Does SEO Provide Cost Effective Marketing?

SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is often touted as being one of the most cost effective methods of online marketing. Critics would argue that effective SEO requires long term commitment and optimisation. They may also point out that for some of a page's keywords it can take weeks or even months before any measurable benefit is realised. However, with a good search engine optimisation campaign it is possible to generate a lot of traffic that is targeted and poised to take action on your site. There are some factors to consider, that should help to reduce the financial implications of an SEO campaign and therefore increase your ROI.

Effective Keyword Research

Keyword research forms the basis for any SEO campaign. Initially, it will be used to determine the words and phrases that your pages should be optimised for. Later in your SEO campaign you will also need to garner your web pages with links using these keywords and phrases as the anchor text of the link. By doing this, you will see your pages climb the rankings for searches conducted using these specific keywords. As such, your choice of keywords is imperative.

General Keywords

General or topic based keywords are usually poor converters. They are also very difficult to rank highly for. The more general a keyword, the more pages competing for top spot and so the more work you will need to do before you realise any significant improvement in traffic levels.

Search engine analysts have noted that the more specific a keyword or phrase, the more targeted the visitors. If you own an e-store then you may have already noticed that visitors arriving at your site using three or four word phrases are more likely to complete the purchasing process, than visitors arriving using single keywords.

Niche Keywords

Niche keywords are highly specific keywords that do not generate a lot of monthly searches. However, because of how specific the keyword is, there is comparatively little in the way of competition. It can be possible to rank very highly and very quickly for these terms making them a beneficial addition to your keyword targeting.

Geographic Targeting

Depending on the type of website you run, and how you intend to profit from your visitors, targeting local surfers can have a huge impact on your ROI. Many individuals and businesses prefer to deal with a business or organisation that is local to them. In the age of the Internet, the word “local” has taken on a much broader definition. If your business is based in the UK then UK based visitors can often be considered to be local.

There are two ways of ensuring that your traffic is at least partially targeted according to your geographic location.

• Having your listings rank highly in country specific search engines will help. It is often easier to reach top ranks in google.co.uk rather than google.com as well. As well as looking at local dialect usage, search engines will consider the Top Level Domain and even the country of origin of your IP address to determine the appropriate country.
• As part of your keyword research you should consider adding town names, county names, and region names. See how these searches perform and remember that these are a form of niche keyword. There is likely to be much less competition for a geographically targeted keyword than a general one.

More Tactics To Improve Your SEO ROI

This article has really only covered keywords and keyword research as a viable means of cutting down SEO costs. There are numerous other methods that can be employed to ensure that each search engine visitor costs you less, and makes you more profit. Using a professional SEO service will ensure your SEO campaign is as successful as possible while reducing costs and increasing your ROI.