Website Adverting Resources
Internet marketing questions and answers
For your immediate online marketing questions and website traffic questions I have created a frequently most asked questions guide for your viewing. If you have other questions that have not been answered below please contact me and I will add them as soon as I am able. Thank you for visiting Searchology 101.
How long does it take to become indexed or found by the search engines?
It can take several months to be picked up by the search engines. Predicated on how much competition there is for your chosen keywords are, it may take less time to become indexed.
Is pay per click better than search engine optimization?
Yes and No. This really depends on what your website goals are and if you are on a specific time line to achieve your website goals. It is best to achieve good search engine optimization, thus, higher natural rank and have a solid online marketing campaign to build your website traffic while your site attains higher natural search rank. Pay per click advertising will drive quick traffic while search engine optimization take more time. The best possible scenario is to have a good position for both natural rank (SEO) and a good online marketing campaign (PPC and display) for optimal results.
Should I advertise [pay per click] using my own brand name, company name, and product brands?
If you plan on using pay per click advertising, I highly recommend using your own product brand names, company name, and other relevant brand terms. Click through rates (CTR) will be higher, the cost per click will be lower, and your cost per conversion will dramatically lower as well. In addition, your competition may be advertising under your brand terms, thus, it is very important to take ownership of your brand.
Is banner advertising really worth the cost and effort?
Yes. If you are using banner advertising to spread a brand message, drive awareness, and drive visitor eyes to your message then display advertising is a good strategy. Please keep in mind banner advertising is not a great producer of conversions. You should expect low click through volume, high impression volume, average click volume, and low conversion volume. A good click through rate for banner advertising is between 1% to 2%.
What is geo-targeting?
Geo-targeting is limiting your pay per click ads and banner ads to a specific demographic area. The city Chicago, city of New York, or the state of New Mexico would all be examples of geo-targeting. In most pay per click campaigns you can target your ads by state, zip code, city, and country.
How much does pay per click advertising cost?
Google Ad Words, Yahoo Search Marketing, and MSN Ad Center, all charge a very small fee to set up accounts for pay per click advertising. To assess online budgets, keyword research and forecasting should be created to figure out how much you can spend. Once you determine how much you could spend based on estimated click volume and estimated cost per click you can budget form there. Usually a good small business pay per click click campaign can rage from $500 to $1500 per month.
How much does banner advertising [display advertising cost]?
Banner advertising is usually based on a CPM [cost per 1,000 impressions] basis. Each advertising network is different, thus, CPM's can range from $.50 per 1,000 to over $50 per 1,000 impressions. Google Site Targeting allows advertisers to display banner ads on a CPC [cost per clikc basis]. Yahoo Search Marketing may be heading in the same type of direction by offering a cost per click model.
Each website marketing firm is different. Some may charge a flat month fee with a set up fee [implementation fee] and stop there. Other, larger search marketing firms, may charge a set up fee, monthly fee, and a reporting fee. Different models for charging pay per click may include a percentage of advertising spend [from 10% to 25%] in addition to a monthly fee.
How can I drive or generate fast website traffic to my website?
Search engine optimization will take a long time to generate higher natural search engine rank so, it is not the fastest way to generate website traffic. You may want to consider pay per click advertising, mobile advertising, banner advertising or email marketing. Website traffic will come pretty fast through the aforementioned advertising channels. Please keep your goals and cost per acquisition targets in mind when using any online marketing.
How much does search engine optimization cost?
Much like pay per click advertising, search engine optimization costs vary as well. Most search engine marketing firms charge on a monthly basis. The monthly fees can range from a few hundred dollars a month to over $10,000 per month. Much of this depends on the contract length, search firm, number of website pages, and quality of individuals working on the team.
Should I hire a search engine marketing firm, do it myself or hire a independent online marketing professional?
This depends on what your goals and budget are. Most independent online marketing consultants will be much less expensive than online marketing firms. In addition, you may get equal client service from both types of service entities.
How much do websites cost?
The cost of website vary greatly. You can build your own website for under $20 per month, hire independent website designers, or higher website design firms. Many of which charge by the scope of project or by the hour.
Can I do my own search engine optimization?
Yes, you can learn how do do your own search engine optimization by buying books, learning HTML, and taking it one step at a time. Search engine optimization is much easier if you choose to use a website builder or website template builder. Most of the information you will need to input is all easily located within most website builders and can be applied within seconds. However, if you already have a website and you do not know HTML or the program language in which your website was written in, I would not recommend attempting to preform your own search engine optimization. This would be like a trucker attempting open hear surgery.
Is social media marketing really worth it?
Social media marketing and social media optimization is worth it as it can increase your natural website rank, with links and good content. Please keep in mind, that I do not recommend spending a great deal of time or money on social media optimization and social marketing if you are a small business owner.
Can I stop bad comments online?
No. If your company has bad or negative comments posted online you cannot prevent the posters from submitting their complaints.
Can I improve my online reputation?
Yes. You can improve your online reputation and lower negative comments from online complaints and negative reviews.
Does Searchology 101 offer any services?
Yes, Serchology 101 offers the following online marketing and website template building services:
- Pay Per Click advertising, reporting, monthly management and set up
- Search engine optimization reporting and recommendations
- Website templates
- Website template builders
- Website template design and building
- Online competitive analysis
- Online reputation management
- Banner\display advertising
- Some social media optimization
Please review the Searchology 101 online marketing price guide for more information or feel free to contact me directly for quotes.
