Is your website a rich feast or a dogs breakfast?

It had started out as a prank, a practical joke to play on some of her ostentatious yuppie friends. They had always had the last laugh at her expense and now it was to be her opportunity forrevenge. Half an upturned can of Pal surrounded by biscuits and garnish. The trap had been set.

She had always intended to reveal the punch line at the appropriate moment just before the guest succumbed to the fauxpate. Then she got side tracked. An unexpected phone call, arush of guests and small talk. Oops!

The result was unexpected. No complaints or indignation. The plate had been virtually licked clean and she was confronted with an endless stream of compliments over her interesting array of appetisers. It had gone over remarkably well.

She didn't have the heart, or perhaps indeed the courage, to reveal the truth. The guests departed happily wagging metaphorical tails and unknowingly looking forward to the added bonus of a shiny coat and stronger teeth.

Accidentally she had successfully taken the product to a new market. Whilst this probably says more about her gullible friends than the long term potential for dog food as snack food,the key Item from a marketing perspective was that she had managed to engage her customers into trying something new. This was achieved by positioning the new product within the familiar context of the dinner party where a degree of experimentation and tolerance is part and parcel of the experience. It was relevant and therefore it was tested and consumed.

Relevance and context encourage consumers to sample and nowhereis this more true than on the web. It is in essence the underlying principal of search engine marketing. People don't stumble upon web sites they search for them. Every time a consumer types a keyword string into a search engine they are asking a question. How well your site can answer that question will determine how likely a visitor will engage with your site. It is one thing to know the questions that potential customers are interested in and to set up your site to answer them, it is another thing all together to get them to come to your dinnerparty in the first place.
This requires planning. A good search engine strategy is a feast of multiple courses and a blend of numerous ingredients. The following is a good start.

The Ingredients: read more