By Jim McKnight

Now that you have your business website, how do you let people know you exist?

How do most people find products and services on the Internet? Generally they use the bigger search engines like Google or Yahoo, typing in keywords that best describe the product or service they are looking for.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

To make sure people find your site you need to use the keywords that people would use to find your product or service in the copy you have written for your site. This is called search engine optimization (SEO), and it is something you can do yourself, or hire a professional to do it for you. It really depends on the on the amount of copy you have on your site and the time you are willing to spend optimizing it for search engines.

Depending on how well your site is using descriptive keywords for your products and services, you could appear in the top 10 or 20 search results. But, there is an easier way to get your website placed in the top search results, and that is to use pay-per-click (PPC).

Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

Search engines let you bid for a set of keywords against other bidders, and the highest bidder wins. The result ensures that your website will be in a higher position on search engine results. Every time your website URL is returned in a search and is clicked on, you pay a fee according to the price you paid for your keywords.

You can add other keywords to the keyword you have successfully bid for, there is no limit, and there is no additional cost. You must also add a brief description of your website for the search engine; this is your most profitable tool to ensure that your bid is profitable.

Pay-per-click applies to the sponsorship section on the right-hand side of the search engine results page, the section on the left-hand side of the page is sometimes referred to as the organic results section. Organic in this case means that the results are based purely on how well the ranked websites did in applying relevant keywords to the copy on their sites.

SEO, PPC or both?

When considering search engine optimization you should determine the keywords that will lead people to your website. Examine copy on your site and discover how much of a rewrite will be required.

The pages of your website such as the title-bars should include important keywords or phrases. Aim to have 100 to 250 carefully chosen words per page, and make sure its HTML not a graphic. Then submit your website to the search engines you have decided best serve your needs.

Pay-Per-Click bidding may be expensive for you, it really depends on how much profit you can derive from a Pay-Per-Click campaign. But, it requires very little setup time and doesn’t require search engine optimization for your website.

The best option may be to use both SEO and PPC. With a high ranking on the organic and sponsored sections of the search engine results page you should be able to see a substantial increase in the number of visitors to your site. As with many things it really depends on the amount of time, effort, and money you have available to get the result you want.