Why search engine marketing is about more than just Google rankings

Those of you who read this blog know that I produce a monthly newsletter on online marketing called Marketing Karma (next issue out next week). I started this newsletter 4 years ago and despite the time since then, much of the advice given then still rings true today.

I wrote an article back in October 2003 called 'Are you being served? Why search engine marketing is about more than just Google rankings'. The advice I gave in this article is very relevant now and thought it would be a good idea to remind you of how important it is to think beyond the search engine rankings when promoting your site. Top 10 rankings don't constitute a successful search marketing campaign, and those who don't measure the success of a campaign through sales and leads are way behind. With web analytics tracking available either free or very cheaply, really there's no excuse not to track what's happening on your site, particularly returns on advertising spend, the sales and leads that come through the site and what visitors are actually looking at.

I hope your online marketer regularly asks you about sales and leads through your website, benchmarks visitors and doesn't just send out the latest ranking report!