SEO, or search engine optimization for natural, organic visibility on search engines Google, Yahoo, Bing and others, can reach enough new customers to eliminate paid search campaigns.

Granted, SEO is not cheap. It can be a significant investment, depending on what type of website you have and how search engine friendly your website and content is.  However, if you are dependent upon paid search for website traffic, SEO will more than pay for itself.

When done well, SEO should drive the majority of traffic to your website.
-Rebecca Murtagh, Expert Search Engine Strategist

The actual percentage will depend on your particular industry, type of website, how many websites you have referring visitors,etc. The share of traffic attributed to organic search will fluctuate month-to-month by how many online and offline promotions, email campaigns, special offers you are running to drive traffic to the website.

Organic SEO Replaces Paid Search Expenditures

I spent a day providing SEO training an infomercial company. In conducting pre-session analytics, I noticed they were doling out a significant monthly budget for paid search, predominantly on Google Adwords. When the site SEO achieved top Google results for product names, they were able to almost entirely eliminate their monthly PPC budget and use paid search to compliment organic search results with paid promotions, timely offers, etc.

Why Most Companies Defer to Comfort of PPC

Somehow as search engine technology and marketing methods developed, PPC advertising became search engine marketing. There is a great deal of money to be made by marketing consultants, advertising firms and website design firms in managing PPC campaigns like Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, Bing Paid Search, etc. which often include “reseller” benefits of commission and incentive to increase the client’s spend over time.

But is that what’s REALLY in the best interest of the client?

Company Greatly Reduces Paid Search Budget With SEO

I remember sitting down with the President of a funded start-up who was spending roughly $10,000 per month in Google Adwords PPC campaigns. He had achieved some success early in the campaign and, as many people do, thought that if he simply increased his budget, he’d be able to simply scale-up those results for more clicks, leads and sales. After optimizing the Adwords campaigns, effectively reducing the monthly spend by 50% and increasing conversion by 100%, we went on to SEO the entire website, bypassing website traffic records for paid search with FREE organic search engine traffic. Although there was a fee for the SEO, it was a fraction of what he woud have had to pay, if they’d continued to depend on PPC and SEM for website traffic. 

How Companies Replace SEM with SEO

Over the years I have become quite successful in helping organizations from multi-national consumer manufacturing brands to small businesses achieve freedom from Google Adwords budgets with SEO of their website. Success in replacing paid search with organic search engine traffic depends on how well the search engine optimization is done.

The secret sauce to the success we have achieved in eliminating dependency of paid search and replacing traffic with organic search engine traffic. Taking it a step further, effective SEO will include a strategy to differentiate from the competition, pre-qualify the click and promote conversion.

Successful SEO includes:

• SEO Strategy (its about far more than keywords!)
• Long Tail SEO
• Architecture Analysis & Optimization
• Content Planning
• Extensive Keyword Research
• Optimization for Multiple Keywords and Families of Phrases
• Ongoing Analysis and Response to Search Engine Performance
• SEO Design
• Optimization of ALL Website Assets

Replacing SEM with SEO can be done, effectively and cost-efficiently, saving monthly paid search budgets and increasing ROI significantly.
Happy optimizing!

Should you SEO your website?

I’ve been delivering presentations about social media and search engines for months and surprised it is taking so long for others to embrace the way real-time search is changing the value of social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

Before Google announced real-time search engine indexing of social media, mobile updates, I’d observed, tested and provn how closely the two were intertwined.

Social media can be highly effective, if you approach it like a search engine platform. – Rebecca Murtagh a/k/a @VirtualMarketer

A year ago, no one could have predicted the introduction of real-time search would be a game-changer for how we use and leverage social media.

What?!
You aren’t convinced that real-time search is a game changer for social media?

Go to Google.com now, go ahead and do it.
Enter your name, or the name of someone you’re interested in in Google Search.
What do you see? Static results have largely been replaced by social media profiles, blogs, web 2.0 content. This is no accident.

Sure, we always want to remember to be social on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare and other social platforms. However, if you are looking at social media from a business perspetive, don’t you also want to reach target customers, leverage their spheres of influence to build brand and drive results?
For the sake of your business, I hope the answer is yes!

