Marketing a Local Business Online - How Do Search Engines Work?

-
Marketing a Local Business Online - How Do Search Engines Work?





Why do Search Engines matter to you and your Local Business? Marketing a local business online depends on being found in online media. Unless your market already knows where you are, they must search for you. Today, the most popular tool with which to search the Internet are Search Engines.

Understanding how they works goes a long way to using them to further your business.

How do Search Engines make money?

In 1996, Netscape sought a single featured search engine for their innovative web browser. Five Search Engines paid $5 million each to be in a rotation on the Netscape page: Yahoo!, Magellan, Lycos, Infoseek, and Excite. Today, most of them are commercial ventures supported by advertising revenue. Some allow advertisers to pay money to have their listings ranked higher in search results.

Other Engines seek to categorize and prioritize web pages by measures of intrinsic value and make money by running search related ads alongside regular results. They make money every time someone clicks on one of these ads (Pay-Per-Click.)

How do Search Engines differ from Directories?

Historically, Yahoo! was among the most popular ways for people to find web pages of interest, but it operated on its web directory, contents of which were submitted by web site administrators. Web directories are databases of human-compiled results, also known as human-powered search engines.

Unlike web directories maintained by human editors, Search Engines operate on algorithms, or are a mixture of algorithmic and human input. They automatically create web page listings by using spiders that "crawl" web pages, index their information, and follow each page's links to other web pages. Spiders return to previously crawled sites on a regular basis to update web page changes. Everything that these spiders gather is entered into their database.

How do I use a Search Engine to find what I seek?

Major Engines include a simple dialog box into which you type a word or phrase, and a Search submit button to begin the search.

A Keyword is this word or phrase of words in this simplest sense.

Most Search Engines support using Boolean operators AND, OR and NOT to further refine search queries. Boolean searching on the Internet may manifest in three ways:

Full Boolean logic with the use of the logical operators (rare)
Implied Boolean logic with keyword searching (typed symbols)
Boolean logic using search form terminology (multiple form entries)

When a user submits a query, the Search Engine compares it to its index and returns a listing of web page information, usually with a short summary containing page title and part of its content. Some support natural language queries that allow the user to type a question in the same form you would ask it of a human.

What is a Search Engine Result Page?

A Search Engine results page (SERP), is the listing of web pages returned by a search engine in response to a keyword query. The SERP typically lists web pages with titles, a link to the page, and a short description showing where the keywords have matched content within the page.

SERP's of the major engines may include different types of listings: contextual, algorithmic or organic search listings, sponsored listings (PPC,) images, maps, definitions, videos and suggested search refinements. Major Search Engines visually differentiate specific content types, such as images, news, blogs and sponsored links.

Each SERP also includes navigation to subsequent and/or previous SERP's, possible search suggestions or refinements, suggested similar searches, and back to begin a new search.

Thus, the Search Engine caters to those seeking information on the Internet. Once you understand the implications of this, you will realize that the secret to benefiting from them is knowing how your best customers are looking for you -- and being where they seek you. Marketing local business online is being where you are sought.

Mike Schleif invites you to submit your best questions on local Internet marketing for small business to MDS Resource. When you participate in the MDS Resource Blog, you are contributing to the evolution of Internet Marketing, especially as it applies to Marketing Local Business Online. We are dedicated to educating business people about the most effective marketing medium available today. Inbound marketing is what your customers expect of you.

MDS Resource was established in 1990 near Chicago, IL by Schleif to guide local businesses onto the onramp of the Internet. Schleif is a consultant recognized - and requested - by some of the most well known companies in the world, such as AT&T, IBM and Target Corporation. Schleif grew up in the Twin Cities in a far simpler time, a long ago time when computers consumed enormous rooms, ran off paper tape, and stored data on large tape reels. Schleif returned to his hometown in late 2008, bringing his businesses and business acumen with him. For more information call 612-235-6060.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Mike_Schleif/571459


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5003496




_(By Mike Schleif).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Information Technology In Day To Day Life

-
Information Technology In Day To Day Life By Kiran R Every day, people use computers in new ways. Computers are increasingly affordable; they continue to be more powerful as information-processing tools as well as easier to use. Computers in Business, One of the first and largest applications of computers is keeping and managing business and financial records. Most large companies keep the employment records of all their workers in large databases that are managed by computer programs. Similar programs and databases are used in such business functions as billing customers; tracking payments received and payments to be made; and tracking supplies needed and items produced, stored, shipped, and sold. In fact, practically all the information companies need to do business involves the use of computers and information technology. On a smaller scale, many businesses have replaced cash registers with point-of-sale (POS) terminals. These POS terminals not only print a sales receipt for the...
Read more

The Relationship Between Science, Technology, and Society

-
The Relationship Between Science, Technology, and Society Science and technology is the best thing society could ever ask for. Since the industrial revolution in the 18th century science has been in progress. Some sectors that have been boosted by science and technology are energy, physical sciences, information and communication. The society has greatly gained with the invention of technology. Infrastructure in the society has grown with the help of science and technology. Modes of transport like electronic railway lines were realized and these actually benefited the society by offering them a better means of transport. In the past, almost everything was analog but thanks to the science and technology we are now being digitalized by the day. The invention of the telephone and radio services has broadened human communication. Without society then there would be no science and technology and that is why the invention of certain tools and equipment have...
Read more

Information Management in Construction From a Lean Perspective

-
Information Management in Construction From a Lean Perspective Lean thinkers have referred to "ensuring that relevant customer requirements are available in all phases of production, and that they are not lost when progressively transformed into design solutions, production plans and products." Customer requirements are however only part of the information flow in design. Information Waste In Lean there are 7 classic wastes: Over-production Producing more than is needed right now Transportation Movement of product that does not add value Motion Movement of people that does not add value Waiting Idle time created when material, information, people, or equipment is not ready Processing Effort that creates no value from the customer's viewpoint Inventory More materials, parts, or products on hand than is needed right now Defects Work that contains errors, rework, mistak...
Read more