MaplePPC Paid Search Services
MapleCommerce provides a full
range of comprehensive Search Engine Marketing services that utilize
both natural and paid-listing strategies to maximize search engine visibility
for your website. Our offerings include: Search Engine Optimization
(SEO), Pay-For-Placement (P4P), Competitive Analysis, Strategy Development,
Search Engine Submissions, Secondary Domains, Link Development and Analytics
& Reporting services.
MapleCommerce approaches Search
Engine Marketing projects via a proven, safe methodology that utilizes
search engine-approved techniques to improve website positioning. Our
mission is to enable you to cost-effectively achieve your online marketing
goals and objectives.
The Need for Search
Engine Marketing
Search engines and directories
have become the most popular method of finding products and services
while online. According to Forrester Research, over 80% of Internet
users rely on search engines and directories to find the information
they need. A Statistical Research, Inc. study reveals that 57% of online
users search the web every day. Another recent report by Forrester Research
further advises “search engines reach valuable, motivated and ready
customers. To capitalize on search as a marketing tool, marketers should
shift acquisition email and ad dollars to search…”
Despite the proven benefits,
many marketers fail to address the importance of search engine marketing
techniques toward achieving their goals. CyberAtlas Research found that
nearly 46% of marketers surveyed allocate less than 0.5% of their annual
marketing budgets on search engine optimization services. Only 10% spend
more than 25% of their marketing budget on increasing their visibility
on the web. Their inaction creates a huge opportunity for marketers
who understand the importance of search engine marketing.
Search Engine Optimization
(SEO)
SEO is the process of increasing
a website’s ranking in major search engines and directories for a
given list of relevant keyword phrases. This is accomplished by identifying
the keyword phrases that are most beneficial to the website; optimizing
the website’s meta-tags and page content; and removing barriers to
search engine crawlers.
MapleCommerce utilizes only ethical
SEO techniques that strictly adhere to published search engine standards
and recommendations. Once optimized, we submit your website to the most
popular search engines and directories. The result is that the overall
quality and quantity of website traffic is greatly improved.
Our SEO process is comprised
of 4 major steps: Analysis, SEO Strategy Development, Optimization and
Submission. Each step is detailed below.
Analysis
The SEO project begins with
you completing a SEO Worksheet. The SEO Worksheet provides MapleCommerce
specialists with information about the business and its products and
services; geographic considerations; the target audience profile; current
marketing activities; your goals and objectives; competitor information;
and a beginning list of keyword phrases.
The Analysis step then continues
through four tasks: Competitive Research, Keyword Analysis, Website
Analysis and Baseline Search Engine Rankings.
During this task, in-depth
research is conducted to determine the SEO strategies of each primary
competitor. Competitive strategy research includes keyword selection,
meta-tag contents, page contents, link popularity and search engine
ranking. In short, we determine what is working and what is not working
for each of your major competitors.
Next, we work with you
to define the keyword phrases that are relevant to your target audiences.
We begin the process with an initial keyword list that is comprised
of your current keywords and the keywords that are being promoted by
your competitors. From that list, we begin researching alternate keyword
phrases to determine the optimum set of keywords that a web searcher
would use to find your company, products and services, industry and,
geography. Our keyword research is based upon statistics developed from
over 360 million web searches performed within the last 60 days.
Based upon the competitive
and keyword analysis results, we create a keyword recommendation list
that includes monthly search estimates. This list is then reviewed,
edited and finalized by you.
During this task, our SEO
specialists study your website structure; loading speed; meta-tags;
navigational elements; page content; search engine friendliness; and
in-bound, outbound and broken links. Next, your website code is validated
against the latest standards as specified by the World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C).
The goal of this task is
to identify the necessary changes to improve overall visibility in crawler-based
search engines and to remove any website indexing barriers. Improving
certain elements of your website’s architecture and design can increase
the number of pages that are indexed and will increase the likelihood
that your pages will rank higher.
Finally, baseline search
engine rankings are recorded to measure how deeply a website is indexed
within the major search engine databases prior to the optimization and
submission steps. Later, additional Search Engine Ranking reports can
be recorded for comparison.
SEO Strategy Development
A SEO strategy is then developed
with the goal of outperforming the highest-ranking competitors in each
of the major search engines.
The SEO strategy includes comprehensive
competitive analysis; the finalized target keyword phrase list; structural
recommendations; optimized meta-tag content; optimized page content
that reflects the relevant keyword selections while still portraying
the proper messages; link development recommendations; and the baseline
search engine index report.
Optimization
During this step, recommendations
from the Analysis step are incorporated into your website. This task
is required for the effective conduct of the Submission step and may
be performed by MapleCommerce or by you.
Submission
After the Optimization step
is complete, MapleCommerce will submit your website to the top search engines
and directories. Note that it can take up to 90 days for inclusion into
the major search engines. Due to the volume of submissions received
by the major search engines, repeated submissions may be necessary.
SEO Benefits &
Deliverables
- SEO Strategy Document
- Comprehensive Analysis
of each Major Competitor’s SEO Strategies - Finalized Target
Keyword Phrase List - Recommendations
for Structural and Navigation Changes - Creation of Optimized
Meta-tag Content - Creation of Optimized
Page Content - Link Popularity
Development Recommendations - Benchmark of Current
Rankings - Website Optimizations
Implemented by MapleCommerce or You - Submission to the
Most Popular Search Engines and Directories - Increased Rankings
Pay-For-Placement
(P4P) Campaigns
A well-designed and executed
P4P campaign is an effective way to drive immediate web traffic. A P4P
ad can reach up to 85% of all web users on the most popular search engines
including Google, AOL, AskJeeves, Earthlink, Yahoo, MSN, AltaVista,
Excite, Web Crawler, Metacrawler, Dogpile, and the auto-search feature
of the Internet Explorer web browser. Our P4P programs give you complete
budgetary control to spend as much or as little as necessary to achieve
the desired results.
