Define Goals & Objectives
The first step in developing a search engine marketing program is reviewing the client's business. Specifically, we want to learn about the following:
- Primary Target Markets - This can help us evaluate geographical targets and identify link and submission opportunities.
- Core Competencies - Allows us to focus our research on promoting those products or services that are most likely to convert to sales.
- Competitive Advantages - Helps in determining whether competitive sites are truly competitors or merely companies that offer similar products. This can be very important in managing pay per click bid programs.
- Growth Markets - Are there certain product lines that should yield higher conversion rates simply because the market is growing?
- Promotional Goals - Outline specific goals for the program.
- Other Marketing Activities - How can search engine marketing be integrated with your other marketing activities?
- Organization - Does the company have systems in place to handle inquiries or process online sales effectively?
- Measurement - Are systems currently in place to track the return on promotional dollars spent — both online and offline?
The answers to these questions will aid us in developing a program tailored to your company.
