With our previous focus on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and its importance in search marketing, we now look at Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising as the twin influence. PPC and SEO are the elements that comprise search marketing, and if the correct synergy is achieved, the two prove to be powerful marketing tools.

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These days, merely having a website is not sufficient in terms of a company’s online presence. Any good online marketing strategist will tell you that Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the basis of a successful online marketing strategy. The website needs to rank well in search engines for key-phrases relevant to your business activity in order to increase quality traffic to your website. One of the best ways to achieve this is by ensuring that your website contains well-optimised and relevant content.

Increased traffic to your website is all good and well, but the challenge lies in converting those visitors into leads or customers. In order to increase return on investment from your website a mixture of persuasive copywriting, subtle calls-to-action and easy navigation are used.

In addition to delivering a positive return on investment through an increase in quality traffic, leads and conversions from your website, SEO is also sustainable and cost-effective when compared to a traditional medium like print media. Many South African companies have realised the power and possibilities of the Internet and increasingly companies are including an online marketing campaign as part of their overall marketing plan to create a holistic through-the-line strategy.

Oasis Counselling Centre approached AlterSage in 2008 to design and implement an SEO campaign for them. As a drug and alcohol treatment centre situated in the scenic Garden Route, Oasis wanted to enhance their online presence. With consumers ever more turning to search engines to find what they are looking for, Oasis deemed it vital to rank well on the search engines for key-phrases like:

• “addiction recovery counsellors”
• “alcohol addiction counsellors”
• “detoxification programme”
• “plettenberg bay rehab”

AlterSage initiated the SEO campaign in August with incredible results, as can be seen from the graph below.

Generally SEO results can take approximately three months to appear due to the initial phase of SEO as well as its organic nature. During AlterSage’s initial phase a comprehensive website audit is completed and a detailed SEO strategy is created. After the strategy is implemented the website starts producing results within search engines. With Oasis’ campaign, traffic has increased steadily with improved rankings and wider visibility on the search engines.

During December there is a decrease in traffic, but this is quite typical due to seasonal fluctuations and the number of holidays during this time of the year. Since January 2009, there have been tremendous improvements in visitor numbers. The increase in traffic has lead to an increase in conversions, indicating that the website is attracting qualified visitors through relevant content. Conversions are measured by the actions visitors perform on the website and will differ for each campaign. A conversion can be described as filling out a contact form, downloading a brochure, signing up for a newsletter or making a sale through the website.

One of the key benefits of online media is that it is completely measurable. Almost everything can be tracked, from the number of visitors, key demographics to key-phrases used to find you in search engines. By analysing this information the SEO campaign can be modified to improve the targeting, messaging and reach of your company’s website. It is important to remember that SEO is not a once-off process. Search engines favour websites that update their content on a regular basis therefore it is important to maintain the SEO campaign.

Once the website has been made “search engine friendly” and SEO is implemented, you can enhance your online marketing strategy by introducing additional elements such as Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, Online PR or social media marketing for maximum effect and brand awareness.

Ask yourself: What can online do for you? Can your company afford to lose potential business to competitors that are ranking well? If you would like to determine the possibilities for your website, contact AlterSage. With over a decade’s worth of combined experience in the marketing and online industry, AlterSage offers custom created online strategies tailored to each client’s industry, audience and goals with the aim to gain increased and targeted exposure as well as proven ROI.

This article was originally published on Bizcommunity.com on 14 April 2009.

Have you ever heard an interesting advertisement on television or radio in passing and later searched for more information regarding the product advertised? You are not alone. With the growth of the Internet, consumers are becoming more interactive and instead of waiting for the information to come to them, they are going out and searching for it.

Many people listen to the radio in the background at work, where they most likely have an Internet connection. If they hear an interesting advert and want more information, chances are good they will go directly to the URL, if it is given in the ad and they can remember it. If not, chances are they will Google either the brand name or key-phrases mentioned in the advertisement.

Say for example, you hear or see an advert for dog food that promises to give your best friend healthy gums and teeth. All you remember from the advertisement is “dog food,” “healthy gums” and “healthy teeth.” These are the key-phrases you will use when searching for the brand. This particular example is from a print advertisement from a consumer magazine and the brand in question is not ranking for the mentioned key-phrases. Since you, the customer, can’t remember the brand name, you are going to select the first relevant search result. Consequently, the brand that paid for that TV, radio or print advert is losing potential business to competitors that have well optimised sites.

Many marketers argue they don’t have budget to include online marketing in their current strategy, yet they are advertising extensively on television, radio and print media. Many marketers perceive online marketing to be exceptionally expensive. To put the cost of online versus offline media into perspective, we did some research. Based on the advertising rates from leading consumer magazines and newspapers in South Africa, we estimated the following figures for print media:

• A full-page, full-colour advertisement in a consumer magazine will cost you approximately R56 000
• A double page spread, full-colour advertisement in a consumer magazine will cost you approximately R111 000
• The average cost of a full-page, full-colour advertisement in one of South Africa’s leading newspapers will cost you approximately R155 000
• A half-page, full-colour advertisement in one of the same newspapers, will cost approximately R77 000

The estimated cost for online marketing is as follows: a comprehensive, twelve-month Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) campaign can cost you the same as approximately three of the full-page full-colour print adverts mentioned above. SEO is a good basis on which to build your online marketing campaign. An aggressive twelve-month online marketing campaign consisting of SEO, Pay per Click (PPC) advertising and online PR will cost you approximately the same as eight full-page full-colour advertisements as mentioned above.

At first glance this figure might seem expensive, but based on the fact that it stretches for a full year, needless to say the returns it wields; the investment is well worth it. One of the key benefits to online media is that it is completely measurable, unlike traditional media. You are able to track and measure virtually everything from numbers of visitors, key demographics to key-phrases used to find you in search engines using analytics programmes. Most importantly you can measure the efficacy by measuring conversions. By analysing this information, you can improve the targeting, messaging and reach of your company’s website and thereby increase return on investment.

We are not suggesting marketers utilise only online channels. Traditional channels still have their place. Traditional media like radio, television, print and billboards are great for creating brand awareness and it has been said that offline media can stimulate online searches. However, marketers should not under-estimate the influence and reach of the Internet.

The latest South African statistics suggest that Internet usage grew by 12.5% during 2008.  People are spending more time online, hours spent on the Internet increased by 45% between 2007 and 2008, from 2.6 million hours to 3.8 million hours.  Furthermore, it is not only the younger demographic using the World Wide Web to find information, the Internet usage of the 50+ demographic increased the most during 2008 by 0.6%.

What does this mean for business owners and marketers? It is important to know that the Internet has changed the way consumers buy and adapt your strategy accordingly. The influence of the Internet cannot be ignored. No longer can we only talk about above-the-line and below-the-line advertising when deciding on the promotional mix. It is important to include an online marketing campaign as part of your overall marketing strategy to create a through-the-line campaign.  This approach ensures brand awareness across all channels and maximum return on investment.

When adopting the through-the-line approach, it is important to close the loop. As mentioned earlier, a potential client may remember certain key-phrases from your television, radio or print advertisement and this is what they will use to search for you. Therefore it is important to ensure that the message is consistent throughout all channels.

By working closely with your online marketing consultant, you can ensure that your website is optimised for those specific key-phrases and that you rank well for them. A strongly optimised website will ensure that consumers who are actively searching with key-phrases relevant to your website will find you, and not your competitors.