Is It Even Worth Trying?

[AlaskaFinancial]

In a highly competitive market is it worth the time and money to try and get into the organic listings? or is it better to just move on to other forms of internet marketing? You need to show up on the first page to matter right? The only thing we currently do online is ppc on a geographic basis. Forgive me if I'm asking a stupid question.

[maryhruth]

You say the only thing you do online is ppc, but you also have a website, right?

Trying to get to the first page is in a way a crap shoot, but if you work on it your progress can be quicker. That said, however, the real way you get to the 1st page is by 1) having a great product and 2) participating in the internet. The latter includes all the myriad ways you can do this, from SEO to social media, to your site design, to ads, and everything else. In the end, Google wants you to participate, and how actively you do that will determine Google's interest in you.

It's not at all easy to transition to the new way of thinking about marketing. You can't put up a few ads and go away anymore. You trade the low cost of internet interactivity for your willingness to be constantly attentive.

[AlaskaFinancial]

Just create the biggest presence I can using every reasonable method - it will all work and also add to my site ranking. Is that what you're saying?

[smallbizmkter]

The other thing to bear in mind is: If you are competing for a certain geographical market, you can compete more easily through SEO if you pick keyword phrases to optimize that you can actually show up for: in other words, fight the battles that you can win.

For instance, judging by your screen name you are offering financial services in Alaska? So instead of optimizing for keyword phrases like 'financial services', go for 'financial services Alaska' etc. or your city name.

It is still very possible to show up on first page for these types of phrases even in very competitive markets.

Hope that helps.

[certifypers]

SEO can really help your business become more visible on search engines. But of course, it is just part of a several factors.

[Michael Lake]

I agree with smallbizmkter in that you need to better define your terms. You'll probably never live long enough to come up organically on just the word "Financial". Adding "Alaska" will help.

You might go a couple steps further, however. First, more specifically define a niche for your particular financial services. You might be a generalist, but you can still come up with a more narrow definition that will translate into a less popular keyphrase. And you could do this for a couple of keyphrases. One could be "financial advice for seniors" or "financial advice for women" or "mortgage refinancing financial assistance". Think about the phrases your potential customers are using on the search engines, and add "Alaska" if you wish.

I would also STRONGLY suggest that you write a blog that is attached to your site. Write topics that are aimed at the keyphrases you determine are best for you. So perhaps you write a blog post one day on the 5 most common mistakes seniors make with their financial planning, the special needs many women have regarding financial planning. I have seen clients come up very high on organic search quickly with a short blog post tied in to a niche keyphrase.

I've created a interesting video that explains keyphrases that might help you. Check out an excerpt of it by clicking: http://www.maniacalmarketer.com/SEO/..._2_excerpt.htm

Good luck!

[pkeetch]

I love Michael's response -- the more niche specific you can get, the better your results. You can create a series of pages around that particular topic (financial advice for seniors) that will help you get better listings.

Which niche you choose and then how you talk to that niche is the most important step to take even before you begin to do any external marketing.

You *must* know exactly who you're talking to and what their specific fears and frustrations are, as well as what their vision of the future looks like.

Alaskan seniors and Alaskan women have different conversations going on in their heads related to their financial fears and hopes -- it's your job to enter that conversation as gracefully as possible, instead of trying to interrupt that conversation with a topic of your own.

- Paul

[AirForce1]

I think you might want to find those long tail keywords in your niche and optimize for them. This is very useful at the very beginning of a new site and usually get better conversion. Of course, social media are also nice sources for direct traffic besides ppc.

[sequencehosting]

Originally Posted by AlaskaFinancial

In a highly competitive market is it worth the time and money to try and get into the organic listings? or is it better to just move on to other forms of internet marketing? You need to show up on the first page to matter right? The only thing we currently do online is ppc on a geographic basis. Forgive me if I'm asking a stupid question.

Your right to question this, it's certainly not a stupid question. Some markets are just too competitive. For example web hosting. While I make sure my on-page SEO is good and I use keywords for anchor text I don't count on getting high rankings in the search engines. Personally I'm happy about that because your website could be number 1 on Google one day and 50 the next. It's risky running a business that relies souly on search engine ranking because Google's algorithm is changing all the time.

[Robi]

It is always worth trying. When you have more competitors, you can see who is more/less successful. Analyze what they do well, and what you can do better. When the google start, they had scary amount of competitors. The point is to find your unique way and your only customers.