According to a June 2009 Forbes survey, 92% of senior marketing executives plan to maintain or increase their search engine optimization (SEO) budgets over the next 6 months. As companies continue to invest more in SEO, they are seeking better ways to quantify and improve their return on investment (ROI). This is where advanced SEO measurement, optimization & conversion testing comes into play.
2009 Forbes Ad Effectiveness Survey highlights:
The tools seen as most effective for generating conversions were SEO (48%), email and e-newsletter marketing (46%), and pay-per-click/search marketing (32%).
SEO and Email and e-newsletter marketing are by far the most popular method of digital marketing among respondents, used by three-quarters.
Respondents appreciate the halo effect that a website or publication can have on their brand; 43% said that sponsoring a website, page or digital publication is the most effective digital tool when it comes to affecting brand perceptions.
87% measure results of their digital campaigns in some way, the most popular being benchmarking against goals set prior to the campaign.
The success of digital marketing appears to be measured by physical action, with impact to the bottom line being far and away the most important factor in determining success.
In the coming six months, respondents expect that ad networks will see the biggest declines in allocation of marketing spend; viral marketing and SEO will likely see the biggest increases. Behavioral Targeting is the category that is least likely to see any changes in spend.
Above highlights aken from the official survey. Download the complete Forbes Ad Effectiveness survey here.
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Jonah Stein is the founder of ItsTheROI.com, a San Francisco Search Engine Marketing Company that specializes in ROI driven SEO and SEM initiatives. It’s the ROI (stupid) recognized that all marketing efforts need to produce return on investment. This simple philosophy focuses clients on conversion, an event that takes place at the intersection of search intent, content and user experience.
In 2007 he coined the term Virtual Blight and started VirtualBlight.com. He is active in fostering collaboration and strategies for web publishers to protect themselves and their users against users whose personal agenda is in conflict with the aim of the community, such as spammer, scammers, griefers, trolls and hackers as well as advertisers and affiliates programs which are misleading or unethical.
During the first wave of internet business expansion, Jonah was a partner in adventmedia.com, with responsibilities for account management, search engine optimization and conceptual lead for clients ranging from venture funded startups to a division of Fortune 100 companies. In an era when venture capitalists were pouring money like chum into the feeding frenzy of the dotcom boom, adventmedia focused on functional websites with clear revenue models and measurable ROI from concept to completion.
As the bubble burst in 2001, Jonah joined one of his most profitable clients, PsPrint, where he and spent the next five years as the Director of Online Marketing and Business Development. During his tenure, the company grew from $3 million in revenue in 2001 to $25 million in 2006 and was named by San Francisco Magazine as one of the 50 fastest growing companies three consecutive years. After leaving PsPrint, he became the managing director of Alchemist Media, a San Francisco based SEO consulting firm. In March, 2008 he parted company with Alchemist to focus on ItsTheROI Inc.
I had the pleasure to hang out with Jonah a bit at Webmaster Worlds Pubcon conference this year and at a SEObook’s dinner miles away from the convension in a cool little speakeasy type joint. He’s hands down one of the most cordial SEOs in the space today. I suggest you pay attention to Jonah if you have not alreay, this boy has mad skills.
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SEO can be easy, and it can be free. Use Google Webmaster Tools (it’s free) and follow this guide. It’s great for beginners, and will get you familiar with common SEO elements you can track over time.
