5 Essential Elements for Successful SEO
August 10th, 2010If you are thinking of utilizing an Internet search engine optimization campaign to generate new business leads online, here are 5 essential elements to keep in mind for making your investment worth while:
1. Clear call-to-action for visitors
What will visitors do when they land on your campaign page? What do you want from them, a phone call? An email address? A form submission? Make sure it is clear what your visitor will get for responding. Wherever possible, use video to increase effectiveness–people are more likely to understand and respond to what they see, hear and experience rather than what they read.
2. Clear plan to handle responses
What will you do with responses when you get them? Does the new contact go into a database for follow-up? Do they get a phone call after a certain period of time? Does something free get sent out to the responder? A clear path of conversion should be planned for the sales process so that your campaign can realize a return on investment.
3. Clearly defined campaign goals
What defines success in terms of conversion? How many conversions will it take to break even on the cost of the campaign? How long do you expect to run the campaign before it starts to convert visitors into sales? These are all questions to consider up front to avoid investing money aimlessly as the campaign goes on over time.
4. Sufficient budget
Very often, the budget required to attract enough fresh online visitors to even begin realizing a measurable return is underestimated. The competition for visitors can be very tough depending on your industry. It’s important to research this up front in order to come up with a realistic budget.
5. Measurement
A commitment to measuring results is essential. In the beginning, this is important because most campaigns need to be tweaked and adjusted to see what works and what doesn’t–in terms of the call-to-action, key word targets. In the long term, measurement is essential to determine whether the campaign is worth continuing.
CONCLUSION
Lacking in any of the elements above can make waste of your investment in the Internet as a way to generate new business. Make sure you have thought about all five before laying out any significant investment in an Internet campaign, and consult an Internet marketing specialist whenever possible.
