Businesses that want to increase search engine placement and visibility online have a plethora of options. Today we are going to discuss just a few of the things you can do to get you on the road to total search engine domination.

1.       Website – to create a search engine optimization strategy you start with targeted keywords, copywriting, blog content, and ad placement. If you are new to this it can be pretty daunting, there are a few tools free and for a fee that can help you out with this.

• Google Trends
• Google Insights
• Google Keyword Tool
• SEOQuake
• Wordtracker
• WordStream
• Hubspot
• Overture

First make a list of competitor and industry leader websites, and then go to the sites listed above to see what keywords they are using well and what keywords and phrases they are missing that you may be able to capitalize on.

2.       Blog – most websites are static and though the copy in the site is written to strengthen your targeted search goals when that text doesn’t change very often the search engines stop paying attention. A blog is a dynamic site that can enhance and strengthen a keyword strategy. Blogs should be updated regularly and contain content that is engaging, entertaining, educational, and search engine targeted.

3.       Backlinks – after you have your static web pages set and your blog up and running, next you want to build backlinks with other websites and blogs. Through content syndication, blog commenting, directories, press releases, article posting, forms, and web profiles you can gain incoming links that will tell the search engines where your expertise lies.

4.       Web Profiles – social and business profiles not only give you additional links to keyword and brand for search engine placement but they also give you some backlinks for your website and blog. You should start with sites that will get you coveted search engine placement through their popularity i.e.

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Youtube
• Twitter

What is coveted search engine placement? When someone searches your name or company name the first items that will come up should be your website and blog but next you will see the four sites we listed above. So you won’t just have one listing you will now have multiple links on the search engines and this will give people that are searching or validating your business more sites to look at to get to know who you are.

5.       Niche Web Profiles – after you have built up your profiles and interactive communities on the popular networks you should then target niche networks that enhance your company brand and put you in front of your target audience. Niche networks are typically smaller than the main stream networks but gain their strength in the laser focus of the content. The content of a niche network can be based on industry, topic, gender, age, location, really the sky is limit.

6.       Exposure – forums used be and still are a great way for you to show expertise in a given subject and get some additional links on the search engines but now we also have question and answer sites.

• LinkedIn
• Quora
• Focus
• Aardvark
• stackoverflow
• Stack Exchange

These sites allow you to establish your expertise by asking and answering questions that showcase the depth of your knowledge in an industry or topic. These communities are growing which will put your answers in front of a lot of people. On top of the growing communities the search engines are indexing the forum question topics like they do tweets, articles, and web pages. So this means that you will get exposure in and outside these popular sites.

And if that weren’t enough these sites give you the equivalent of a focus group. Do you have a new project, venture, or product that you would like to launch? Well why not test out the reaction to your idea on a question and answer site.

As you can see there are a lot of ways for individuals and businesses to gain search engine placement and with so many options it can be a bit overwhelming. To get started just remember to start with your goals, look at your resources, create a manageable and scalable plan, and then consistently work your plan. Whatever you strategy the key is consistency; to see results and give your plan longevity will take time and follow through. You can add and subtract as you get the hang of it, but do not expect overnight results.

For more information on web, tech, and social media tools and resources check out our Get Smart Web Blog

Internet marketing, also referred to as i-marketing, web marketing, online marketing, or eMarketing, is the marketing of products or services over the Internet. (source: wikipedia) Internet marketing is relatively inexpensive when compared to other forms of business marketing, i.e. print, billboard, radio, t.v. etc., through online marketing companies can reach a wide audience, global or targeted, for a small fraction of traditional advertising budgets. The ease of use, scope and breadth of information, low cost of access, and mobility of the internet for the user  gives businesses the advantage of appealing to consumers any day, any hour, and in any location. The strategy and overall effectiveness of an internet marketing campaign depend on the company’s goals, plan, and execution.

Measuring an effective advertising campaign is subjective, the ROI (return on investment) for each company is different, some of the components that are measured are time, cost, reach, and conversion. When measuring an internet marketing campaign we take traditional measurements and add in analytical data that can be tracked, measured, and comparatively analyzed. This data can be used to judge execution, to compare with previous campaigns, as well as the web presence of competing companies. The analytical data from internet marketing is far easier and more efficiently extractable when compared  to a traditional offline advertising campaign, this coupled with the lower cost has made web marketing an integral addition to most business marketing plans.

Internet marketing enhanced traditional advertising campaign measurements with  the addition of unique visitors, clicks, bounces, page ranks, keyword authority, link tracking, and much much more…..and now, as if that weren’t enough we add in the interactive marketing component where engagement, brand awareness, word of mouth, and community generated content expands the ROI from return on investment to return on influence. Interactive marketing measurements include content syndication, brand exposure, and comments and discussions on blogs, social networks, forums, micro-sites, article sites, news aggregator sites, mobile and social applications, and…..basically anywhere information can travel it can now be tracked.

Internet marketing has morphed into so much more than the just internet based, where it used to be predominately SEM (search engine marketing) with pay per impression, pay per click, pay per play, or pay per action and SEO (search engine optimization) with long tail and short tail keywords, backlinking, and website design and coding,  it is now interactive multichannel marketing. Internet marketing has grown from just paying for placement for visibility on the internet to interactive digitally focused engagement marketing, which involves the placement of media along varying stages of the customer engagement cycle. Multichannel marketing is accomplished through use of the internet, email, mobile devices, and even extends offline. Interactive marketing is about reaching and engaging consumers where ever they may be.

Right now is the time of year that most business owners are creating or fine tuning their business plan for 2010, part of that process is to look back at what you did this year and last year, as well as to look ahead at what you might want to do next year and the years beyond. A comprehensive marketing plan should encompass staying in front of current and past clients while also increasing exposure to get in front of new clients. Through the use of technology and the internet this has never been easier, so get out there and get interactive. Let us know how it goes!