Search Engine Marketing, Inc.: Driving Search Traffic to Your Company's Web Site

Description:

"A very comprehensive, yet light-hearted guide for internet managers that demystifies search engine marketing and provides practical advice for success."

—Piers Dickinson, Global Internet Marketing Manager, BP

"Outlines every one of the major strategic steps to develop your search marketing initiatives. This book teaches Web marketers what to do from the beginning so they can implement a successful search marketing program—the strategic steps to define the scope and cost of your search marketing program, develop a team, create a proposal, get executive approval, manage, and measure your search marketing program. You have to read it to appreciate it!"

—Cynthia Donlevy, Web Marketing & Strategy, Cisco Systems, Inc.

"Getting your site indexed is the most fundamental, yet one of the most challenging, aspects to search engine marketing. Search Engine Marketing Inc.: Driving Search Traffic to Your Company's Web Site is a detailed and comprehensive guide through the pitfalls and opportunities of this complicated subject. I started reading Chapter 10, "Get Your Site Indexed," and haven't really put it down since. It is a wonderfully well-written and detailed reference that you will come back to again and again to get more out of your SEO efforts. From price engines to paid placement, Chapter 14, "Optimize Your Paid Search Program," covers everything you need to know about paid search. I have yet to come across a more useful book for SEM pros. From budgeting to bid strategy and optimization, Mike and Bill take you through the steps to create successful paid search campaigns. Whether you are just starting out in paid search or are already a power player, you will learn something new from this book."

—David Cook, Search Marketing Manager, Buy.com

"This book has no silver bullets or snake-oil potions that will magically propel your site to the top of every search engine. What it offers instead, is the most comprehensive, well-thought-out, and well-motivated treatment to date of all aspects of search engine marketing, from planning to execution to measuring. If you are involved in any way in the economic aspects of Web search technology, you need this book on your shelf."

—Dr. Andrei Broder, IBM Distinguished Engineer & CTO, IBM Research Institute for Search and Text Analysis

"Mike Moran and Bill Hunt have delivered a masterpiece on enterprise search marketing. Both engaging and results-focused, Search Engine Marketing, Inc. guides the marketer through the basics of why search is important and how search engines work to the more challenging organizational tasks of selling a search marketing proposal to executives and executing on a search marketing plan.

Unlike many previous search engine optimization books that have treated search marketing as a guerilla approach disjointed from other organizational needs, Search Engine Marketing, Inc. shows how to incorporate search into the overall marketing mix in order to increase both customer value and business return-on-investment.

Full of real examples from other enterprise search marketing organizations and thoughtful treatment of the business issues surrounding search, this book is the reference volume for bringing a successful search marketing program to fruition in the organization."

—Jeff Watts, Search & Community Manager, National Instruments

"Search Engine Marketing, Inc. is the ultimate source on how to implement a search marketing campaign. The book provides actionable instructions on topics from how to get the finances within your organization to how to make your pages rank well in search engines. Beyond that, the book explains conversion metrics and projecting your success. For anyone within a large organization, looking to make a difference with the corporate Web site; the book is a 'no-brainer.' For any professional SEO or SEM, the book is a must read. The manner in which Bill Hunt and Mike Moran organized the book is both unique and smart. Both Bill and Mike are also extremely professional public speakers on the topic of Search Marketing. I have been to dozens of search marketing conferences and I can honestly say, I am as impressed with this book as I am with their top presentations."

—Barry Schwartz CEO, RustyBrick, Inc.

"Bill and Mike's book provides an excellent in-depth resource for companies examining their search marketing strategy. In addition to actionable SEO tips, this book outlines how to successfully develop a search strategy, determine what to outsource versus keep in house, and how to precisely outline the business case and 'sell' search to executive decision-makers. If your company is wondering how to enter the search space—or if you're revising your online strategy—read this book."

—Heather Lloyd-Martin, Author, Successful Search Engine Copywriting

"Required reading for anyone interested in how to apply leading-edge search marketing within large enterprises. With search marketing now of critical importance, the authors provide practical advice and approaches that are both sophisticated and invaluable."

—Rob Key, CEO, Converseon, Inc.

• Step-by-step guide to setting up and managing a search marketing program for your organization

• Best practices, tips, and cost-saving measures from two of the world's premier experts

Effective search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) is now crucial to the success of your business. But it's never been more challenging—especially if you're responsible for a large, complex site. Finally, there's a definitive source for reliable information for implementing an effective search engine optimization and marketing program for your business. In Search Engine Marketing, Inc., ibm.com's site architect and a world-leading enterprise SEO consultant present best practices, step-by-step techniques, and hard-won tips for driving maximum traffic at minimum cost.

The authors begin with an up-to-date introduction to the fundamentals: of how search engines have evolved, how search marketing works, and how searchers and site visitors really think when they're trying to find information. You'll walk step-by-step through every facet of creating an effective program: projecting business value, selling stakeholders and executives, building teams, choosing strategy, implementing metrics, and above all, execution. Drawing on their unsurpassed experience, the authors systematically address every issue you're likely to encounter, from enforcing search-engine friendly content standards through hiring consultants. You'lllearn how to:

• Handle the unique optimization and marketing challenges associated with large sites

• Create site standards that codify best SEO/SEM practices

• Align search marketing with your company's strategic and tactical goals

• Automate checking and reporting for every page on your site

• Create monthly scorecards and use them to drive improvement

• Provide effective guidance to content developers and designers, in language they'll understand

• Get your site indexed, choose target keywords, optimize content, and attract links

• Make the most of the leading search engines and specialized and local search

• Ensure that paid search efforts deliver optimal results, cost-effectively

• Measure site-wide success rates across multiple systems and technologies

• Hire the right SEO consultant—and avoid the wrong ones

Whether you're a marketing, Web, or IT professional, product manager, or content specialist, this book will help you define your SEO/SEM goals, craft a best-practices program for achieving them, and implement it flawlessly.

 

Table of Contents:

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

I. THE BASICS OF SEARCH MARKETING.

 1. Why Search Marketing Is Important and Difficult.

 2. How Search Engines Work.

 3. How Search Marketing Works.

 4. How Searchers Work.

II. DEVELOP YOUR SEARCH MARKETING PROGRAM.

 5. Identify Your Web Site’s Goals.

 6. Measure Your Web Site’s Success.

 7. Measure Your Search Marketing Success.

 8. Define Your Search Marketing Strategy.

 9. Sell Your Search Marketing Proposal.

III. EXECUTE YOUR SEARCH MARKETING PROGRAM.

10. Get Your Site Indexed.

11. Choose Your Target Keywords.

12. Optimize Your Content.

13. Attract Links to Your Site.

14. Optimize Your Paid Search Program.

15. Make Search Marketing Operational.

16. What’s Next?

Glossary.

Index.