Evolution of Search Engine Optimization concept in the world of Internet Marketing

Internet is highly regarded as the future of human race. The virtual world is growing with such a pace that it cannot be predicted in any ways. The number of subscribers of the internet is rapidly growing and according to online surveys, the number will double by 2012. The number of internet service providers has also seen growth in pace with the users. Businesses, no matter how big or small they are, are fighting hard to have a slice of share in this service market.

The virtual world is getting closer to becoming a reality with the announcement of net-based operating system (Chrome OS) and cloud computing based data management services (Google Apps) by Google. The market is becoming fiercer day by day, and market biggies like Google and Microsoft are fighting it out face-to-face. This fierceness can go on until the initiatives driven by market biggies become a reality or may be until 2020.

Internet Marketing is a concept which became popular with Google emerging as the dominant leader in the search market. In 1998, Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin when the two were attending Stanford University as Ph.D. candidates. Then the real game began. Internet Marketing was dubbed to be the technique of promoting websites over the internet or online medium to drive traffic to the website or business, and thus generating leads for the business.

The initial trend of online marketing before the days of Google was very simple and consisted of limited procedures to be followed. But, after the advent of the Google era, things changed. People started to think differently and new techniques of digital marketing came into existence as and when the search engines, especially Google, started to transform themselves as the blue water navies of the mighty ocean called the Internet or the Virtual World. Possible head-on collisions caused by the evolution of search engines were tackled by the introduction of different internet marketing techniques. Search engine optimization is one among them.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) technique was invented when the concept of search engines was first introduced to the members of virtual world during the 1990’s by search provides like Ask Jeeves, Lycos, etc. SEO has evolved rapidly since then.

During the initial days of SEO, the keywords or key phrases would be stuffed into the website profusely within the text content and the Meta Keywords tag, and the website would rank in search engines for related keywords. But, during the later stages, as search engines evolved, the concept of backlinks (virtual voting system) came into existence and it became a purely number game. Websites with lots of keywords stuffed into them and with more backlinks than their competitors would rank higher in search engine listings. This way of easy going SEO tactics was shattered with the emergence of Google.

Google entered the search market with a bang and changed the rules of the game completely. It started with the introduction of Google Bot (Google’s Search Engine Algorithm) and Google PageRank. Google introduced a new concept called quality into the market and websites with quality backlinks from quality websites or authoritative websites like .gov, .edu, .mil, and media websites, and with quality webpage content began to rank higher in Google’s search result for their respective keywords.

During this evolving era of search engines, webmasters used to gather in undisclosed online community forums and discuss the tactics and techniques of SEO. A Googler in disguise would assist them and provide insights of the Google search engine updates. But, this is no more followed except for the Black-Hat techniques, which are unethical ways of performing search engine optimization, and against the webmaster guidelines provided by the search engines. The Googler in disguise has emerged into the outer world with the identity and name Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s anti-spam team.

In today’s world, SEO is no more an easy play. It has evolved from the keyword stuffing and quantity days to a whole new era of quality and perfection. Many business owners still believe that anyone having a basic knowledge on SEO and internet or just by studying related content and reading study material can perform search engine optimization tasks. But, this myth is no more alive and search engine optimisation cannot be performed as it was being handled during the 1990’s. Since search engines have evolved and have come a long way in their sophistication, search engine optimisation can only be handled by an expert or an Internet Marketing Company in India. Today’s SEO expects precision in mathematical calculations and uses large volume of data, including analytics.

Thus it can be clearly stated that search engine optimisation is full of quality data gathering, analytics and precision achieved with calculations. As it is a highly competitive world that requires regular data analysis and performance monitoring of websites for related keywords on search results, it is better for business owners to leave all the complexities and headaches to experts, sit back and relax, and expect some good results.

Effective Email Campaigns

Email is an excellent method to communicate, promote and market your business, products, services and yourself. Email enables you to provide visibility at low costs. A well organized database, email design and content can be an excellent tool to reach large audiences and expand the spread of visibility and communication.

Email campaigns need a very close link between designs and tracking data since the data will tell us the effectiveness of the design and we will need to constantly refine the design and message to bring in the right response.

Key elements that we need to work on to structure the email campaign:

1. Accurate Data: A good filtered list of the targeted audience is critical for success

2. Sender's Name and Subject Line: The Sender's name and subject are the only reasons for someone to open the email and these must be credible. We should send emails with a personal name and not a business or proxy name. The subject must be inviting and serious.

3. Email Communication: The communication message in the email should be crisp and short to get attention.

4. Layout and Design: The layout and design must be elegant, open and very inviting. A professional design with a strong idea will help in getting attention and bringing admiration to the message and motivate a click-through and response.

5. Response: There have to be ways to generate a response, the best is to provide a form in the email that can be filled in and submitted in a single click. Next best is to offer a click that opens the website and then offers the message and form. The last is to expect a reply to the email. A telephone number placed prominently helps build credibility and enable the recipient to reach for the phone if the message is exciting.

6. Offer: To motivate a good response we must have an offer with a time limit that prompts the person to click and respond.

