Is Search Engine Marketing Worth Your While?

?

If you have an Internet home based business or you use the Internet for? any other type of marketing purposes, like blogging, then I am sure you?ll have an opinion about this.

I?d like to hear yours when you get to the comments section where I?ll meet you for a chat, but first let?s look at this topic a bit more closely.

What is? SEO?

Search engine marketing or SEO (Search engine optimization) in plain English means that people looking for the content you?re creating, find your sites via typing keywords into a search engine.

It?s not the only way to drive traffic to what you have on offer. Two other ways of doing this are:

• via paid advertising as in PPC, Facebook ads etc
  

• via social networking efforts. People come to your site via other sites like blogs, Facebook, Twitter etc

There are marketers who do very well focusing on just one of the above three traffic methods but for many of us, we dabble in at least two and sometimes all three.

?

?

Where Does YOUR Traffic Come From?

?

To know where your site?s traffic comes from, you?ll have to use a tool to help you collect these statistics.

Google Analytics is probably the most popular and while it delivers a comprehensive search engine analysis, it?s possible you won?t know what much of the data actually means.

?

Is there a better option?

?

I did three years of statistics at University because it was required and while I am well aware of the importance of measurement for Internet marketers, I still find the whole topic a total yawn to be honest.

I opt for something a lot more simple called Get Clicky. It?s by far the easiest web analytics service you?ll find. With Clicky, everything makes sense and there?s no cost unless you feel the compulsion to pay them.

Let?s consider this blog?s traffic statistics for the past few days. In this case I did use Google Analytics.

?

The graph above shows that although most of the traffic was search engine driven by category, the combined percentages of the two next highest categories comes to almost 60%.

Both of these have nothing to do with search engines, so it?s obvious that most of this blog?s traffic is socially driven since I don?t do any paid advertising.

?

What Does This Mean For This Blog?

Direct traffic and traffic referred via social networking is in my opinion less targeted than SEO driven traffic.

This means there?s a good chance a lot of people are here for reasons other than wanting to pay me for my solutions to their problem.

They could be here mostly to learn, network and connect with me for instance and just generally because they like reading this blog.

There?s nothing wrong with this but if I had more SEO driven traffic, would it mean a greater potential for this blog to make more money? What do you think?

I think so but is this what this blog is all about?

Making money is the bottom line for every business, however my blog is part of a bigger business picture.

This site is more about building my personal brand and connecting with like-minded people through exploring topics of interest to me and those who visit.

?

Do you agree that whether you should focus more on SEO will depend on what your site?s goal is?

?

What Are The Pros of SEO?

?

• Done properly, SEO saves time as it works 24/7 without demanding as much of your time compared with social networking.

• Delivers long term value. The longer you keep at it, the more likely you can achieve that elusive but all-valuable number one spot in the search engine rankings. Social networking requires your continual input.

• Delivers free traffic. Visitors don?t cost you anything.

• You can do it yourself or outsource it, unlike social networking.

• May well be the most cost-efficient marketing method to increase sales

?

What Are The Cons of SEO?

?

• Takes time. Search engine optimisation is an ongoing analytical process which never really ends.

• One is continually at the mercy of the Search engine?s control with their algorithm hold.

• Requires considerable skill and expertise which is why SEO companies exist and why some people make a very healthy living doing this as a job.

• Unless you are willing to take the time to acquire this technological expertise it will cost you money to outsource.

• Let?s face it, SEO is responsible for some incredibly dreary posts. It can seriously inhibit the creative spark.

My Conclusions

?

Whether your site is more or less SEO driven will depend on your goal.

SEO is important and with more attention to it I could increase this blog?s traffic significantly.

I am happier not writing exclusively for search engines and my happiness comes first.

SEO still doesn?t excite me terribly much so the next best option is for me to outsource where possible.

This does not mean however that I can?t continue to learn more about SEO and make improvements where I can. This is why I am always on the lookout for Marcus-friendly SEO tips. Make sure you read the PS to this post.

?

Over to you now?

Do you agree with my assessment?

What are your responses to the various questions I posed above?

How much of your traffic is SEO driven?

Do you need to tweak your traffic generation approach and if so how do you intend doing so?

If you believe your followers would benefit from reading this post, please share it with your networks.

?

Be Happy!

?

Technorati Tags: SEO

Source: http://www.marcus-baker.com/network-marketing-internet-business/search-engine-marketing-worth/

zoosk adventure games qatar take me home tonight gunsmoke cru alphabet