What Is Search Engine Optimisation?
Search engine optimisation is the technical process to make your website content and purpose as apparent as possible to search engines. Search engines attempt to present users with the most relevant websites and website pages possible for any search that a user enters. So the search engine optimisation process is about ensuring your site ranks highly for relevant and popular search phrases.
“55% of all online purchases originate from Search Engines as opposed to only 9% from banners”
Site content needs to be presented to search engines in a very specific but subtle way in order to achieve top rankings for popular search phrases. The technical process of adjusting a site’s content and html is called search engine optimisation. For the rankings to be achieved, a good online reputation is required. For traffic to be generated the correct phrases must be targeted. To achieve the maximum business benefit, the site’s usability and business strategy must be well planned and executed.
Search Engine Advertising is the placement of small text advertisements on search engines. Google Adwords and Overture Pay-for-Performance Search are the two most well known players. On Google the text ads appear at the top of the results and on the right hand side under the heading ‘Sponsored Links’. Overture syndicates its ads to other search engines like Yahoo where they appear at the top of the page and are under the heading ‘Sponsor Results’.
Imagine you owned a retail outlet and that everyone who came into your store was kind enough to complete a customer questionnaire for you.
In this imaginary world, time wouldn’t be an issue. You could ask a whole lot of questions, such as how people had heard about your store, where they’d just come from, if they’d been to your store before, and what sort of thing they were looking for when they came to you.
How does a search engine know that your site is important?
The web is based on the interconnection of websites via hyperlinks. After search engines, links from other sites are the most popular method of finding new websites. Not only do people use these links to visit new websites but search engines use the number and quality of these links to determine the “online reputation” of a site and then ranks them accordingly.
What Is Email Advertising?
Email advertising is when you place an ad in an email sent to a list owned by another site. For example an advertorial in a site’s regular newsletter. There are also permission lists where subscribers have given permission to receive emails from companies offering specific products or services.
Ads have traditionally been text editorials but with the adoption of HTML email clients’ banners and forms can now be supported in email advertising.