12-14-2006, 12:05 PM
Quote:For the growing number of companies that are serious about search marketing, we are now entering the third generation of the internet. The first generation consisted of building a website. In the second, lots of effort, in terms of both time and money, was spent with a goal of driving traffic to the website (see Google's revenue growth). As we enter the third generation, the focus is changing from just visiting a website to persuading visitors to take a desired action-- most often referred to as conversion. Common types of conversions include online sales, lead generation, newsletter sign-up and customer acquisition, although it could be any action an organization deems highly valuable.
To fully maximize search advertising ROI, you now must look at and manage the entire search lifecycle-- from "Search-to-Sale." The four-step Search Lifecycle Management (SLM) process includes:
* FIND interested and qualified prospects online.
* DRIVE these prospects to your website cost-effectively.
* CONVERT visitors into online leads, and ultimately...
* ENGAGE leads and turn them into customers and sales...
full article: http://imediaconnection.com/content/12823.asp