Creating brand awareness online - the optimisation era hits SA

The Optimisation era has finally hit South Africa!

Although there still is only a small portion of online marketing companies that practice Search Engine Optimisation, each company offering these services in South Africa is a pioneer in itself. Online Promotion comprises of a few sub-areas including, but not limited to: Paid Search, Search Engine Optimisation and Affiliate marketing.

As Sally Falkow stated recently on Bizcommunity.com in her published article on 'Optimising Press releases'... "It's no longer a passive, one-way communication through the mass media. Your public is online and actively searching for what they want."

Briefly defined, Search Engine Optimisation is a form of online marketing where your website is made highly relevant for both Search Engines as well as searchers looking for your product or service online. Let me sketch an example: You are looking for a cell phone retailer in Cape Town. You type the name of your favourite Search Engine into your browser address bar (e.g. Google, Yahoo, MSN, Aardvark, AltaVista etc.). You type your query "cell phone retailer in Cape Town" and wait a few seconds for your results to display. Theoretically, the first 10 results displayed should be the most relevant to the query you entered. Statistically, 80% of all the traffic goes to the first three listings.

This practice in itself is the dawn of a new era for South Africans who, until a few years ago, found everything through the trusty dialling of 1-0-2-3! (A local telephonic information service.)

It is with pride that I can say that many global brands have turned to our handful of South African Search Marketing companies to help build their brands online.

Search Engine Optimisation specialists not only ensure that your site is visible on the Search Engines, they also ensure that these visitors to your website find a well-designed, content relevant and user-friendly site.

Consult with a Search Engine Marketing specialist and make sure that your brand, product and/ or service is found online.