Competing for business using the search engines can be the tool or process your organization needs to attract more sales. Large organizations invest a great deal of money in Search Engine processes to ensure that their product pages appear frequently on search engine results. Small companies too can compete for local business by using their unique understanding of local buying characteristics.
Which kinds of companies can effectively use Search Engine Optimization and Marketing processes? Simply put, any organization can use the technologies and techniques of SEO to attract visits and customers. There are differences among organizations though, that should be considered when crafting an SEO strategy.
Those organizations exploring an SEO investment would consider several factors in how to go about it. Depending on the type of company, different strategies are available to attract traffic, so prior to planning an SEO project, consider the following business-type questions. Is the company:
Small or Large? Local or National? Product or Service Oriented (or both)?
The answers may help guide your SEO planning:
Small or Large? Of course larger companies can usually afford to invest in an SEO program. Bigger companies have to compete for attention based on a very wide variety of products, price strategies and distribution points. This volume of information simply requires manpower and funding to manage. Optimizing that website to attract traffic requires examination of each individual product sold and presentation of product and service benefits using the web page.
Smaller businesses don’t have anywhere near the SEO budgets found in large companies. Still a website is highly effective for these enterprises if it can be focused on the unique qualities offered. Location, understanding of local buyer behavior and local support or service can all be inexpensively presented on the web page as unique assets or advantages that the local company provides. People prefer to buy from people they know. Small companies can present ownership information and make local buyers comfortable with the business relationship much more than large companies. This can be a huge advantage over the mega-chains.
Local or National Company? Large companies usually have the benefit of a central web site with lots of established traffic and link value. These companies can afford to utilize keywords that attract a lot of search traffic and competition. A well optimized internal page focused on these keywords can frequently return a great deal of traffic by itself. Large companies can also invest in ‘product pages’ or pages dedicated to a certain product type and focus on keywords relevant to that product’s use.
Smaller or local businesses that don’t have the high traffic website already have to set a strategy to acquire the traffic and links. Link building in particular is a main focus for smaller companies to compete using SEO. This can be accomplished using a strategy similar to the ‘product page’ noted above, and should also include the location element. In other words, configuring a page to focus on a product related search term and then including the name of the city or town can be extremely effective. Searches for “kitchen cabinets” would return all the major cabinet manufacturer sites. Searches for “kitchen cabinets in Raleigh NC” should return local dealers. And since many large companies don’t compete well locally, this could be a productive niche upon which to focus – at least initially.
Product or Service? “Value” is the central theme here. Product pages handle a great deal of data regarding product specs, features and service availability. Product sales organizations then focus on these features and upon the value of the product.
Companies providing services must rely on creating a value statement to characterize and quantify the value of the service provided to customers and clients. Saving money or time with the service is a good economic argument to present, but in the end, service companies have to state and restate the value of what they provide in terms customers can grasp. Service web pages an often focus on key phrases that customers would commonly use in asking questions.
Search Engine Optimization can indeed work for any organization to drive traffic and attract potential customers. Each business though, is different. An effective SEO program then requires careful analysis of business type, development of a unique web message strategy and careful implementation of an individually prepared SEO plan.
Matthew Stone and help businesses attract new customers using the web search engines. From highly specialized consulting companies to manufacturing businesses, SEO can be a key part of any sales and revenue strategy. Contact today to start increasing your sales!
