SEO Questions Answered

March 26th, 2007

I thought I’d post up a mini-interview I was asked to do this weekend.

• Why do you think search engine marketing has developed?

With the massive growth of business on the Internet over the last 5 years, marketing was always destined to have a central role with businesses’ Internet spend. Banner advertising was one of the first attempts by the business sector to boost brand awareness and while it did enjoy limited success in the beginning, the cost effectiveness of banner advertising was reduced over time as Internet users’ behaviour evolved.

Over 90% of people use search engines to find websites, which is no surprise. Given the amount of information on the Internet being able to index and sort this information is paramount to user experience. User experience is based around the need for information and the ease of obtaining this information. If you’re searching for mobile phone deals, the last thing you want to see is an advert for pet insurance, which is where Google hit the jackpot in terms of relevance. One of the main reasons SEM has developed is because it can positively benefit the user experience, with the use of contextual, non-intrusive adverts you are using a type of “pull” advertising. Many businesses can see the benefit of putting their product or service right under the nose of a consumer at the exact moment they have an interest. Imagine if you sold conservatories and you had the ability to put a leaflet through everyone’s door at the exact moment they were thinking about having a conservatory built – this is essentially the power of SEM.

Aside from this, the accountability that SEM offers to businesses is a great attraction. You can tell exactly how many people see your advert, interact with it and how many go on to produce a sale or lead. With strong mutual benefits to both user and business, search engine marketing has grown to be the largest reaching media in the world today, ahead of TV and radio.

• What techniques/strategies are used in response to the popularity of search engines? (Including SEO)

The two main forms of search engine marketing are search engine optimisation and pay per click. Most major search engines offer some kind of contextual pay per click system, which is central to their revenue model.

Pay Per Click is an easy way for companies and individuals to “buy” their way to the top of the search engines. There is a science to pay per click and there are various qualifications such “Google AdWords Professional” that search engine marketers can attain. In itself, PPC has been way for search engines to drive revenue with businesses and although it has definitely helped with the success of many websites, I wouldn’t say it has had anywhere near the impact on the Internet as search engine optimisation.

At a first glance, it might be easy to overlook the impact SEO has had on the Internet. With search engines algorithmically calculating results, the competition for the top spots in almost all sectors is fierce. This has had both positive and negative impacts on the Internet. One of the main contributors to search engine positioning has always been link popularity, which is something some people will go to any lengths to get.

On the positive side, with search engines using techniques such as duplicate content filtering, there has been much new, quality content added to the web, that would not have otherwise existed. The best way to maintain a stable incoming of new links is to have the best, most informative, unique content in your sector – this is what will attract links in the long run. Wikipedia is an excellent example, being arguable one of the most successful sites ever in terms of search engines, it has millions of incredibly high quality articles which are frequently cited on forums, blogs and by other webmasters.

As with most things, once somebody figures out how it works, they want to break it. “Black Hat” SEO is a set of strategies which are against the search engines terms & conditions, which aim to trick search engines into ranking them better than they should. Link spam, is one of the most common black hat methods, most forums, blogs, wikis or social sites such as MySpace, get spammed. Most people set up automated processes to leave their links all over the Internet and unfortunately, sometimes it works which is why the major search engines are constantly refining their algorithms.

As the search engines get smarter and search is more personalised we see ever more “exotic” methods of link garnering. One common technique is to “link bait”, which by some is considered a, walking the line “grey hat” technique. It involves writing an article, or producing some content which will encourage people to link to it, so it could be funny, controversial – anything as long as it gets people talking. Using platforms such as Reddit and Digg, it can be quite easy for these ideas to get off the ground and produce a massive influx of links, which will enhance your rankings.

• Is search engine optimisation an essential part of an online marketing strategy?

I would not say SEO is the be all and end all of online marketing. There is a whole range of online marketing techniques that can work very well depending on the scope of the site. The reason many people find SEO so attractive is because of its long term benefits. Although you may spend a lot of time and resources getting ranked well, once you are, you are capturing highly targeted, free traffic. Most SEOs invest a lot for time making sure sites convert well once they have captured traffic. A lot of the time, doubling your conversion rate can be more beneficially than gaining a few extra places in the search engines.

Some argue that it is essential e-commerce sites rank well organically. Although this would put you at a very strong advantage, it is not always possible because of time, budget or competition restraints. Other techniques such as affiliate marketing can get you an incredible amount of exposure and give you the capital to invest in SEO.

Although success is possible without SEO, it is always worth making sure your site at the very least is accessible and easy for search engines to read.

• What key points do you feel has allowed online advertising to evolve? (introduction of search engines, PPC, Banner, Web 2:0)

As mentioned earlier, I feel online advertising has really evolved because the current system gives an almost “permission marketing” approach for businesses. The web is a place unlike the high street. It is very easy for web consumers to take power away companies and it is not uncommon to see a home-made website outrank a large company because their content is better.

The term “global village” has come from the ease that web users can communicate. If a company offers a poor level of service or product, it is very easy for consumers to get the scoop. I think this is a great positive of the web, which is forcing many companies to evolve and offer the high levels of service they claim to offer or give their business to the competition.

There has been many articles and books on “small is the new big” for business. The “global village” outlook really opens up the playing field to smaller companies, with limited budgets that would not stand a chance on the high street. It is much harder for large companies to buy the amount of coverage and stifle competitors than it once was.

• Do you feel the growing popularity of search engines has affected online marketing strategies? If yes, how?

Definitely. Most businesses tend to be quite reactive and will follow where the consumer goes. It just so happens at the moment (it may not always be so), search engines are the first stop on most peoples’ web voyage, so it makes sense for online marketing to shift towards search engines.

It is hard to dispute the success of SEM, because if it didn’t work, it wouldn’t exist. The fact is, search engines give people the information they need and it provides businesses with a cost-effective opportunity to get their message across, while making search engines the revenue they need to survive.

Interestingly, this had lead to a very delicate balance. A couple of times a year, Google updates its algorithms and rankings can significantly change, this has lead to some companies literally going bust overnight due to the drop in sales. So while online marketing strategies may change, it is always worth heeding “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. Search engines such as Google are not under any obligation to rank your website well (despite some people trying to sue them believing they are).