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SEM Basics and Beyond

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Art
Art
Web Hosting Geek

Regardless of the industry, online business is one of the most competitive fields in existence.  More than likely, thousands and possibility millions of other business owners have an ideal similar to your own and are working diligently to outdo you.  Competition is fierce but you don’t necessarily have to generate a million hits each month to be successful.  Believe it or not, there are many sites that bring in steady traffic but you couldn’t tell by the lack of sales.  In the end, succeeding at any online business requires continuous profits because this is what ensures longevity.  The best way to get the traffic you want – people who are more likely to actually buy what you’re selling, is engaging in targeted marketing – you need to learn the basics of SEM.

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Short for search engine marketing, SEM is a method of devising your marketing strategy around search engine traffic.  Everyday, millions of web surfers are relying on search engines to find what they need whether its software or airline tickets.  The key to SEM is determining your niche market before you actually start marketing.  The niche market is the people you are looking for, potential customers that have a keen interest in your particular product or service.  You need to figure out where your ideal customers are located and most importantly, how you are going to use the search engines to attract them to your site.  It is critical to determine these factors in advance because delving into marketing without a sound strategy usually ends in failed results.

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On the surface, SEM appears to be a strategy that calls for you to limit yourself.  After all, why restrict yourself to a niche market when your product or service can benefit almost anyone?  Despite how it looks, SEM is actually the exact opposite.  This method has been so successful because it qualifies your visitors by automatically disqualifying those who are not interested in your offerings.  Although this particular strategy is web-based, the goal is the same are any type of marketing plan – find the people who are looking for you and convert them into customers.  On the web, reaching this goal is about knowing how they go about searching as well as where they hangout online.

Thinking Outside the Box

While SEM is primarily based on leveraging traffic from the search engines, you don’t have to limit your marketing efforts to Google.  When optimizing your website for a niche audience, you are better assuring the possibility of generating traffic consisting of potential customers.  This can be increased by bringing in visitors by way of special invite.  These are people you find in discussion groups, blogs and other social networking communities.  Whereas traffic from the search engine is likely to stumble across your site and many others like it, these are visitors who took you up on your invitation.  They come in pre-qualified and very interested in what you have to offer.  When utilizing genuine SEM tactics and going beyond the basics, you have a much better chance of bringing in the traffic looking to find you.

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