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Articles on Marketing Matters:

Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization: Any Difference

For many casual internet users, the terms SEM and SEO rarely enter their minds when they are busy jumping from one website to another. However, it is these terms that determine much of what comes out on the results page whenever we type in a word in the search tab of any accessible search engine. These terms are also responsible for all those advertisements and pop-ups that link us to even more websites, whether they may be connected to our original search or not. So just what are SEM and SEO?

In the simplest way possible, SEM and SEO are tools which website creators, especially those who are promoting and selling a certain service or product, use in order to gain a lot of exposure and better ranking for their website. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, the simplicity ends there.

To make it a tad bit complex, SEM and SEO are not the same. As suggested by the names, SEM, or Search Engine Marketing, deals more with how a website is marketed to gain exposure in the different search engines available on the internet, while SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, deals with how the web creators develop and re-develop the content, quality and structure of their entire websites so that whenever an internet user types in a particular word in the search tab, their websites have a better chance of appearing on the first few search engine results pages (SERPS).

Now, to make it even more complex, although the functions of SEM and SEO seem different, they are more effective when used together. Since the main function of SEM is to gain more exposure for a website, the more common means for attraction are online advertisements, blogs, internet articles, partner and sponsored websites, and anything that can catch the eye of the internet user. SEM also makes use of PPC (pay-per-click) and paid inclusion to further push a website’s visibility. Lastly, it is also an important process in SEM to submit the name and URL of a website to different search engines and web directories if only to inform them of the website’s existence. All this is carried out to ensure the popularity of a website.

So how does SEO come together with SEM? Well, despite having all the advertisements provided by SEM, it is truly the SEO that allows the internet user to easily and conveniently find what he is looking for. Since the function of SEO is to gain a better ranking in the SERPS, the web creator has to constantly optimize his website in order to cater to the needs of the internet user and to make it easier for spiders or web crawlers to judge whether the website’s content is relevant to the word/s being searched. Optimization is not a simple and easy task. It involves having to restructure the website regularly (by editing the html code and meta tags, changing content, reorganizing the site map, developing an easier navigational structure, etc.) so as to adapt to the rapidly changing demands of the internet user. Still, when done properly, not only does SEO help a website become more useful and therefore, more often visited by the internet user, it also helps gain more exposure since it increases the website’s chances of gaining a better rank in the SERPS.

Both SEM and SEO success rely heavily on the words or context which Internet users type in whenever they search for something on the internet. Take PPC under SEM, for example. PPC is an ad that is triggered by a particular word or context used by an internet user. Once a particular word or context is searched, a corresponding PPC ad for a website comes out. SEO works in the same way. The web creator inputs a particular Meta tag (or keyword) in his html that he believes many internet users will use when searching for information, information which the web creator’s website may contain.

Although all of these processes involving SEM and SEO are tedious and time-consuming, it all boils down to knowing and serving the target audience. A web creator must be discerning enough to know what the internet users need and want, and at the same time he must have the real passion to inform and provide the internet users with the right service and product.

Mikhail Tuknov
13 Mar 2007

Mikhail Tuknov, search engine optimization specialist and a founder of Infatex (Search Engine Marketing Company). With an extensive background in Internet marketing, Mikhail Tuknov offers SEO, PPC, SEM services.
http://www.infatex.com/

Network vs. Affiliate Marketing

Running a traditional brick and mortar kind of business with an online presence, is obviously one very good way to make at least part of your living online. But for the purposes of this article we are going to assume that you do not have your own business. So I am going to discuss two of the biggest online money makers right now: online business opportunities and affiliate marketing.

Network marketing

The typical online business opportunity is commonly built around some sort of network marketing concept, inheriting the basic qualities of the offline business model that has been available for many decades - the basic idea being that you recruit two or more people, who in their turn recruit two and in this way your efforts will (at least in theory) be greatly leveraged.

The main difference doing this online is that, utilizing the power of the Internet, you as a network marketer can literally reach people all over the planet.

The problem with the network marketing, or "mlm", concept is that it sounds so good on paper - way too good in fact. Most people who joins up with a company of this type tend to get a dose of Mr. Reality rather soon.

They discover that recruiting new people, which is what all mlm is all about - even if they try to tell you differently - is not at all a simple process. There has been plenty of fraudulent businesses in this niche, and people tend to stay on their toes as soon as they hear the words mlm or network marketing.

To further complicate things this business model is also based on you paying a set monthly fee - wether you make any money or not, which means that many people who start this kind of business actually end up loosing money.

