How many times has a friend or colleague told you their Website is ranked in the number one position on Google for a particular keyword phrase? Top ranking must mean they receive tons of visitor traffic to their Website, right?  Well, as Search Marketing Specialists we hear this all of the time, so what do we do?  The first step is to determine if people are in fact searching the keyword phrase.  99% of the time, we discover NO ONE is searching the keyword phrase, so even though their Website may be ranked in the number one position, no visits to their Website will occur.

The chart below lists 5 keyword phrases, 2 of which have no search activity whatsoever.  This means, companies with top ranking under those 2 phrases will not generate any visitor traffic.   Our goal as Search Engine marketing Specialists is to uncover highly searched, targeted keyword phrases that have a  low number of competing Websites vying for top ranking.  The more Websites vying for top ranking, the more difficult it is to achieve top ranking.

Recently I read an article by Maria E. Andreu about Marketing during the Holidays.  (http://www.sideroad.com/Marketing/holidays-and-marketing.html).  Many companies don’t realize the importance of Marketing during the holidays, and write off their Marketing efforts at that time.

This article points out that the holiday season is an important time to continue and broaden your marketing efforts.  Using Search Engine Marketing, and Internet Marketing is an excellent way of doing this.

The InterconGroup is a leading Search Engine Marketing Firm.  We develop visually stimulating websites that rank our clients in the TOP 10 positions on search engines and drive target leads to their sites.  This both increases sales and brand awareness.  The InterconGroup also specializes in Pay Per Click Marketing; another marketing strategy utilized to increase sales and market awareness.

Contact The InterConGroup before the Holiday season begins to Develop your Search Engine Marketing Campaign

So your considering trying to market your products with one of the major search engine’s  Pay-Per Click (also known as PPC)  marketing programs?  Great idea!  Pay-Per-Click search marketing is one of the most affordable advertising options available to small businesses, baring it’s done correctly.  There are many things to consider so your investment pays off.  Today, I am going to touch on one of the factors involved in running a successful PPC campaign.

How much you can afford to bid/spend on a specific keyword?

The idea is to get a high PPC ranking to get traffic, but the top rankings for popular words are often times too expensive.

The solution is to target a large number of less popular keywords. These words are usually less expensive and can give you a considerable volume of traffic at a lower price.

For example, Let’s say you own a ski resort. The keyword “ski vacation” currently receives over 90,000 searches per month. That’s great, but it costs $6.51 per click for the top ranking. Instead of competing for that specific keyword, you would be better off choosing “ski trip” (5,871 monthly searches at $0.57 per click for the top spot) and “ski lodge” (5,241 monthly searches at $0.55 per click for the top spot).

By targeting several less popular keywords, you can get close to the same traffic as a popular keyword at a fraction of the cost.

So you may ask yourself, how do I choose terms that people are searching for at a lower cost?  The answer is, by performing a keyword research on the industry you are targeting! This is a service that we at the Intercon Group can provide for you.

It’s common for PPC advertisers to target dozens of keywords.  The Intercon Group manages  PPC campaigns for clients using thousands of terms.  If this is the case it must be well organized and be set up methodically, so it is easy to make changes and understand your data, because there are so many factors involved in the management process.

The downside is that it can be hard to manage a large number of keywords. You’ll want to track your listings, making sure your rankings stay near the top 3-4 positions.  Plus, you’ll want to know which keywords are driving business to your website, sending you qualified traffic and converting visitors into customers.

Many businesses also use  software packages to manage their listings. These software packages track your listings, and can adjust your bid if you drop in the rankings.  Keep in mind there is much more involved in the management of a PPC account besides rankings.

Many companies also outsource the management of their PPC campaigns. Most SEO companies offer PPC management services. These options cost money, but they usually pay for themselves by running your campaigns more efficiently.

You can call the Intercon Group to learn more about Pay-Per-Click management.

The major Search Engines Google, Bing and Yahoo will continue with their offline and online “slug-fests” to gain attention and subsequently, greater market share. One critical fact remains – if you hope to turn your website into a profit center, you must still have the right SEO elements in place to bring your website into the coveted  search results that will drive visitor traffic to your website.

An interesting article from Brafton.com explains why SEO remains so important for businesses today. It doesn’t matter whether Google, Bing or Yahoo’s share of search increases or decreases, you want your business website to be found, ranked on the first page of the SERP’s (Search Engine Results Pages) where visitors are more likely to click. Once they arrive at your site, good design and visitor friendly navigation will encourage a purchase or action and repeat business.

To read the article visit Brafton.com

Want to turn your website into a profit center? Contact The InterCon Group today for a quote on improving your search engine rankings via a custom crafted SEO plan.

If you haven’t considered mobile marketing for your company today….think again. All the data coming in from credible data sources on the Internet are reporting amazing results as far as customer acquisition, prospecting and driving traffic is concerned. The most successful adopters of mobile marketing use it to broadcast “information and alerts about products” second only to “mobile couponing”. Our recommendation is to run don’t walk to your nearest Mobile Marketing Campaign Provider to begin your campaign today!