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Search Engine Marketing
What is Search Engine Marketing?
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is the ability for advertisers, ad agencies, marketing
firms and the like to pay for a sponsored listing in CPC (cost per click)
search engines like Overture and via Google AdWords Programs. Search
Engine Marketing is the quick fix to driving targeted traffic to a web
site but it's also the most expensive to get search engine traffic.
With literally thousands of search engines on the web, you may find it
interesting to note that about 95% of domestic search volume is done
through the top 10-12 search engines.
In fact, we could go as far as
to say that the vast majority of your traffic will come from 3
places: Google, Yahoo, and MSN. Other search engines like AOL,
AltaVista, and Lycos will contribute to a program, but the
traffic that they generate is typically much lower.
Next, it is important to note
that many of the most popular search engines are not actually
even search engines. AOL, for example, is primarily a portal
site that utilizes search technology from a company like Google.
How We Submit Your Site
Over the years, submitting a site to the search
engines has changed drastically. For the most part, the major search
engines will all find your site from the incoming links generated by your
directory submissions and link building campaigns. Yahoo and Teoma also
offer Pay For Inclusion (PFI) programs that ensure a site will be crawled
and updated on a regular basis. Most of these providers charge a nominal
yearly fee to guarantee inclusion, but some of the newer programs (Yahoo)
also charge a fee of $0.15 to $0.30 per click, making this submission a
much more complex area.
The Major Search Engines
- Google – The king of all search
engines. Not only is it vastly popular but it also supplies search
results to AOL and Netscape.
- Yahoo – Unveiled its new search engine on February 18, 2004
after years of using Google as its search technology partner.
- Inktomi – Despite being acquired
by Yahoo on March 19, 2003, Inktomi currently contributes results for
MSN, AOL, Looksmart, Overture, iWon, and many others.
- Altavista – Once the leading
search engine in the world, Altavista was acquired by Overture and then
became part of Yahoo when Overture was purchased it on July 14, 2003.
Yahoo has stated that it will incorporate its search technology into
Altavista this year.
- Teoma – Formerly DirectHit.
Primary source for AskJeeves and contributes to Go/Infoseek, iWon,
Lycos, and MSN.
- Fast / AlltheWeb – A much
improved search engine that supplies results to Lycos as well as its own
site.
- MSN – Microsoft's search technology is still in the testing phase.
International
If your company operates globally, there may also be
some great opportunities to submit your site to directories outside of the
US. There are typically language requirements and many will want your
company to have a presence in their country or region.
Specialty Search Engines
Over the years, many specialty engines have formed to
target highly specific market niches. We typically find potential niche
search engines in the link enhancement process.
Metacrawlers
There are a lot of "metacrawlers" on the Internet
that simply compile the top results from other popular search engines.
Examples include Dogpile, Mamma.com, and Infospace. The top spots in these
search engines are often taken from the pay per click advertising engines
while the remainder are grabbed from various search engines and
directories listed in this brochure.
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