Solutions For Seven SEM Planning and Execution Challenges

Sorry for being away for some time as a lot of things needed to be pushed and completed on time. So here i am, and this time with a solution for the questions posed in one of the earlier articles, remember 'Seven Challenges of SEM Planning and Execution' ?? Well, here are a few solutions to it.

1) Integrating search as a business or technical requirement - Executives and directors overseeing a project should make search a major objective in advance of the project. Be very specific about what should be accomplished for search early in the game. For technical requirements, set basic goals that ensure that a site is Fully Crawlable, and Fully Indexable. Basic crawlability requirements will prevent other facets of development from overriding search robot access, and basic indexability requirements will allow engines to properly discern themes of pages, and the site as a whole.

2) Building business cases - Each scenario is different, but here are a few questions that can help serve as building blocks for natural search business cases:

a. How much has been invested in search prior to redesign?

b. How will current site modifications positively or negatively impact search investments?

c. How much is a site conversion worth (sales, desired actions, etc.)?

d. Will proposed modifications increase or decrease the cost of acquisition via natural search?

e. How much revenue is natural search currently driving through a site?

f. Will site modifications increase or decrease natural search revenue or conversions?

g. What is the market value of natural traffic based on corresponding bid prices in various pay-per-click engines?

3) Get a "Search Chair" up to the table - You can't play if you don't have the players in the game. A search specialist will continue to educate other team members throughout the development process. Ideally, the search chair is empowered by senior project owners or executives to facilitate its success.

4) Creative adversity - One of the best ways to get around creative adversity is to clearly lay out the framework for goals at the start of any project. Designers should also be aware of the impact of their role on search engine performance. Increase awareness by educating contributors about search principles, and establishing collective goals that are understood and followed by each player. Designing for both search engines and accessibility also allows the development and creative teams to work within the set boundaries while still exercising creativity and vision.

5) Search education - It's no coincidence that most successful enterprise search engine marketers are also good search educators. If you have worked on enough search projects and have some presentation experience, commit your thoughts to PowerPoint and share them with your fellow team members in advance of the project. Education is key throughout all stages of the development process, whether it is in a group setting or one-on-one.

6) For Search Engine Marketers: Establishing Balance - Balance can be achieved by first understanding that all aspects of natural search performance can't be controlled, especially when multiple users and goals are being served. Counter this by optimizing within brand guidelines, complementing Flash with search-friendly tactics when there is no other choice, and considering all site goals and requirements when creating search strategies. Take a breath and make search work the best way possible while staying within all goals.

7) For Search Engine Marketers: Integrating Search with Tangible Business Goals - Business goals should always drive search strategy. Start by defining these goals up front, determine the value of an action, and then assess how search is currently serving these goals. And always report on how search continued to meet these objectives, rather than just rankings or other various search changes. Good clients or marketers usually have a concept of conversion values so that they can spend their ad dollars wisely. If your client (external or internal) does not have a value placed on certain actions, bring it to his or her attention and try to establish a metric on which everyone will be measured. If clients are not measuring the search value of conversion and business goals, then one of your greatest accomplishments may be to help them turn on the lights by demonstrating what they are really getting from natural search.

Source: MediaPost