Bending to the Winds of Google Change

According to Matt Cutts, we will all be “jarring and julting for a while” as Google continues to update its SEO standards. Rank may be the holy grail of SEO development, but it continues to be just as elusive as Arthur’s golden cup for many.  Even if we do find it, there is no guarantee we can keep it.

In this arena, it pays to extract value from every single click.   Clicks become visitors, visitors become customers, and customers become loyal patrons.  By optimizing our online advertising strategy, we put work in on the front end to achieve the eventual rewards.

An SEO in Orange County can help companies who are struggling with search engine optimization and other pitfalls of internet advertising.  We can give you the guidance and advice to help you weather the changes that are keeping the internet marketplace in turmoil.

You Pay More To Find Them Than To Keep Them

According to the knowledgeable ones at Harvard, it costs five times more to seek out a new customer than to keep a present one.  This is only an estimate, but there is no doubt that marketing to new customers is expensive.

Keyword marketing used to be a cheap way to attract new visitors, but the cost of that strategy is also rising as Google continues to make changes.  This is not a trend that is expected to reverse itself any time soon; if anything, costs may go up as the rules become more complicated.

Since it is likely going to cost you more to find them than keep them, it makes sense to optimize your offers, your conversion rates, and your existing customer value.

The Fundamental Things Apply

Basic marketing tells us that if you have a high demand for your product, you do not need to worry much about attracting customers.  If you have a monopoly, customers seek you out rather than the other way around.  Unfortunately, this is something most businesses only dream of.

You can, however, eliminate much of your competition by focusing on a particular niche of your field.  This works if the field is a lucrative one and you do not go too far with your specialization.  Marketing to a small, chosen few is always cheaper than mass marketing.

Optimize Your Conversion Rate

No matter how specialized or general you are, if you cannot convert clicks to customers, your advertising dollars are wasted.  Here is where you dig into the “meat” of marketing:  is it working?  If the answer is no, you need to do some conversion optimization.

There is a wonderful case study compiled by Conversion Rate Experts. It outlines many aspects of conversion, including how your page structure can improve conversion rates.  We can take a few key points from this study:

• Length of the page. Longer pages often have higher conversion rates because they answer questions more fully.  If a customer cannot find what he or she is looking for, then it is likely you have lost that customer. Of course, short copy in organized segments works better than a sermon.  Long does not have to mean boring.
• Time-sensitive offers optimize long-term value.  Customers stay with companies that treat them well.  It pays to give up a bit in the short term to keep the customer happy in the long run.

Global Optimization

Ultimately, you have to be at the top of the search engines to attract new customers.  In theory, SEO provides this ability; in reality, there will be times when the competition is just too fierce.  Focusing on sound marketing principles and global optimization gives you a solid customer base from which you can weather these marketing storms.

If you are interested in learning more about how to make your company optimal, call Orange County SEO at 949-494-0007 for more marketing tips.  We can help you with almost every type of internet marketing, including local SEO, internet marketing, and web design.