**by Damien Bianchi **
Implementing a successful search program at the Enterprise level has
some unique challenges. Often, web marketing staff and content
creators become very concerned with making everything �SEO Friendly�.
There is almost a sense of paranoia when creating web content, that
every web page must be found in Google, which tends to be a major
concern for large marketing programs.
For example, if you have a new site launch, or are about to start a
content refresh on an existing site, think about your business goals
first. For example, �ranking #1 in Google for every page on our site�
is not a business goal, nor is it necessarily realistic. An example of
a more defined search-related business goal would be to �increase
traffic to product pages by 25% over the next 6 months�. The reason
defining clear business goals is important is because, as is with
everything within the Enterprise, the goal needs to be attainable and
measurable.
Another reason this is important- when you think about it, not every
page of your web site contains content that (A) people search on, and
(B) will drive traffic and revenue to your site. A lot of your web
content is for brand communication purposes or other communication
goals. So, instead of focusing your search efforts on all of your web
site content, focus on the revenue-driving content as being the pages
that you want to rank. At the end of the day, this is what is going to
contribute to the revenue goals of your organization.
<http://www.positiontechnologies.com/?id=selnews>
Millions are searching. Are you being found?
Longevity in search engines is crucial for today's evolving business
world, and our solutions are tried and tested to deliver lasting
results. We offer effective solutions including SEO Consulting
<http://positiontech.com/seo.html?id=selnews>
, Trusted Feeds <http://positiontech.com/trustedfeed.html?id=selnews>
, PPC Management, Landing Page Design, and more. Position
Technologies <http://www.positiontechnologies.com/?id=selnews>
is a one-stop Search Marketing firm and we offer holistic solutions
for even the largest enterprise, while maintaining a boutique feel.
As I mentioned, this scenario comes up a lot. Let�s say your site has
over 1 million pages, and your new site launch will be to update 50 of
those pages. Keyword research should tell you where the best
opportunities are and where you can focus your content �themes�. This
may only be 10 of those 25 pages. But, using the example I mentioned
above, those 10 pages will help you achieve your business goal of
increasing traffic by 25% over the next 6 months. Metrics can then be
setup to monitor how you are performing against this goal, and your
executive team will appreciate having something they can monitor.
Again, having this business goal drive what strategy and tactics you
proceed with will put you in a good starting position.
The other departments and associated programs will also appreciate
how these goals and search-related recommendations can help inform
content decisions. For example, we know that authoritative links can
help your search performance, so it should be a requirement of the
Information Architecture and content to include some simple content
sharing (such as AddThis) to make it easy for users to share and link
to the content your organization is creating. The earlier in the
process you can influence these types of decisions, the better off you
will be in the long run, and the more likely you are to achieve your
business goals.
It�s important to remember that typical marketing goals such as
increasing brand awareness can be supported through search. You can
increase perception and help drive participation of your web content
through pages that are ranked high in Google. You can also influence
customer mindset through careful messaging in the snippet and in paid
search advertising copy. Again, these types of goals can be driven by
using the right search strategy and tactics.
Enterprise programs have many hurdles. Another challenge is that even
if you do have very defined business goals that your executive team
supports, there can be limited resources (such as content writers, web
developers, or members of your marketing team) available to implement
your search-related recommendations. Most enterprise search programs
are comprised of an internal Search Marketing Manager, and some are
lucky enough to have a few additional staff members dedicated to the
program. Other times, the Search Marketing Manager is flying solo and
relies on an agency for support. Either way, it is extremely rare that
an enterprise search program will have dedicated content writers, web
developers, or other staff required to push forward search-related
recommendations.
Keyword research and content/technical recommendations are only
useful if your organization is equipped to implement the work. This is
where organic differs so much from paid. Usually, with a paid search
program, you select some keywords to spend money on, and then report
on the results (a simplified view - there is a lot more work that goes
into this, so I am not saying that paid search does not have its own
unique challenges).
