SEM the moving target

The art and science of [tag]search engine marketing[/tag] (SEM) is an ever-evolving practice. Few companies have kept pace with this continually moving target and only recently are we seeing a true awareness of the fact. As a result, dealers are now scrambling to get back on track with their search marketing, but few companies are in position to respond.

Dealers with an assertive [tag]PPC[/tag] strategy are investing about $2k-$3k a month per topic or bundle of related keywords. With two or three campaigns, these numbers add up quickly, costing dealers $10k or more in PPC alone. While the traffic driven to their site as a result of these PPC campaigns is significant, there are shortcomings.

One problem with PPC advertising is that it does not build residual value which is important in today’s game. [tag]Residual value[/tag] is [tag]search visibility[/tag] that remains whether or not a campaign is in effect. For example, once your daily or monthly allowance on a particular PPC campaign is used up, your ads stop appearing in the SERPs because there is no residual benefit with PPC.

However, with [tag]organic search[/tag] you have the opposite problem. Your pages can continue appearing in the SERPs for months after you stop juicing a topic. In fact, if you wanted the listings to stop appearing, you would have to go out of your way to force them off.

The residual benefit of today’s [tag]Automotive SEO[/tag] is important to understand. It is what differentiates between your long-term and short-term advertising dollars. Residual benefit also maximizes your ROI.