Search Engine Marketing

• Search engines are the most common way to find data in today's world. You want to take full advantage of them, especially if you own an online business.
• Marketing can be used to attract throngs of customers to your website. A higher ranking suggests you are an authority on the matter.
• Hiring a consultant in this field will save you the time you would otherwise spend on this process.
• When finding a vendor, ask questions to make sure they are experienced and reliable.
• You want an expert, not a lower-level employee.
• Certification is a bonus, but not necessary for an outstanding vendor.
• Try to find a firm that specializes in Marketing. The “jack-of-all-trades” firm might not be master of any.
• A good marketing firm will manage everything and monitor the results to ensure you always get results.
• Google indexes your page every few months, and that's when you get your rating. Basically, the sooner you start this process, the sooner Google will notice and the faster you get results. (Because of the random nature of Google's indexing, it could take anywhere between 1 day to several months.)
• If a firm promises to get you a top spot on Google within a week, they are lying on 2 counts. It will probably take longer, and they might use a random keyword that has nothing to do with your business.
• This service is only recommended if you have hundreds of competitors, not just a few. Don't waste money on this if you are the only company in your field.
• This is one of the most affordable and fastest growing forms of marketing. Sources list NA spent $9 billion in 2006.

Pay-per-click:

• Anyone can open a paid search account, but you want to hire an expert for your PPC campaign.
• Ask if they are certified by major search engines.
• Try to get some references.
• Figure out how many accounts they manage. Ask for documentation on previous accounts' success.
• Bid on the amount you are willing to spend per keyword. Keep in mind that more money means higher rankings, but you'll run out of money faster. Try to strike a cost-effective balance through trial-and-error.

Buying a computer:

• A good computer will have a high resolution monitor, enormous hard drive, and an AMD processor.
• It's no longer necessary to be strapped down to an Intel processor or Pentium computer.

Your site

• Meta tags are only the first step towards Search Engine Optimization. You also need to include a description, and try to match the keywords appropriately with your page's Titles, Headings, and especially content.
• If your web designer seems inexperienced with SEO, or you yourself don't know how to do it, hire an expert.
• Your homepage must grab the viewer's attention and make them want to keep exploring.
• Try not to get saddled to an aging brand name that refuses to adapt. As the economy grows, there are many competitors and you need to offer reasonable prices and a selection of services.