7. Unsubscribe: Good practice and compliance with anti-spam laws demands that we provide an Unsubscribe option.

8. Tracking: We should have a track of

a. Date and Time of sending.
b. Date and Time of non-delivery and reasons.
c. Date and Time of opening the email.
d. Date and Time of click / response.

9. Data Update: As emails are sent out the data must be updated and incorrect emails removed, unsubscribe requests acted upon and responses added. The database should be able to provide good statistics about the response of the campaign and the effectiveness of the email design and content.

10. Review and Refine: It is absolutely critical that we review and refine each email campaign. Testing the campaign is very simple with email and it is best to check the response of a small sample of 100-200 emails before sending out the larger volume. The email test campaign should aim to provide feedback for the design and communication and its overall effectiveness in getting visibility and response. Once the email has been tested and found to be effective, a larger volume roll-out can be attempted.

With a little discipline and structure, email marketing can be an effective tool that is low on costs but powerful in reach and impact. Good research, data. Professional design and content, and insightful review and analysis can help make this a productive method for your marketing objectives.

Unified Approach for Effective Results

Web design and internet marketing need a unified approach that is not always applied by users, designers and marketing professionals. This holism in the use and application of the different methods and aspects of websites and the internet medium can result in more effective results for the business, the total being far larger than the sum of the components.

Advertising and corporate communications have evolved over several decades since the early days of print and advertising in the early part of the twentieth century. Over the course of the century the process evolved, became very structured and a number of methods and techniques were tried and perfected, so much so, that they have now become standard industry practice. While there is a lot of innovation and creativity in conceptualisation, design and implementation, the break-down of work and process from concept through to final submission follows a regular and defined flow and methodology.

The internet is new as a medium, having just completed a little over a decade. The pace of innovation and development has been extensive and rapid, resulting in the absence of defined methodologies, techniques and processes. There have been efforts and a number of firms do practice well defined processes but these have variations and differences and are not yet standard industry practice.

As a result of this fragmentation, businesses tend to view the concepts of website design and digital marketing differently. While some businesses think of website design to be largely visual and graphic in its format and work with graphic designers, others see content as being more critical and tend to emphasise on the writing aspect. As professionals from different streams including marketing consultants, graphic designers, journalists and advertising professionals gravitate into this new medium, they bring with them their experience and work methods, some of which enriches the medium and some that need to be adapted to suit the digital medium.

There are businesses that believe print designers can also design websites. While print designers bring a lot of perspective and richness of experience into the design process, print design by itself cannot be placed into the web structure without suitable adaptation. Likewise journalists who write for press media need to alter their writing and develop skills in creating content for the digital medium.

It is in this context that there is a need for specialised expertise and teams that can holistically conceptualise and implement internet marketing and web communications for businesses and brands. The holism needs to include design, content, marketing, expertise of the digital medium and technology. When all these different disciplines are blended into a project with a team of specialists, each with expertise in one of these areas, the results are striking and likely to generate substantially better results than when only one or a couple of these dimensions are incorporated into the project.

The methodology that we follow at Indiamap is an integrated and unified one that involves several processes and multi-disciplinary teams. The business objectives of websites and internet marketing are to be able to realise brand visibility, reach and growth and see them get translated into improved sales, customer loyalty and referrals. The business objectives must be interpreted and implemented in a working model that takes the form of a website and online marketing activity. In order to achieve these, the process must include expertise in marketing and communications and a deep understanding of the digital medium. Once these aspects have been incorporated into the research, design and crystallization of the concepts and themes for the website and its communication, a good design and content procedure needs to take over to transform the concepts and ideas into an operational framework. After the design and content are structured and defined, programming and technology support are needed to create the website into a sophisticated platform for communication and marketing over the internet.

It is critical that the understanding, research and expertise of a good internet marketing specialist is included at the early stages of concept and design of the website. The success of internet marketing is interleaved into the design of the website and its content and if this is done well, the marketing activity is able to build on this optimisation and strengths of the website for better results.

The internet marketing activity must be carried out by a multi-disciplinary team that includes experts in marketing and communications to make it effective and synergise with the other marketing and promotion activities of the business.

Over the years of our evolution as a full service internet marketing and web communications agency, we have recognised the multi-fold benefits of blended expertise and integrated teams of multi-disciplinary specialists. This has helped us formulate a methodology that we follow in every project that we undertake. The team at Indiamap logically and systematically builds in success elements into the design of the website and the planning and implementation of the internet marketing programme. We have seen these yield rich dividends for the businesses and brands that we work with. We continue to evolve this process and methodology as our learning of the medium improves and further advancements come into its fold. Our process ensures that we do not restrict creativity and innovation and our team thinks out-of-the-box to find unique solutions for our clients.

The unified approach to website design and digital marketing is likely to get stronger and more structured as more advertising and communications agencies begin to use the internet medium as a significant proportion of their total programme. The unified approach leverages the strengths of the individual skills involved and the combined effect of their blending creates additional effectiveness and benefits that can propel the initiative towards higher success.