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Overview
Overview
Overview
marketing manager to promote their brand and drive lead generation. From the
costly to the frugal, from broadcasting a message to narrowcasting it, marketing
managers should be well aware of all the possibilities at their disposal.
Of all the digital marketing channels on offer, the biggest are SEO, PPC (and the
display network), email marketing, social media marketing and affiliate marketing.
Utilizing some, or all, of these methods will help achieve marketing goals.
SEO Pros
• The higher a site ranks in search results for relevant keywords, the higher
amount of visitor traffic it will gain.
• Organic SEO results are trusted by web users more than sponsored, or paid,
results. Therefore, they are more likely to be clicked upon.
• SEO is a great way to promote your brand and establish an online reputation
that is long lasting. Results can be seen both in the short and long term,
even years later.
SEO Cons
• Results cannot be seen immediately and may take months to be reached. SEO
is more of a long term process and cannot be used as a resort when quick
action is needed.
• Search engines use algorithms to determine results. Every time a major
search engine changes its algorithms (for instance, Google’s introduction of
Panda), this reflects on your brand’s position in the results. Therefore, the
ranking position is conditional, and cannot be predicted.
• Because SEO work requires changes to your website, this entails relying on
technical and content providers. That said, with the proper instruction, a
website owner may be able to optimize their site by themselves.
• Relying on Google Analytics for measuring keyword data may be problematic,
due to the fact that Google is encrypting searches (replacing the HTTP prefix
with HTTPS). This means that when site owners check Google Analytics, to
find out which keywords their users use, the answer to their query is “(not
provided)”.
All in all, SEO is not a luxury, but rather a necessity that should be taken into
account when one is designing a website.
PPC Pros
• Paid search makes it very easy to target and track relevant audience
segments. Targeting options enable you to reach an exact segment you are
looking for. You can also choose to invest in quality traffic, despite it being
(perhaps) smaller in quantity. For instance, investing in direct keyword terms
such as “cheap flights to Barcelona” may bring less search traffic than “flights
to Barcelona” or just “Barcelona”. However, those searchers will be much
more prone to convert into customers.
• Creating a campaign can be done easily, within one day, and get immediate
results. That is great news to a site that is either new or not generating much
organic traffic.
• It is easily modifiable. You can control the budget, as well as specific display
times
• Results can be measured and quantified according to certain keywords or
groups.
However, there are some disadvantages to be aware of.
PPC Cons
• Using PPC can be expensive. Choosing enticing keywords has a price – the
keywords that drive the most traffic are naturally those with the highest cost
per click.
• This method requires constant maintenance, either daily or even several
times a day. One needs to set up targets and constantly optimize them
according to the data received.
• Not all users react favorably to sponsored listings or choose to click on them.
There are some niches in the market in which appearing there is less
appealing.
However, maintaining good SEO must be done wisely, with constant care and
tweaking, as well as close attention to the changes in search algorithm in order to
always stay on top of your game. Combining this method with an investment in
quality traffic is a surefire way to make the most of your digital marketing budget.