Did you know that search engine marketing is a 16 billion dollar industry? It works, businesses believe in it and have reaps the benefits. By now many of you are engaging in search engine marketing in some fashion or another. Maybe it’s pay-per-click (or paid advertising), maybe it’s blogging or search engine optimization, perhaps it’s banner advertising or maybe it’s something differently altogether.

TechCrunch, a well-known online resource for the tech industry, estimated that $917 billion worth of retail sales were web-influenced, $155 billion sold online in the same year – 2009.

Google has been the search power-house for several years. With Yahoo and Bing merging their search systems the competition between Google and the others is closing in. Are you focusing on only Google results or are you diversifying your search engine optimization efforts?

Do you know how many visitors have viewed your site or search for products you sell from a mobile device? As mobile devices are advancing consumers are beginning to make purchases and conduct research directly from their device. Make sure your website functions and looks as it should on at least the primary mobile devices: Blackberry, iPhone, iPod, etc.

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We recently came across an article from American Express OPEN that discusses 5 ways your small business website might be failing. The items are listed below:

1. You don’t fill out your about us page
2. You don’t actually say what your business does
3. You don’t strut your stuff
4. You don’t capitalize on social media
5. You aren’t blogging (or not blogging enough)

As small business owners we are all busy working on our businesses and working in our businesses. There are a couple items in the list above that I know we are guilty of; social media, not blogging on a regular basis and not strutting our stuff. This article explains why it’s important to stay ahead of the game and get on a schedule or at least be aware so that you make a conscious effort to engage with the tools at your fingertips.

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Search engine optimization is the process of making a website "likable" by search engines. Having relevant, up-to-date content, proper website coding, inbound and outbound links to other sites that are relevant, all contribute to "good" search engine optimization. However, these items are only the beginning. True SEO goes very deep and get complicated, as such it requires monthly or quarterly updates and monitoring.

The internet is a very competitive space. While you are optimizing your site, your competition is doing the same. SEO can be extremely profitable and yield bushels of new leads for your business.

Search engine optimization coupled with proper website conversion tracking, telephone tracking, email conversion rate monitoring as well as consistently adding relevant content are the ingredients needed to succeed.

Below is another great article by American Express OPEN on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). We subscribe to the American Express OPEN newsletter to receive updates weekly about particles that are relevant to what we do. I strongly urge every small business owner to fill out a brief profile on the OPEN website so you start receiving articles that are relevant to your business. The articles can help you manage your organization more efficiently, reduce operating expenses, derive new methods of conducting business, and much more.

When customers search for products and services to purchase, they go to search engines. And when your site ranks highly among those search engines, you (the business owner) stand to enjoy tremendous profits. If your site is not being "seen" by the search engines, then you’re missing out on a ton of opportunity!

Click here for the full Search Engine Optimization Article.