Search Engine Marketing, Inc.: Driving Search Traffic to Your Company’s Web Site, Second Edition

The #1 Step-by-Step Guide to Search Marketing Success...Now Completely Updated with New Techniques, Tools, and Best Practices.

“My copy of the first edition of Search Engine Marketing, Inc. is ratty and dog-eared from extensive use. It’s full of coffee stains and my own scribbled notes. Because it so effectively demystifies search engine marketing and provides such practical advice for success, I turn to it again and again and recommend it to audiences worldwide. This book is not academic blather or geeky techno-speak; it’s an approachable and digestible guide chock-full of real-life examples.”
—David Meerman Scott, Bestselling Author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR

“Keeping pace with the rapidly changing search marketing landscape, the latest edition of Bill Hunt and Mike Moran’s search industry bible, Search Engine Marketing, Inc., incorporates informative and enlightening sections on optimizing multimedia, improving Web site search, and the emergence of social media and what it really means to the search marketer. There is valuable information in this book to help inform at every level from the beginner who is curious about search to the advanced enterprise search marketer. Taking a very complicated, technical, and data-driven industry and making it easily understandable and actionable is no small task, and Search Engine Marketing, Inc.succeeds on every level. If you only read one book on search marketing principles and best practices, this is the one.”

—Jay Middleton Senior Manager, WW Search Marketing, Adobe Systems, Inc.

“With Search Engine Marketing, Inc., Bill Hunt and Mike Moran have successfully updated what is already known in the industry as “The Search Marketing Bible.” With new content, examples, and insight including social media and Web site search, this is a must read book for marketers at companies of all sizes from startups to the Fortune 100.”

—Lee Odden CEO of TopRank Online Marketing and Author of Online Marketing Blog

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.

The authors systematically address every issue you’re likely to encounter, while helping you implement timeless strategies for delivering superior long-term results. You’ll learn how to

•   Identify and leverage new search engine marketing opportunities arising from social media

•   Align search engine marketing with your company’s evolving strategic and tactical goals

•   Implement programs that drive sustainable improvements— not counterproductive quick fixes

•   Systematically optimize your existing Web site search programs

•   Manage the unique marketing challenges associated with large sites

•   Create monthly scorecards and use them to drive improvement

•   Provide effective guidance to content developers and designers in language they’ll understand

•   Automate checking and reporting for every page on your site

•   Choose effective target keywords, optimize your content, and attract links

•   Make the most of Google, Yahoo!, Live Search, and the latest specialized and local search tools

•   Measure site-wide success rates across multiple systems and technologies

•   Hire the right SEO consultant—and avoid the wrong ones

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.

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