Are You Really Measuring for Return on Investment (ROI) with Search Engine Optimization?

Puzzling studies and reports suggest that businesses are missing out when it comes to ROI, including a whole host of metrics that should confirm or shape search engine marketing strategies.

You cant accomplish much if youre not even implementing SEO the right way. Weve seen web site after web site that includes scores of individual keywords in the META keyword set (that many search engines ignore anyway). The SEO team not only used the wrong individual keywords (search phrases are better), but they didnt bother to include keywords in the page title or description. And, of course, they didnt think it was worth their time to focus on multiple pages not just the homepage.

Hint: If youre selling dinnerware, laundry probably shouldnt be one of your keywords.

A WebTrends report cited in an eMarketer in 2004 showed the following ROI:

Using Complete ROI analysis 35.4%

Click-through rates only 24.2%

Conversion metrics 18.7%

Don't measure 21.7%

Barely one third figured a thorough ROI analysis was worth the effort.

More than 80% of companies surveyed are dissatisfied with their ability to benchmark their marketing programs, according to Measures + Metrics: Assessing Marketing Value + Impact, a stunning report based on a 2004 survey by the CMO Council, a Palo Alto, California-based organization. The CMO Council represents senior marketing and brand decision-makers in the global technology industry.

Less than 20% have developed any meaningful and comprehensive measures and metrics for their marketing organizations, the report said.

Its possible, Fathom SEO believes, that companies just settle for whats easiest. If getting high rankings offers enough satisfaction, thats where the measurement ends. Or, maybe a business will look at total traffic (maybe even unique visitor trends). With PPC, theyre apt to take up Googles offer and post an ad within 15 minutes, cranking out the common reports Google offers.

Businesses have a whole host of metrics that can serve them as long as the data doesnt fly over their heads.

Aligning SEM with Corporate Marketing Strategies You should start by knowing how your SEM goals relate to your corporate marketing strategy. Which of the following (or more) do you want to accomplish?

Generate leads

Sell online

Build brands

Grab more market share

Conversions You absolutely must track pages that allow visitors to take some kind of action, including:

Requesting a quote

Filling out a contact form

Placing an order

Registering for a newsletter

Ordering a catalog

Establishing Your Metrics Determine which of the following will be the metrics that will mean the most to you:

Online sales (broken down by category)

Repeat visits

Profits on sales

Customer satisfaction

Length of visits

Cost per click (CPC)

Click-through rate (CTR)

Cost per conversion (CPC).

Get plugged into online consumers behavior patterns. For example, studies show that consumers start researching products online several weeks (12 weeks in some business-to business scenarios) before they make a purchase often offline. Enquiro, based in Kelowna, BC, Canada, in 2004 found that 68.3% of those surveyed used search engines for consideration or research. The results are detailed in Enquiros Inside the Mind of a Searcher research report that looks at issues including four distinct types of searchers and the frequency with which people search during the buying process.

ROI should be an integral part of any search engine optimization strategy, not something that sounds foreign. Make it work for your business.