Search marketing advised for small businesses
Thursday, 30, Oct 2008 11:15
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should do more to take advantage of search engine marketing as the online environment becomes more competitive, according to one expert.
Speaking to Marketing magazine, Cedric Chambaz of Microsoft adCenter cited a recent study by his organisation suggesting that almost two-thirds of SMEs that run a website do not do enough to promote them on the web.
This means that firms could be wasting a collective £3 billion on invisible websites, he noted, adding that search marketing is vital as online search is the second most popular internet activity after email.
"Our research shows that 76 per cent of SMEs with a search marketing strategy have seen higher sales as a result," Mr Chambaz remarked.
According to Marketing magazine, some search marketing tactics that SMEs could employ include using a simple linking strategy and choosing specific, long-tail keywords rather than more common generic terms to boost search engine optimisation.
A recent study by Constant Contact indicated that online marketing is growing in popularity among small businesses hoping to boost sales this Christmas.