Why is search engine positioning so important?

When done correctly, search engine positioning can generate a far better Return of Investment than conventional forms of marketing and advertising such as direct mail, print ads and trade shows. In spite of the recent dot com crash, and all the ridiculous website ideas that went with it, the internet has done anything but slow down.

The demand for high speed Internet access (both at the home and at the office) has reached an all time high. International Data Corp. (IDC), reports that worldwide e-commerce spending grew 68% between 2000 and 2001, reaching more than $600 billion in 2001. IDC expects e-commerce spending to pass the $1 trillion mark in 2002.

On top of this quality of search engine leads are typically higher than those that come from conventional advertising. These are not people that you had to hunt for, but these are people who are specifically hunting for your products & services… right now. Knowing how your customers are searching for you and being found at the top of the major search engines for those search terms is crucial. Our clients have seen incredible growth in their sales as a result of our service. Many of them have told us that this was the best marketing investment they have ever made.

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Additional findings from various marketing research firms:

81% of internet users find the web sites they’re looking for through search engines. And 54% of experienced online shoppers primarily rely on a search engine when trying to find a product to purchase online.
- Jupiter Communications: Consumer Survey Data

Search engines have created more awareness for websites than all other advertising combined including banners, newspapers, television and radio.
- IMT Strategies

Over 80% of search engine users find what hey are looking for within the first three pages. Sales leads made from keyword and phrase searches are the most qualified and have the highest purchase probability.
- Forrester Reports

Today’s top U.S. search portals are collectively responding to over 300 million searches per day. Google alone currently has over 2.4 BILLION web pages in their index. If your web site is not appearing within the first few pages (when searching for your products and services), you are missing hundreds, possibly thousands, of highly qualified leads. It only makes sense to target your marketing efforts toward people who are already looking for you in the first place.

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- How do high search engine listings compare to banner ads?

A study conducted in January 2001 by NPD Group, a research group specializing in consumer purchasing and behavior, tested the impact of search listings, banner ads and tiles across a variety of sites to determine which was most effective. In every situation, search engine listings came out of top. Results? Consumers are 5times more likely to purchase your products or services after finding your web site through a search engine vs. through a banner ad:

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- How can we move our web site to the top of the search engines?

There are two main ways to get listed at the top of the search engines; through Optimization and through Pay-Per-Click where you can “buy your way to the top” within many of the well known search engines.

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- What does “Optimization” mean?

By definition, “Optimization” is the art of fixing your web site so that it will please the algorithms of the search engines and/or the human editors of directories. Thus, when potential customers are searching specifically for your products and services, the search engine and directories choose YOUR web site over your competitors to list at the top of their search results. We use legitimate search engine approved methods of optimization and avoid methods that are forward upon by the search engines.

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What is the cost of your optimization service?

We offer the lowest price on the market for guaranteed top rankings (we define a “top ranking” as a new listing within the first two pages of results). We can also guarantee first page rankings by simply adding 20% to our standard fees. However, please note that over 80% of the “top ranking” we generate for our clients end up being on the first page anyway.

Pricing for our six month service plans depend on the quality of key phrases selected.

Annual renewal/maintenance plans to maintain your new top rankings afterwards are available at a minimum cast and at no obligation.

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What else does your optimization packages include?

Our standard package include; extensive key phrase research, improvement of your link popularity, optimization of your home page, creation of additional optimized pages (which will be added to your web site and hosted & owned by you), manual submitting procedures, registration to The open Directory Project (Yahoo and Looksmart priced separately), monthly ranking reports and our full money back guarantee.

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What guarantee do I have?

Our research shows that no other search engine optimization company offers as many guaranteed top rankings per contracted key phrase as we do (an average of 3 top rankings per key phrase). The majority of our competitors offer no guarantee whatsoever, and the few that do… average only one top ranking per key phrase.

We guarantee that within 180 days, you will EXCEED the minimum number of top rankings guaranteed by your chosen package. If we fail to meet this guarantee, you can choose to request a refund at that time for the amount that we did not earn. Thus, you only pay for true results. Top rankings achieved above and beyond our minimum guarantee are free of charge and we typically generate more than double what our guarantee offers!

Pay-Per-Click (also known as Pay-Per-Placement or Pay-Per-Performance) are search engines who charge you only for visitors who “click-through” to your website. You can choose exactly which key phrases you want to be found under. However, your competitors may also bid against you for the same phrases.

More, Pay-Per-Click search engines are not worth your efforts due to their lack of popularity. Overture (formerly known as GoTo) is the exception. They have brilliantly partnered with many of the major search engines and directories such as; yahoo!, infospace, Altavista, Ask Jeeves, MSN, Netscape and more. Most of the “Sponsored Listings” or “Featured Listings” seen today at the top of these major search engines are achieved through a relationship they have with Overture. By staying within the top three rankings of Overture, your web site can appear in nearly all of the major search engines and directories (including Yahoo!) for as little as $0.05 per visitor! As far as we are concerned, this is no-brainer that every company should be taking advantage of.

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Can’t I just do this Pay-Per-Click stuff myself?

By all means, you can. Overture offers both Self Serve and Full Service options. However, it has been our experience that even their full Service option will not even scratch the surface of what our research and daily services can do for you. Unless you are planning on only using a handful of key phrases (which is a red flag that you are probably already using a poor strategy), you will quickly find that the one to three hours a day involved with checking and updating your key phrases numerous times a day is a royal pain, and well worth the small fee of our $100/month, full service maintenance program (month-to-month program, cancel at any time!).

It is not uncommon for companies to attempt Pay-Per-Click search engines without a strategy and see very poor results. Be warned! Overture can be VERY effective, but unless you take into account, a proper pricing strategy, key phrase popularity, key phrase competitiveness, secondary key phrase options, knowledge of which positions are fruitful and which ones are a waste of time, and the daily task of babysitting and updating your placements … you can burn through your money quicker than you can say “Paid-For-Nothing”.

Your goal should be to generate the highest amount of qualified traffic for the least amount of money and effort. That is where we come along. Our staff has managed Overture (formerly known as Go To ) accounts since 1998. Maximizing the results of your Pay-Per-Click account is our business. Through the use of extensive key phrase research, statistical analysis, pricing strategies and automated proprietary software, we can help you in achieving the maximum number of qualified visitors for the least amount of money. We will also provide a detailed monthly report showing total click through charges, total # of clicks & the average cost per click.

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- What is the cost of your “Pay-Per-Click” service?

There is a one time set-up fee of $295.00 which includes extensive key phrase research and the setting up a new account within Overture. The maintenance fee is $100.00 per month (per 100 key phrases). We offer a popular “Starter Package” for only $995.00 which includes our $295.00 setup fee and waives the first month of services. The remaining $700.00 goes directly into your account.

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