SEOcrates

 

Internet marketing… SEO? SEM? SMO? PPC? ROI? What is all this stuff?

No worries. This basic list will get you started on understanding what the above terms mean, and will regularly be updated to include more terms.

An important part of internet marketing encompasses a wide range of activities designed to help sites rank better in search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing.

Below is a quick explanation of some of these activities as well as components of these activities:

SEO: Search Engine Optimization – This is the practice of optimizing websites to rank well in search engine results pages (SERPs). This can be done by optimizing on-site factors such as content, meta-content, usability, proper structure, internal anchor text and more. There are also off-site factors to consider such as linking and social media presence.

Content: The actual text of your site. Can also include images with text descriptors (alt tags) that help image search engines. Content rich in keywords you want your site to rank for help search engines find your page. For example, a site selling cat food should have the term “cat food” and variants of that throughout the site. Of course, it is important to avoid overusing the keywords to the point where it seems forced and artificial, as this can be seen as keyword stuffing and is regarded as a form of spam by search engines.

Meta-Content: These are tags in written HTML that provide search engines structured data about a webpage. One of the more important Meta Tags is the Title Tag.

Anchor Text: This is the visible text that is used to title a link users would click on.

SEM: Search Engine Marketing – This is the practice of paying for SEO solutions as well as marketing services provided by search engines. Pay-per-click (PPC) is the key factor of SEM. This is the practice of purchasing clicks on keywords from search engines. These clicks come from sponsored listings in the search results — for example, the top and side of regular search results on Google. This is currently the most popular PPC offering and is called Google Adwords.

Web Analytics: This is the practice of analyzing the performance of a website via its natural inbound traffic as well as that from SEO and SEM marketing campaigns. Analytics takes into account many factors, with website goal measurement being key. Webmasters can get a good idea of the online marketing activity’s return on investment (ROI) by employing proper web analytics.

SMO: Social Media Optimization – This is the practice of creating and enhancing a website’s or company’s social media presence. This includes creating profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and any other relevant social networks and regularly updating these profiles with content, offers, contests and other applicable marketing tactics.

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