Could SEO be a waste of your money?

So before spending a fortune on your online venture that may go wasted, spend some time answering two vital questions.

Does your target market use the Internet?

September 2006 statistics showed that only 10.3% of the total South African population uses the Internet. In the absence of updated statistics, suppose Internet usage in SA has since grown by 50%. This means that from a population of 49.7 million people, an estimated 42 million people are not using the Internet at all.

If 42 million people form the offline market, should your marketing not, perhaps, include traditional sales and marketing methods?

Will your target market exert the time and money to find you or your products online?

Sometimes, even customers who have Internet access will just reach for the Yellow Pages. For this reason, you should take the time to understand your target market's buying behaviour and how they perceive your products.

• Convenience products are those that the consumer is not willing to spend time, money or effort in locating, evaluating and purchasing. If you're selling convenience products, for example, pantyhose or bread, chances are that your customers will not use a search engine to find you.

• For shopping products, consumers want to make price, quality and suitability comparisons. If you're selling a range of shopping products, it is almost certain that customers with Internet access will use a search engine to compare your prices and features to those of your customers. They take the time and effort to plan their purchases and the product with the best set of attributes is bought.

• Specialty products are those in which the consumer's buying behaviour is directed at securing a particular good, service or idea without regard to time, effort and expense. Consumers are loyal to their brand, store and person. They will pay a premium price for their products and will not accept a product substitute. In this case, customers are more likely to access the site directly using the URL. If they do rely on a search engine to find you, they'll probably use your brand name as the keyword.

Your marketing strategy should consider all these options. Only once you're sure that your product or service is feasible for online marketing or selling, should you decide how much money to invest into your online marketing strategy.