Search Engine Marketing Primer

The Internet promised to level the playing field for business. Google is making it happen.

I've been creating websites and teaching clients how to use the Internet to advance their business goals since 1998. In that time nothing has been as exciting, or successful at providing measurable results as using search engine marketing to gain highly qualified traffic to your site.

The magic of search engine traffic is that, when done right, you only get (read: pay for) visitors who are keenly interested in exactly what you offer. Unlike earlier forms of online marketing that rewarded the companies with the snazziest or most provocative or annoying banners and emails; search engine marketing rewards companies who provide the best solution to what web users are already looking for.

My Search Engine Marketing Primer is designed to help you harness the power of search engine marketing for your business. Search engine marketing takes time, commitment and knowhow, but when done right, there is no other marketing method in the world that brings a higher value for your money. I'd like to help you harness that value for your business.

I'll work with you to employ a combination of highly specialized tracking, testing and refining to help you squeeze maximum value from your marketing spending.

Ready to get started?

Contact me for a free assessment. I'll get back to you right away and we'll discuss your needs and see if they are a fit for search engine marketing.

How It Works:

I visit with you about your business, your website, and what you offer. We also discuss your past marketing successes and challenges (if any) so as to bring those lessons to bear on your new initiative. I also help you determine if what you're offering is a good fit for search engine marketing.
I present options for helping you leverage search engine marketing for your business. This is where the real fun begins. My recommendations will be custom tailored to your needs and designed to help you start benefiting from this exciting opportunity right away.
We engage a campaign, track results, tweak your offer and find a formula that brings you success. This is where you start seeing real, measurable impact on your bottom line.

What's included:

An intensive discovery session. I'll chat with you at length about your business, what you currently offer and the areas where you want the most help. We'll also discuss my recommendations for what people are likely to respond to, and how to appeal to the kind of traffic that will be coming from search engines so you can convert them into customers.
Campaign setup with Google. This is where we tap into the power of Google to drive traffic to your offer.
This includes:
- The creation of at least 2 campaigns with Google.
- Intelligently selecting a group of several hundred keywords designed to provide the greatest value and highest amount of traffic for the lowest cost.
- Writing and split testing ads to achieve optimum click through rate.
- Setting up precision tracking and reports for monitoring effectiveness of campaigns.
- Revisions to the landing page(s), after the campaign launches, to adjust content, copy, display, etc. in response to measured conversion rate.
- An education on the mechanics of Google AdWords, how to view reports, and how to manage campaigns.
Creation of a specialized "landing page" or "micro site" that will be the focus of our initial efforts. This might be a take off on a page you already have or it might be one we create completely from scratch. The idea will be to create a powerful concentrated conversion tool designed to make sure every dime you spend on gaining search engine traffic provides you the highest possible value. This is where we'll convert that highly targeted Google traffic into leads and/or sales.

Q & A:

How much does it cost?

My fees for the Search Engine Marketing Primer (including setting everything up with Google, and creating the specialized landing page/micro site) are typically around $2,000. You should also set aside at least $500-$1,000 that will be paid to Google for the initial campaign. Remember, good marketing is about gaining a return on your investment. Our goal will be to recoup much more than your initial investment and to find a formula for creating indefinite profits.

Why is this called a "Primer?"

Because it includes everything you need to get started. Remember, search engine marketing (like any marketing) is not a one-time, build-it-and-walk-away effort. Search engine marketing can be extremely powerful, but to tap into that potential it takes commitment, regular attention and effort. This primer is designed to give you a huge jump-start and shove in the right direction. All the initial hard stuff of setting up the campaign, figuring out the best ads, a good landing page, and how to track it and make it effective are included in the primer. My goal is to help you launch your long-term, successful search engine marketing effort. After the primer you'll have the option of handling search engine marketing your self, and/or contracting with me, or someone similar to help you maintain and grow your campaigns and success.

What search engines will I be listed with?

This primer includes harnessing the power of Google AdWords (which includes Google and possibly AOL and CNN). Fortunately much of what you learn and apply here can be used with other search engines. I also offer a follow-up more advanced service to the primer where we gain listings in the remaining serious search engines. Those include Yahoo, MSN, Altavista, InfoSpace, CNN.

Can you guarantee that I'll be listed on Google (and other search engines)?

Yes. Search engine marketing is about gaining guaranteed listings which you pay for each time someone clicks on your listing. The primer includes gaining guaranteed listings with Google, I also offer a follow-up service where you can gain listings with other search engines (see previous question).

What if I think you did a crummy job?

If at any time (including the end) you feel I didn't take excellent care of you, simply let me know and I'll take my toys and go home. Oh, and I'll give you a full refund. Yeah, it's essentially risk free. If I'm a bum, you get your money back (as well you should).

I still have questions.

Great - I look forward to answering your questions personally. Drop me a line at (509) 414-0123 or email me at so we can talk about your situation.