach is much more personalized and will require a dedicated amount of effort to establish and maintain.

While social media optimization may add an extra tool to the internet business marketing strategy, it has been indicated by Facebook and Twitter advisors that it will be most beneficial when used in tandem with other internet marketing strategies that are employed.

Popularity: 3%

Miss spellings are common place in internet search, however, one company; www.comparethemarket.com, came up with a solution and a funny word play on this problem that has taken them, and their sister website www.comparethemeerkat.com to unbelievable new heights. This stroke of marketing genius could only have happened in the UK.

Alexsandr Orlov, is the host of www.comparethemeerkat.com. His creation includes a long family line, a tradition, work ethic, fashionable clothes (for meerkats), and all of the tags that humans subconsciously associate with “life”. This, coupled with Alexs’ personality has created a marketing fever in the UK which has increased the popularity of the car insurance company’s website considerably since his first appearance.

From the introduction of the Alexsandr Orlov campaign by www.comparethenmarket.com, there has been continued growth beginning with a 100% increase in traffic in the first five months of the campaign. Internet advertising costs of the “cost-per-visit” have been reduced by 75% however with the increased traffic, “comparethemarket” has increased their insurance quotes by 100% also. Market share has tripled and continues to rise.

Compare The Market on Google Insights

Besides his world wide popularity and the creation of meerkat cults around the world, the Compare the Market Insurance Company has also become well known and has grown in visibility and popularity as quickly as Alex. When visiting Alexs’ site individuals are directed from the first scene to the last to the www.comparethemarket.com website and encouraged to visit that site following the performance being given by Alex and his staff. In addition, Alex has photos and a page dedicated to his family which draws the observer further into the fun world of meerkat manor.

Alex has a daily following of several thousand fans on both Twitter and Facebook as well as media advertising throughout the UK. But, in conjunction with this popularity and fan following, Compare the Market has also gained fans along with Alex.

Popularity: 4%

Everyone Thinks They Are An SEO Expert

One of the main factors in promoting a website or new business is the ability to rank high on search engines. Most people don’t have a clue when it comes to making this happen, so, they go to “experts” who profess to know SEO and will state emphatically that “IdoSEO”. Many of the companies now popping up, or adding SEO to their list of products or services are really doing nothing that you couldn’t do yourself or, at least, a lot cheaper. When you are looking for an SEO Expert you need to ask some important questions that will tell you right away if they are the SEO expert they profess to be.

1. What programming languages do they use or know? A true SEO expert must be able to do some programming and understand code in order to optimise your site. If the person you are talking to does not at least know html, they are not going to be able to perform an effective SEO function for you.
2. Do they use an SEO program? It’s a very simple question. Many companies that do not have the skills or capabilities to perform SEO themselves are buying SEO programs and software. There are two reasons that this is a red flag. One is that this is an indication they cannot do it themselves; and two, is that you can buy the same program and get the same results a lot cheaper for yourself. The results will not be as effective as hiring a real SEO expert, but you will get the same results using SEO software yourself, as the company you’re paying to use it for you.
3. Where does the SEO company or agency you are considering land in the search engine result rankings when you Google them? This is an important indicator of how effective they are. If the SEO company you are considering employing can’t gain ranking for their own website then how are they going to do it for yours?



4. Does the SEO company or “expert” host their website in the target demographic of their customers? This is basic SEO knowledge, however, many “IdoDEO” companies and self proclaimed SEO experts don’t apply this to their site, how can you expect them to help you or your business if they don’t even know how to help themselves?
5. What is the cost vs return ratio average? If you are considering utilizing an SEO expert they should be able to tell you what the average cost vs return ratio is for their customers. Of course they can’t guarantee the ratio for your website, but they should be able to give you an average for their total customers. If they can’t do this, again, you’ve hit a red flag. When a company will not share averages with you they either aren’t keeping track of their products, results and customers or they don’t care. Either way, you need an SEO expert who is familiar with numbers both good and bad so that you can make an intelligent decision about whether the investment will be worthwhile to you at this point.
6. Watch out for the buzzwords. Unfortunately, everybody has access to all the buzzwords for SEO it just takes a few minutes to read a few SEO blogs to get a basic grasp of this. Just because a person can talk about SEO intelligently does not mean they can actually perform the function. Dig deeper, ask for some sites they have done work for and Google them to see where they are ranking in the search engine results pages. Just as with any contractor you should be able to get references and if you can’t, that is another red flag. Buzzwords don’t mean anything if the company you are considering don’t know what they mean. It is important that you have a clear knowledge of what you want, what the words mean, and what to ask for before you commit to an investment with an “oh… IdoSEO” Expert.

Follow these steps and watch out for the pitfalls of entering into something you might not fully understand or you too could get perplexed by the “IdoSEO” man…

Popularity: 4%