Search Engines, the Answer?
In response to many online marketing constraints, many webmasters favor search engines for these reasons:
- Getting listed usually is free.
- Search engines are almost always the starting point for most users.
- Organic results (results obtained from non-paid sources) are more trusted than paid ads.
- Search engines are major thoroughfares for the bulk of internet activity, and as such, can refer high amounts of traffic.
- Users spend more time on sites referred by search engines.
Yes, search engines are highly effective at producing targeted traffic. And, they are all of those things. No web site can expect moderate or better success without passing through search engines at some point. But the door swings both ways:
- Search engines are not perfectly relevant and are updated frequently without notice to improve relevance, necessitating sometimes drastic changes to web sites to maintain ranking position.
- Search engines often take weeks to months to even list your site. For exceptional results, on average, they require years of consistent modifications.
- Algorithms that determine relevance are highly safeguarded by search engine companies. Thus, no one outside the company knows positively every factor that will improve rank.
- Sites compete over search engines more easily than offline. For most keywords, small businesses are unable to segment themselves away from bigger companies without incurring substantial expenses that they are unable to afford.
Search engines are definitely one answer to improving marketing strategy online, but clearly not the answer.
