A few weeks ago we described the difference between Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Management (SEM).
With the near-chaotic energy and the vast amount of information available on the internet, it's not unlike the world's largest high school cafeteria.
Good SEM gets your website out of the chaos and seated, happy and noticeable, at the "cool kids' table."
But, how, exactly do you do that?
To cut to the chase, implementing good SEM starts with you and your business.
When you and your business— everything it does, all that it offers and your own personal expertise and experience- become an integral part of your marketing strategy, it's a truly holistic approach to digital marketing.
Holistic the way the new girl at school knows she has a lot to offer but needs to fit in— her speech, her looks, her activities- in order to shine. Remember the 1995 classic movie "Clueless?"
If your website and SEM techniques make the internet think your business is unprofessional, or even a little dorky, you won't get far.
Good, polished, marketing lets you have the same ability to connect with potential customers via your website as you have in your brick and mortar store. The relationships you build with an organized, managed, internet presence is the first step to getting new customers to trust you. They see your businesses' website. It looks good, it makes sense, and they want to get to know you.
True SEM starts with you and your commitment to making marketing work.
Now, many business owners misinterpret the value of a holistic approach to marketing. The search engine optimization and management climate continues to reinforce the outdated models like, "the more I spend the better my results will be" and "I could pay to be on page one of Google too!"
Maybe this works in other models, where a business has money to burn and can spend thousands of dollars making small gains— like campaign contributions that, hopefully, demonstrate who will be voting for that candidate. (Try that one with Google or Bing.)
But customers know inauthentic when they see it online, and no one likes to be hassled with multiple ads dozens of times a day. That's no way to get elected class president.
The other misconception is that the business owner and the team can do it on their own. After all, you know your potential and your service and products inside and out.
But, unless you have an employee that can dedicate at least a few hours a day to your marketing this is unrealistic. When an employee is available to be the in house marketer, training and proper tools are often the next hurdles. Without a plan to implement an effective strategy, an in house marketer will be ineffective. There is an option available to make this model work.
By utilizing a marketing consultant to create a plan, and get your business moving in the right digital marketing direction, a small business can be very effective in getting the internet to take notice, and therefore attracting the attention of new customers.
Again, remember "Clueless."
Nobody can do a makeover on their own. It takes passionate experts to show you how, and launch you.
Utilizing the services of a great inbound marketing firm, and an effective marketing platform, your organic marketing strategy can yield results that exceed your past efforts and expectations.
Search Engine Marketing is not a product that can be purchased— you can't buy cool. It is an ongoing strategy that must be constantly monitored and invested in.
Similarly, SEM is not a service that can be farmed out. Your business must be an integral part of engaging potential human customers. When the desire for true SEM comes from within, and you use expert help to guide you, you can attain long term, sustainable, results.
You might even wind up on page one of searches-- which is even better than being elected class president.
