The #1 Step-by-Step Guide to Search Marketing Success...Now Completely Updated with New Techniques, Tools, and Best Practices!
In this book, two world-class experts present today’s best practices, step-by-step techniques, and hard-won tips for using search engine marketing to achieve your sales and marketing goals, whatever they are. Mike Moran and Bill Hunt thoroughly cover both the business and technical aspects of contemporary search engine marketing, walking beginners through all the basics while providing reliable, up-to-the-minute insights for experienced professionals.
Thoroughly updated to fully reflect today’s latest search engine marketing opportunities, this book guides you through profiting from social media marketing, site search, advanced keyword tools, hybrid paid search auctions, and much more. You’ll walk step-by-step through every facet of creating an effective program: projecting business value, selling stakeholders and executives, building teams, choosing strategy, implementing metrics, and above all, execution.
Whether you’re a marketing, Web, or IT professional, product manager, or content specialist, Search Engine Marketing, Inc., Second Edition will help you define your SEO/SEM goals, craft a best-practices program for achieving them, and implement it flawlessly.
About Mike Moran
Mike Moran has worked on the Web since its earliest days, in both marketing and technical roles, including eight years at ibm.com, IBM’s customer-facing Web site. In 2008, Mike retired from IBM to pursue speaking, writing, and consulting, including serving as Chief Strategist for the digital communications agency Converseon.
Mike is also the author of Do It Wrong Quickly: How the Web Changes the Old Marketing Rules, and he writes regular columns on search marketing for Revenue magazine, WebProNews, and Search Engine Guide. He’s a member of the Search Engine Marketing Council of the Direct Marketing Association and a charter member of the DMA’s Interactive Marketing Advisory Board. Mike is a frequent keynote speaker on Internet marketing at events around the world, serves as a Visiting Lecturer to the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, and he holds an Advanced Certificate in Market Management Practice from the Royal UK Charter Institute of Marketing.
Mike also has a broad technical background, with over 20 years experience in search technology working at IBM Research, Lotus, and other IBM software units. He led the product team that developed the first commercial linguistic search engine in 1989 and has been granted four patents in search and retrieval technology. He led the integration of ibm.com’s site search technologies as well as projects in content management, personalization, and web metrics. Mike led the adoption of search marketing at ibm.com back in 2001 and pioneered product search facilities that dramatically raised conversion rates. Mike was named an IBM Distinguished Engineer in 2005.
Mike can be reached through his Web site (www.mikemoran.com), which is also the home of his Biznology newsletter and blog.
About Bill Hunt
Bill has been a pioneer in search marketing and is considered the top thought leader on enterprise and global search engine marketing. He is an internationally recognized search marketing expert who has spoken at conferences in over 30 countries. Press, industry analysts, and corporate leaders frequently seek Bill’s advice to effectively leverage enterprise and global search marketing.
Bill has a dual role as CEO of Global Strategies International and Director of Global Search Strategy for Neo@Ogilvy. As CEO, Bill is responsible for developing and executing GSI’s corporate strategy and global expansion while ensuring stellar results and client satisfaction for all clients. In his role of Global Search Strategist for Neo@Ogilvy, Bill is responsible for Ogilvy’s search marketing thought leadership and for developing global search marketing strategic roadmaps integrated into Ogilvy’s 360° integrated communications programs.
Bill is currently on the board of directors of the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization and is active in growing SEMPO’s international base of members. Bill has also been named by BtoB Magazine one of the Top 100 Marketers for 2007.
Bill is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, and he earned a B.A. in Asian Studies/Japanese from the University of Maryland, Tokyo Campus, and a B.S. in international business from California State University, Los Angeles. Bill can be reached through his company Web site (www.globalstrategies.com) or his blog (www.enterprisesem.com).
Foreword xxv
Preface xxvii
Acknowledgments xxi
Part 1: The Basics of Search Marketing 1
Chapter 1: Why Search Marketing Is Important…and Difficult 3
Chapter 2: How Search Engines Work 31
Chapter 3: How Search Marketing Works 57
Chapter 4: How Searchers Work 81
Part 2: Develop Your Search Marketing Program 101
Chapter 5: Identify Your Web Site’s Goals 103
Chapter 6: Measure Your Web Site’s Success 119
Chapter 7: Measure Your Search Marketing Success 143
Chapter 8: Define Your Search Marketing Strategy 171
Chapter 9: Sell Your Search Marketing Proposal 199
Part 3: Execute Your Search Marketing Program 227
Chapter 10: Get Your Site Indexed 229
Chapter 11: Choose Your Target Keywords 267
Chapter 12: Optimize Your Content 293
Chapter 13: Attract Links to Your Site 337
Chapter 14: Optimize Your Paid Search Program 383
Chapter 15: Make Search Marketing Operational 447
Part 4: Beyond Search Marketing 477
Chapter 16: Explore New Media and Social Media 479
Chapter 17: Optimize Your Web Site Search 505
Chapter 18: What’s Next? 533
Glossary 551
Index 583