TulipTools Internet Business Owners and Online Sellers Community

Quote:Most online retailers and search marketing agencies think those who don’t use search engine marketing are missing out on something big. The Internet Retailer survey showed that for 62% of retailers, search marketing accounts for 11% or more of sales. And 52% said it works better or much better than other marketing activities. “Paid search and natural search are the most efficient and cost effective marketing spend that marketers have ever engaged in,” says Fredrick Marckini, CEO of search engine marketing company iProspect.com. “It’s the only one where people are raising their hands and saying ‘I’m interested in what you are selling.’”

Like other industries as they mature, search is becoming more specific as well. While Google and Yahoo still rule, some companies have developed vertical search products, where shoppers who are looking for a certain type of product or service can search among just providers of that product. For instance, LookSmart Ltd. launched 161 vertical search sites in October, bringing its total to 181...

The market may be very complex, but one thing that most vendors of search services agree on is that retailers need to engage in both paid search and page optimization—an approach that only two or three years ago many retailers did not buy. The first round of search marketing focused on creating pages that would land high in search results...