Our expertise in keyword research,
creative copy writing, bid and budget management, geographic-targeting
and other advanced techniques will produce a demonstrable return for
your P4P advertising budget. P4P ads draw qualified website visitors
and can produce results much faster than any other form of media.
Our P4P process is comprised
of 4 major steps: Analysis, P4P Strategy Development, Ad Creation and
Bid Management. Each step is detailed below.
Analysis
If an SEO project has not been
conducted for your website, the P4P project begins with you completing
a SEO Worksheet. The SEO Worksheet provides MapleCommerce specialists vital
information about the business and its products and services; geographic
considerations; the target audience profile; current marketing activities;
your goals and objectives; competitor information; and a beginning list
of keyword phrases.
The Analysis step then continues
through two tasks: Competitive Research and Keyword Analysis.
During this task, in-depth
research is conducted to determine the P4P strategies of each primary
competitor. Competitive strategy research includes keyword selection,
ad copy, average positioning for each ad, average cost-per-click per
ad, estimated clicks-per-month per ad and total estimated P4P budget.
If an SEO Keyword Analysis
was not performed, it is performed at this time. We work with you to
define the keyword phrases that are relevant to your target audiences.
We begin the process with an initial keyword list that is comprised
of your current keywords and the keywords that are being promoted by
your competitors. From that list, we begin researching alternate keyword
phrases to determine the optimum set of keywords that a web searcher
would use to find your company, products and services, industry and,
geography. Our keyword research is based upon statistics developed from
over 360 million web searches performed within the last 60 days.
Based upon the competitive
and keyword analysis results, we create a keyword recommendation list
that includes monthly search estimates. This list is then reviewed,
edited and finalized by you.
P4P Strategy Development
A P4P strategy is then developed
with the goal of outperforming the highest-ranking competitors in each
of the major pay-for-placement search engines.
The P4P strategy includes comprehensive
competitive analysis and the finalized target keyword phrase list.
The finalized list includes a combination of popular higher-cost keyword
phrases and obscure lower-cost keyword phrases. The strategy includes
ad copy, recommended positioning, estimated cost-per-click, estimated
clicks-per-month and total estimated budget; recommendations for the
use of broad-matching capabilities and exclusion techniques; and suggested
geographic-targeted phrases.
Ad Creation
Once the keyword phrases and
bid strategy have been determined, MapleCommerce will create highly effective
P4P ads designed to draw qualified visitors to the website.
Bid Management
MapleCommerce can run your P4P
campaign efficiently via our professional bid management program. We
monitor your ads several times per day and adjust bids based on the
pre-determined P4P strategy and your approved budget. Our specialists
work to maintain bid levels to minimize lost revenue and ad dollar waste;
and to reduce the damage from competitor’s aggressive bidding strategies.
P4P Benefits &
Deliverables
- P4P Strategy Document
- Comprehensive Analysis
of each Major Competitor’s P4P Strategies - Finalized Target
Keyword Phrase List - Benchmark of Current
Rankings - Creation of Ad Copy
- Ad Placement within
Pay-For-Placement Search Engines - Ongoing Bid Management
- Immediate Increased
Rankings
Additional Services
Secondary Domain
Website Development
Secondary Domain Websites are
typically a one-page website created and named for a single search term
and optimized for placement at or near the top of the major search engine
results pages. Secondary Domain Websites are usually designed to provide
a prominent link back to the main web site.
Link Development
Link popularity has become
increasingly valuable in boosting search engine rankings. MapleCommerce
will contact websites that complement the client’s company and offerings
to request inbound links to the website. MapleCommerce will screen the
prospective link sites to ensure that the inbound links originate from
quality, non-competing websites that are likely to provide a positive
effect on search engine rankings. Referral web traffic and increased
brand awareness are spin-off benefits for this activity. As with search
engine submissions, measurable results can take several weeks.
Analytics and Reporting
Search engine ranking results
can change from week-to-week due to competition and modifications to
search engine algorithms. Maintaining a top ranking requires constant
monitoring and rework. Through this service, MapleCommerce works to maintain
search engine ranking gains while providing you access to near real-time
website statistical tracking and analysis data.
Combining this service with
our P4P program creates a “closed loop” marketing system that allows
for the efficient use of your campaign budget. MapleCommerce can optimize
your P4P campaign by correlating relevant data from Overture, Google
and third-party web tracking services to determine the performance of
each keyword phrase by search engine. With this knowledge, we can react
quickly to ensure your campaign is delivering the highest value by excluding
keywords that aren’t performing and expanding keywords that are.
All reports are formatted for
business and marketing managers. They are not the cryptic log files
that are typically used by IT managers. The data that we provide to
you includes:
- Page Views (by Hour,
Day, Week, Month and Year) - Unique Visitors
(by Hour, Day, Week, Month and Year) - Traffic Origination
- Keywords Used by
Search Engine - Frequented Pages
- Visitor Information
(Including Web Browser, Operating System, Country and Language) - Traffic by Time
of Day - Navigation Paths
- Defined Events (Orders,
Registrations, Password Changes, Your Custom Event)
Conclusion
Since no two Search Engine
Marketing projects are alike, our MaplePPC Services have been designed
to allow customization and independent execution. This flexibility allows
us to tailor an engagement to meet your unique needs and to provide
demonstrable results within any given budget.
