Search Engine Optimisation(SEO) has been announced as one of the best method for businesses to acquire new customers.
The statement made by David Hallerman, senior analyst at eMarketer, suggests that SEO is the “best customer acquisition tool in the online space.
Through studies it has been shown that customers dislike paid search advertising and prefer organic search listings which SEO can improve.
“Furthermore search optimisation works across all search engines and an optimised site does not drop off the first results page even when marketer spending slows or stops - as it can with paid search,” Hallerman added.
However, he did point out that it may take time for the full advantages of SEO to take shape, as developing a successful SEO takes time and is often a long process.
Patricio Robles from Econsultancy revealed recently in a blog post that website security should be an important consideration for SEO.
He explained that if websites are hacked into by cyber criminals, the consequences in terms of search engine rankings can be extremely serious.
Another key feature of improving a business success online is linkbaiting, which experts have urged companies to invest in.
Editor of Econsultancy, Chris Lake, recently wrote on his blog explaining that linkbaiting can boost search rankings by attracting inbound links.
“Everyone involved in SEO (and marketing and content creation) should constantly be thinking about new opportunities for linkbait which will work best in their market place,” Lake said.
He added that linkbaits often consists of content that will be useful to the target audience, such as informative articles, free tools and a list of links.
Linkbaits can also come in the form of how to guides, viral marketing, reviews and comparisons and blogs.
A recent survey by Guava and Econsultancy found that 55 per cent of firms plan to increase their SEO spending in 2009.
