Google is easily the most popular search engine around. The phrase ‘I’ll Google it’ is an everyday one, and it is on the majority of smart phones. A recent study by the Kelsey Group in 2010 showed that 97% of consumers with access to the Internet now research products, services and future purchases online, and that 90.94% of these searches are carried out on Google last August. This easily exceeds all of the other search engines including Yahoo and Bing.
The Internet is now a practically an essential piece of advertising equipment, and digital marketing is fast becoming the main form of marketing that people use, for several reasons. It is faster and easier to update, quick to distribute and very flexible. There are a number of Internet tools you can use include search engines, websites and social media and by combining all of these outlets you can reach a high number of people, especially with smart phones making the Internet accessible on the go. With search engines being such a well used tool to find products and services, the majority of businesses aim to be listed on there, and most importantly, as high as possible. Many people will only look at the first few businesses listed, possibly seeing them as the most credible and used. This credibility is essential to establish yourself online, which is why a lot of businesses spend money on Search Engine Optimisation, SEO, to ensure they are listed as high as possible. There are a number of techniques that SEO companies and professionals such as Net66 use to achieve this, and these are the main three:
Firstly, businesses use key words and phrases within their website and online marketing to ensure they are likely to be seen as ‘relevant’ to searches made by people looking for their particular service or product. A plumber in London may include the phrases ‘plumber London’ and ‘plumber in London’, but they might also use phrases like ‘burst pipe London’ or ‘blocked drains London’, as these are phrases a person needing a plumber might use. These keywords can also also be used in ‘content marketing’ such as blogs and articles.
Creating links to your website. This can include listing yourself on online directories, asking your customers to link their site to yours, or writing content for other sites that link to your site. The more credible, relevant and popular the site, the better the effect on your SEO.
Using social media. Social networks such as Facebook or Twitter have company pages which you can link to your website. Not only are these relevant and popular sites to be linked to, but whenever people mention you or ‘like’ you on a social network, it creates social signals which search engines take into account when ranking you.
