Often we see clients who are setting up a new website who look to the search engines as the must-do element of their marketing.
They might have jumped into bed with a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) company who's persuaded them that they can optimise their website and deliver page 1 rankings, or they might be using a Search Engine Marketing (SEM) company to manage "paid for" search campaigns on their behalf; the inference is always that organic search and paid search, via systems like Google Adwords, are the must-have ingredients in any business's marketing mix.
Sometimes we find these approaches, whilst they might deliver against their stated goals, are not the most effective use of marketing spend for businesses - particularly those which serve other businesses.
SEO and SEM are both reactive marketing approaches; reactive since they attempt to capture the eyeballs and satisfy the needs of "someone" looking for "something" online. At the root of any SEO/SEM campaign should be an understanding of audience; "how" people might be trying to find your product/service online, and most importantly "how many" people this might consititute.
Unfortunately, this often isn't properly understood, particularly by the website owner, the result being that the measurables of the campaign, those "stated goals" mentioned above, are misleading measures.
For example, obtaining top of page 1 in Google for keywords relevant to your business might be a measure of success - but if nobody uses those keywords in their search, the exercise is unlikely to be beneficial to your business.
If the keywords are right for your business and people use those keywords to search but there are very few online searches for your product or service, it's the same story - little benefit to your business.
You can have your page 1 ranking in organic search and show good click through rates in your paid search, both of which are likely to be "measures of success" put forward by SEO and SEM companies, but which can actually disguise the fact that people aren't using the internet to search for your products or services, at least not in any volume. You can succeed against both those measures, and still not drive any real traffic to your website.
So in what circumstances might reactive online marketing be ineffective? Consider the following scenarios:-
The Incumbant Provider.
Not limited to Business to Business (B2B); what if customers in your target market already have an incumbant supplier. Will they be searching online for your product/service? Possibly, but only if they are looking to replace that supplier. If their perception is that they are getting value for money, they won't be market testing.
Traditional Procurement Processes.
Many company's believe they already understand the supplierscape in their markets and their procurement processes which use tender/request for proposal, may not always cast their net beyond the known suppliers. If you're a new supplier, there's a good chance they don't know about you and aren't trying to find you.
Audience demographics.
What if your target audience isn't 'net savvy. Even today there are elements of the population that are not as connected as others. Even those that are connected, may not be using internet search to look for your specific products/services instead using other channels like newspapers and television.
Niche Products.
Niche products offer a competitive advantage, but also a huge disadvantage. Suppliers of specialist or niche products typically have lower competition but often also a more difficult to identify target market. Online search volumes may be very low in these sectors.
As a web design company, we believe that every business can benefit from having an online presence, but that not all buinesses need to be found via online search in order to leverage their online presence. In the above scenarios a more proactive approach to marketing might represent better use of your budget, and deliver higher return on investment(ROI). With a proactive approach you're not relying on someone searching for your products/service instead you strive to get your business and your website in front of people. A good example is the use of direct mail to bring your services to the attention of the appropriate person. Door to door drops and newspaper advertising are other methods. Basically the way we did it before the internet, though opt-in email marketing might work just as well.
If you do want to try SEO and SEM, first consider if it is the right fit for your business using the above criteria, and when working with SEO and SEM agencies, make sure that YOU understand the keyword search patterns being used to find your products or services, and, the projected search volumes.
Considering the above criteria coupled with having the "how" and "how many" information means you are more likely to set the correct measures of success and see results to your bottom line.
