Everything You Need to Know About Using Search Engines to Your Advantage
Quick! Name everything you know about search engines. They’re fast, right, and nearly always precisely accurate for everything you need to find out. Plus, they offer a wide range of possibilities for you to discover on your own without too many ad interruptions. This is exactly what makes them the ideal tool of online marketing in the 21st century, among other things. Specifically…
A billion-dollar industry
Though it shouldn’t come as any surprise, the search engine industry is currently worth a total of $16 billion. Think about it: Searches are everywhere. They come installed in browser toolbars (or as the basis of entire browsers themselves a la Google Chrome). They’re instantly available on smartphones and tablets. The facts are all here. If you’re not Googling, what are you doing?
The importance of going organic
Of course, simple Googling is nice, but it doesn’t really accomplish anything. In order to land your website in the top search rankings, you’ll need to embrace the mighty power of SEO, or search engine optimization for long. With this type of unique search marketing, you can significantly boost your visibility in the search engines rankings and climb to the top of the pile. Since 70% of all user-clicked links in searches are organic, you’ll want to make content creation — not ad generation — your top priority.
Shopping online
Once customers figured out that it was simply easier (and often cheaper) to do their shopping via the web, retail stores realized things would never be the same. It’s the same with most services, really; customers today like the convenience of discovering new websites through search engines. By 2016, online sales are projected to jump from 7% to 9% of the total retail sales on the planet. When it happens, we’ll have our wonderful smartphones to thank.
Shopping on the go
Studies suggest that 64% of all smartphone owners use them for online shopping. That’s right: You don’t even have to be physically in front of a computer to do your online shopping anymore. What a time to be alive! It’s for this same reason, though, that competition is fiercer than ever. Users’ attention is a valuable commodity, and one of the best ways for companies to gain an edge is through tailored online marketing campaigns that can strategically utilize search engines to their advantage.
Blogging, social media and web design
Good SEO doesn’t simply begin and end with search engines. I like to think of online marketing, on the whole, as a balanced diet — the more colors you’re consuming, the more nutrients you’re getting nurtured by. It’s just as important to update your blog and social media accounts as it is to keep cranking out SEO material. After all, content is content. And don’t skimp out on the web design, either; you’ll want your users to have something nice to look at while they’re exploring the inner workings of your website.
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