The Importance of Search Engine Marketing

I have been suprised at many clients ‘reluctance’ to really engage their online marketing activity, focussing instead on website builds, e-mail marketing and traditional above and below the line advertising. I have come across many clients and potential clients who have spent vast sums of money on developing their websites, with little or no thought as to the function of the website, how it is going to convert traffic and how to generate traffic to the website.

To make this point even more clear - how many high street shops just rely solely on passing trade for business. Exactly, many will employ a number of other channels in which to drive both brand awareness and custom through the door, whether it be maildrops or press.

However this train of thought is often not carried through to online. There are many organisations, who merely develop their website and never undertake any activity to drive traffic to it, whether it be Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) or Paid Search (PPC), Online PR or merely just putting their web address on items such as their business cards or vans.

From an agency perspective, particularly from those entering the online marketing landscape from a web design or advertising perspective - there is a reluctance to really sell it as it is often seen as an ‘add-on’. However for a client really buying into online marketing, the revenue derived from such online marketing activity, can often exceed that of the website build itself - particularly in the long run.

In short, you wouldn’t setup a shop without advertising of some sort, so why spend hundreds/thousands on building your website, and then leave it and hope for the best?

1 comment June 25th, 2007