eMarketing: ch. 5-7

Chapter 5: search engine marketing

Search Engine Marketing, if done well, can be invaluable to any e-marketing campaign. It is very likely that the majority of traffic to a website might come from hits on a Search Engine. It is thus important for web designers to optimize for search engines so that their website can be found by users who are actively looking for them and their product/service. Search engines can't "read" and easily make sense of a website the way a user would so they rely on hints from the structure of the site to determine what is the most relevant content to the site as a whole and to each of the pages.

Chapter 6: search engine optimization

Chapter questions:
Why do links send signals of trust to search engines?

If others link to a site it is like they are voting on that site as an authority in whatever subject it pertains to. They are directing there own readers to that site usually because they found the information or services pertinent and of good quality.

Why is better to have more niche pages of content than fewer pages that cover a lot of content?

Targeting niche content offers the possibility of taping into a proportionally high traffic audience with a lower level of direct competition. Also having very specific pages that are clearly labeled will help your reading quickly drill down to what they are looking for rather than arduously searching through general content.

How can analyzing the links to a competitor’s web site help aid your own link building strategy?

Looking at the links will give you a good idea of the information architecture of the site. Following established conventions for information architecture for a specific type of site will help users by providing a hierarchy they are familiar with. It will also give you an idea of the naming conventions used for specific types of information.

Why is it important for search engines to keep updating their algorithms?

Some dis-honest website creators are constantly trying to outsmart the search algorithms to get there websites to appear high on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Some such ploys include spamming blogs with links to the website in question.

If meta data are no longer used for ranking purposes, why do they still have an important role in SEO?

Meta Data can still tell a Search Engine a little bit about the content of the site and are sometimes displayed alongside the page listing.

Case study Questions (case study: Yachting Partners International):
When it comes to SEO, why should technical considerations be addressed first?

It is important to first address technical considerations so that there will be a clear plan of action to target the most ideal searches for the site.

What is the importance of optimised header and title tags?

Header and title tags tell the Search Engine that what it contained in those tags is important and highly relative to the content. Having optimized header and title tags will help search engines to better index the page.

How do sitemaps help to increase the number of pages indexed by the search engines?

Sitemaps allow for better navigation of a site by both humans and search engine robots. All pages are centralized and only one click away.

Chapter 7: PPC advertising

Chapter questions:
What is the difference between the display URL and the landing page URL, and what is the function of each?

A display URL is what the user can see and click on in a page (e.g. in an advert or page listing). A landing page URL is what actually goes up in the address bar and might communicate information to the server the site resides on, such as a user id.

The page I am currently viewing for example is:
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2882151735768499561&postID=7910883487677434494

The display URL should communicate to the user where they are going within the information architecture of the site.

How is the content network different to the search network? How do the differences affect the advertiser?

A search network is exclusive to search engines. A content network is a collection of websites of various niches that wish to advertise and/or host PPC adverts. The advertisements are then displayed on websites with content relative to the advert.

What is the importance of long tail keywords in a PPC campaign?

Highly specific or "long tail" keywords are from users looking for a very specific service/product. If the campaign targets a long tail keyword that is highly relative to the site/page's content there is likely to be a higher conversion rate and thus less excess money spent on PPC advertising.

Both PPC advertising and SEO are based on keywords. How can PPC advertising and SEO be used to complement each other?

PPC advertising can test different key terms and determine conversion rates for those key terms. This would help with targeting key terms which would be most effective in SEO. And by tracking hits from SEO it is possible to work out which key terms are being used to drive traffic the site and might be used in PPC advertising.

Case study Questions (case study: Southern Sun):
What information from the PPC campaign could be used to help to optimise the web site?

PPC campaign info, such as which key terms have the best conversion rates, can help in web site optimization. This would help in determining which key terms should be targeted.

Why does a PPC campaign give instant traffic while SEO does not?

It takes time to build a reputation with the search engines that your content is relevant to the targeted key words and is considered an authority on the subject(s). On the other hand PPC has the same "ranking" for the purchased key words regardless of how relevant the content actually is to those words.

What is the importance of landing pages in a PPC campaign? What sort of different landing pages do you think would be used?

Landing pages can be tailored to a marketing campaign or might highlight a specific product/service provided by a site. Either way a landing page (like most else in internet marketing) should have a clear call to action. The landing page can work with PPC to better target specific key words.