With organic search, someone needs to actually write the content that
is based on the keyword research or content recommendations. Someone
then needs to then code the pages based on the technical
recommendations. These are just a few examples of the resources that
are required to make this all happen. And, to make it more
challenging, these resources need to implement the search
recommendations within the overall production cycle and juggle other
responsibilities that come with working in an enterprise organization.
More often than not, search is not going to be their #1 priority. So,
it is important to make sure that from an organizational standpoint,
you are clearly communicating the resource requirements to run a
successful search program.
By focusing on your organization�s business goals, you can ensure
that your search program:
Has something measurable and actionable (which your executive team
will love)
Is supported within the organization and has the necessary staff to
support the requirements.
Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and
not necessarily Search Engine Land.
Damien Bianchi <http://searchengineland.com/author/damien-bianchi/>
is Regional Director of Client Strategy at Global Strategies
International < http://www.globalstrategies.com/>
, an Enterprise Search Marketing Agency.
<font size="-1">
Upcoming Search Marketing Expo events you won't want to miss:<ul><li><a
href="http://searchmarketingexpo.es/smx-saopaulo/2009/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=text&utm_content=footertext&utm_campaign=SMX%2BSao%2BPaulo%2B2009">SMX
Sao Paulo</a> - August 4</li><li><a
href="http://searchmarketingexpo.com/east/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=text&utm_content=footertext&utm_campaign=SMX%2BEast%2B2009">SMX
East - New York City</a> - Oct. 5-7</li><li><a
href="http://searchmarketingexpo.com/stockholm?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=text&utm_content=footertext&utm_campaign=SMX%2Bstockholm%2B2009">SMX
Stockholm</a> - Oct. 12-13</li><li><a
href="http://searchmarketingexpo.es/smx-mexico/2009/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=text&utm_content=footertext&utm_campaign=SMX%2BMexiso%2B2009">SMX
Mexico</a> - November 11</li><li><a
href="http://searchmarketingexpo.com/west/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=text&utm_content=footertext&utm_campaign=SMX%2BWest%2B2010">SMX
West - Santa Clara, CA</a> - March 2-4, 2010</li><li><a
href="http://searchmarketingexpo.com/advanced/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=text&utm_content=footertext&utm_campaign=SMX%2BAdvanced%2B2010">SMX
Advanced - Seattle, WA</a> - June 8-9, 2010</li></ul>Attend a <a
href="http://searchmarketingnow.com/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=textlink&utm_campaign=SMN%2Bgeneral">Search
Marketing Now</a> Webcast - it's free! Upcoming webcasts:<ul><li><a
href="http://searchmarketingnow.com">How Large Offline Marketers Drive
Superior Search Marketing Results</a> - July 21</li><li><a
href="http://searchmarketingnow.com/">Trademarks, Brand Terms and PPC
Advertising: Updates You Must Know</a> - July
22, 2009</li><li><a
href="http://searchmarketingnow.com/webcasts/wc090728">Attribution
Management Buyers Guide</a> - July 28</li></ul>Interested in advertising or
sponsoring Search Marketing Expo or Search Marketing Now webcasts? <a
href="http://thirddoormedia.com/contact/sales.shtml?utm_source=searchcap&utm_medium=email&utm_content=textlink&utm_campaign=General%2BSales">Contact
us</a>.
<div><a href="http://www.superbhosting.net/"><img
src="http://www.searchmarketingnow.com/_images/superb.gif"
border="0"></a></div>
You are receiving this email because you subscribed to a Search Engine
Land, Search Marketing Now or Search Marketing Expo newsletter. To update
your subscriptions or unsubscribe, use your newsletter preferences page at
http://third.thirddoormedia.com/lists/?p=preferences&id=2&uid=f9779113b77d03598707df46ae032f9b.
Or send your written request to: 279 Newtown Tpke., Redding, CT
06896</font>
--
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --
0 comments:
Post a Comment