Enters the power of real-time search and social media for brands.

Until real-time search entered the social media landscape, would it ever have been possible to expect to achieve the following?

• Google#1 position for a Twitter account, without a website.
• Display of Social Media profiles on Google Search within hours of creation.
• Archiving of Twitter updates, making it easier than ever to legitimatize social conversations over time?
• Multiple entrances to you or your company via search results showing social media profiles on Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.

We’ve tested and proven how real time search has welcomed social media into the fold as a meaningful source of data, content and audiences.

The question now is, will you?

How about you…are you the master of your Google Analytics? Or, could you use some insight…or maybe even just a refresher on how to determine…

• Where are website visitors are coming from?
• Are you getting the proper percentage of Search Engines, Marketing Campaigns, Publicity, Referring Websites, Social Media, PPC clicks, etc. according to your investments and goals?
• What keywords are (and not) effectively driving traffic to your website?
• Which of your website pages are most attractive to search?
• Is your website is getting it’s fair share of Google search traffic?
• How effectively you are reaching New audiences (customers!)?
• Identify (and report) the impact of Public Relations, Media Campaigns, Direct mail, Blog mentions, reviews, etc on website traffic.
• Are your your website design and navigational items effective in getting visitors to calls to action?
• What pages website visitors click on, and which they “abandon” most frequently from.
• How many of your visitors are using mobile devices (like iPhone and smartphones)?
• Are recent trends in search engines, mobile usage, browser accessibility reflected on your website usage
  
• How to use Google Analytics reports to make informed decisions.

If you don’t know how to interpret this information, I invite you to join me for a

Private Google Analytics Consulting

Google Analytics is a vital part of understanding the effectiveness of your website, SEO, advertising, social media and publicity efforts.

Google Analytics, a free tool, can be extremely valuable in providing data, if you understand what you are looking at, how to interpret performance against internet trends and previous data, and are able to develop actionable strategies using this vital website data.

Whether you are preparing to do a website re-design, update your website content, add pages or search engine optimize your website, your time and energy is far better spent when you understand what is working, what requires optimization and how effectively your website is performing.

In December 2009 Google Search announced that they will be indexing website content in “real time” making “what” you add to your website, and “how” you do it, more important than ever. Google Analytics can let you know if what you’re doing is working…or not.

Google Analytics Expertise

I’ve been using Google Analytics to consult with clients, monitor SEO, PPC campaigns, publicity and social media efforts for years. I’ve learned that most professionals with access to Google Analytics really don’t understand what they are looking at, or what to do with the information being displayed.

When you enroll in Google Analytics Training, I will show you how to read and use Google Analytics website data to make informed decisions. We’ll review Google Analytics foundations, but go FAR beyond the mechanics to explore how to use this Free website analytics tool.

Learn how to leverage your Google Analytics Data in a private, confidential setting.

Request 1-to-1 Google Analytics Consulting Today!

What you learn will be invaluable in helping you objectively assess how well your website is working, and how you may be able to leverage it and make better decisions about design, programming, marketing, publicity and advertising…most likely saving you time, energy and money

Google Analytics Consulting includes:

~ Pre-session Expert Analysis of your Google Analytics Data

~ 1.25-1.5 hour Google Analytics Webinar

~ Review of Google Analytics, the tool.

~ How to use Google Analytics to display data.

~ Google Analytics Report Generating Tips.

~ Q&A.

Who finds our Google Analytics Consulting of Value:
C-Level Executives, Webmasters, Marketing Professionals, Website Owners, Copywriters, Marketing Executives, Website Developers, WordPTheme Designers, Virtual Assistancts and Web Designers, or anyone that cares about ROI from a website.

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Prices in U.S. Dollars, subject to change without notice. Sorry, no refunds. Credit offered toward training only. Pricing, promotion and availability may be terminated at any time without notice. Attendees registered together will share the same webinar.

Fees paid for Promotional Webinars not attended for any reason will be converted to credit for training.

Private training or corporate training is also available, please visit KarnerBlueU.com to learn more about Google Analytics Training Webinars confidential Webinars reviewing your Analytics data with you and your team.