A prospective client of mine asked me to do a case study showing how my search engine optimization techniques worked. Search engine optimization has two basic elements:
On Page Search Optimization
First, Google’s computer analyzes your website. Is it well organized? Is there lots of great content? Is it easy for visitors to find that content? Does it load fast? Do visitors show they like it by spending lots of time on your site – or do they quickly move on to someone else.
Off Page Search Optimization
But, just as important, and much more difficult for most small businesses, is how the world sees your website. Are you listed in all the various directories? Do individuals on social media sites talk about your business? Have you developed a presence on Facebook. Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube and more? The integration of search engine optimization (frequently abbreviated as SEO) and social media is the key to getting first page results in 2010 – and that’s my specialty.
I’ve just completed phase one of an SEO study on the search term auto repair Sacramento. Ten days ago I began, working with 4 local auto repair shops. Here are the results:
1. Customer One – Now on page one for Google. Started at middle of page two, position #16. Now on first page, position #10.
2. Customer Two – Now on page three for Google. Started on page five, position #46. Now on third page, position #26.
3. Customer Three – Now on page two for Google. Started on page three, position #23. Now on second page, position #19.
4. Customer Four – Now on page three for Google. Started on page four, position #33. Now on third page, position #23.
Why Search Engine Optimization is Better than Buying Google Adwords
Google’s keyword estimator predicts that a auto repair Sacramento client who purchased Google Adwords directly from Google (no middleman or reseller) would pay $240 per month for a top position on page one and should expect to receive approximately 75 visits to their website per month. If that customer was dealing with an agent who charged a management fee, the cost to generate those 75 visits would be between $500 and $1,000 per month.
Penn State’s study on paid ads vs. organic listings demonstrated that 82% of internet searches completely ignore the paid or “sponsored” ads on the page. Isn’t that what you do?
In our example, the auto repair customer would pay between $240 and $1,000 per month for 75 web site visits. But, a top placement in the organic section would generate nearly 500 targeted, quality visitors. The people who sell Google Adwords will tell you that it’s impossible to get to the front page, and so you have no choice but to buy their ads. In this study, I’ll demonstrate that they’re wrong.
Sacramento SEO Specialist
If you have a business and would like to see this case study, please call Julie Gallaher at 916-265-2521. Get on the Map Local Search Marketing helps businesses with Google, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Bing & More.
Good report Julie. And let’s not forget another problem with paid advertising: when the ads stop, so does your traffic. Your business is dead in the water. Whereas organic listings go on for months or even years. Organic placement is by far the better investment.
I only like to use advertising as a support to organics, not as a primary source of traffic.
Hey Will,
Thanks for stopping by to comment.
I saw an Google adwords ad yesterday – a Stockton auto repair shop whose advertising is managed by a Fortune 500 company, advertising under the search auto repair Sacramento. How many clicks did he have to pay for from Sacto people thinking that his shop was on Stockton Blvd in Sac? What percentage of his advertising budget was wasted on people who would never, ever do business with him?
He could have spent less money, perhaps significantly less, to have his website optimized by an independent person like you or me, reached more of his ideal prospects and had money left over for golf!
organic Seo is definetly the way to go! Pay-per-click is only good when you promote a product or want a burst of traffic towards your money pages. Other than that Organic way is the best way!
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Good data, this entry helped me a lot in my college assignment. Thank you for your information.
Hi Julie
Your example brought back a painful memory. Ouch! When I first started my website on web analytics, I decided to promote it using adwords. Unfortunately, the name of the site had the words ‘gold’ and ‘stats’ in it. I got most of my traffic from people looking for statistics on the price of gold! There was no way to stop it! This mistake drained my account and returned nothing! Boy did that hurt. It also taught me the real value of organics. I’ve never looked back. There are too many other ways to get the word out.
Regards,
Good analytic, so now I will focus on seo than adwords, thanks
Great read Julie. I’m new at the SEO game so it is very interesting for me to read about the different results and learn the do’s and don’ts.