It is definitely possible to make a good living in network marketing, but it is definitely not for everybody. "Getting in on the ground floor" is allegedly not always as good as it seems.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is similar to network marketing, in the sense that you will be promoting a product produced by another company or person. This can obviously make life very simple for you, as the merchant will usually take care of all shipping and customer support issues. Amazon.com is probably one of the most well known (an respected) companies utilizing the power of affiliate partnerships.

As an affiliate, your task is simply to refer new clients to the merchant and when these people go ahead and buy something, you get credited with a certain percentage of the sale.

Contrary to network marketing it is generally free to act as an affiliate marketer. Although there are certain companies that have sort of a hybrid structure between network and affiliate marketing - requiring you to pay a start-up and/or monthly fee to market their products. Most affiliate programs are completely free to join though, so I'd personally stay away from those using their affiliate programs as an income generator in it's own right, or "affiliate sharks" as one marketer aptly named them.

Affiliate programs are thus a great way in which almost anyone can start to make money online, without having to invest a lot of money, if indeed any at all.

There is however certain strategies and marketing methods you need to be knowledgeable of, if you are to make anything but peanuts with your affiliate marketing.

Choosing the right affiliate program and promoting it to the right people in the right way is an art form in it's own right. And the people who are really good at this, generally referred to as "super affiliates", make a very good living doing nothing else than selling other people's products.

If you are looking to make an additional income from the Internet, or eventually even replace your current income altogether, affiliate marketing is a great way to get started. To achieve the success you desire, you should study and learn the same techniques super affiliates use on a day to day basis.

Andreas Sundstrom
14 Mar 2007

Andreas Sundstrom has made a full time living online for the past six years, largely thanks to the power of free affiliate programs. At his website http://www.webhosting-tips.info/affiliate/ he will share some of the most important super affiliate secrets.

Launching Successful New Products

The Myth of The Silver Bullet
One of the great marketing myths is the idea of the category-killer new product, a kind of silver bullet, borne of blinding insight and launched with lightning speed, which catches competitors flat-footed and upends the category food chain, leaving the new product alone at the top. Like all myths, this one contains a kernel of truth, for even the casual observer can find instances of this type of success in a myriad of categories.

But myths tend to ignore or obscure inconvenient facts that tarnish the luster of a great and powerful story: For every silver-bullet new product, there are at least 20 other new products which seemed to reflect the same kind of inspiration, and that were launched with the same haste, that ultimately ended up dying an ignominious and anonymous death, unknown except to a handful of insiders and competitors. Most successful new products come not from the mythical wunderkind type of process, but from careful analysis, detailed planning, and stellar marketing execution. In short, they come from hard work rather than luck.

Back In The Real World
Companies that are consistently successful in launching new products: Develop and apply a rigorous and structured process designed to uncover unmet customer needs, Identify specific targeted groups of potential customers, Design products that deliver benefits to address the needs of targeted customers, Develop simple and understandable ways of explaining product benefits to targeted potential customers, Create coordinated, adequately funded marketing plans for product launches that are congruent with both the characteristics of the target and the benefits of the product, and Execute marketing activities in support of the launch according to plan, Track results not only in terms of sales and profit, but also in terms of customer adoption and marketing execution, so that necessary adjustments can be made to the plan as required by real-world circumstances.

This process is neither easy nor inexpensive to execute, especially on a consistent basis. But in new products, success means growth in sales, profits, and share, while failure means expense without payoff, and setbacks with trade partners and potential customers from which it can take years to recover.

Hershey Hits Sweet Spot
Hershey Foods is an excellent example. A leading manufacturer of candy products, Hershey has developed a reputation for consistently introducing successful new products and line extensions. Over the last 12 years, this company has introduced more than a dozen major new products and scores of line extensions, without a single major failure.

In the process, Hershey has overtaken its chief rival, M&M/Mars, in terms of sales and market share, and built a reputation with the retail trade as a company that can be counted on to deliver new products that resonate with consumers. As a result, retailers are eager to stock new products from Hershey on their shelves, because they are confident that these products will be successful and provide a solid return.

The success of Hershey Foods in introducing new products year in and year out is built on a consumer-driven process similar to the one described above.

One Chance to Do It Right
A pundit once wrote, "Success usually is the result of luck. But I find the harder I work, the more luck I have." Developing and launching great new brands is not the result of luck or lightning-bolt inspiration, and never comes from a ready-fire-aim type of process. Companies only get one chance to launch a new product successfully, so it is extremely important to take the time and make the investment necessary to get it right the first time.

SDR Consulting
22 Mar 2007
www.sdr-consulting.com