Why SEO/SEM Training Is Important
Search Engines Drive Traffic: Search is an important driver of traffic on the web. In September 2007, 25% of all Web traffic came from search engines, up from 20% in September the year before. It is estimated that 80% of search engine traffic is organic.
Search Engines Drive Offline Sales: The 2007 Yahoo!-comScore ROBO study (Research Online Buy Offline) found search marketing has a significant impact on in-store sales lift (three times that of banner ads). This is the latest in an increasing body of empirical data showing how significant the Internet has become as a driver of local/offline consumer purchases.
Search Engines Pay The Highest Dividends: Search produces high conversion rates and delivers excellent ROI. MarketingSherpa's Search Marketing Benchmark Guide 2008 shows SEO (natural search) was rated second to house email marketing for best ROI performance, while Paid Search was rated third as compared to Public Relations (PR), Direct Mail, Online Advertising (banners, etc.) and Print Advertising.
Search Drives Brand Lift: In a first-of-its-kind online study commissioned by Google, researchers found a significant correlation between companies in the top organic and sponsored ad placements and lift in consumer brand affinity, brand recall, and purchase intent. Source: The Brand Lift of Search, Google/Enquiro.
Difficulty of Hiring Qualified SEO/SEM Specialists: One of the biggest challenges for search marketers is to fill SEO/SEM-related positions, especially SEO specialists. One-third of the marketers responding to MarketingSherpa's 2008 Search Marketing Benchmark Guide said it is "very difficult" to attract qualified SEO technicians.
SEO Remains Most Popular: The Ad Age 2007 Fact Pack (October 2007), notes organic SEO is the most popular form of search marketing with 75% of advertisers (competitors) using this tactic. Paid search is close behind with 71%. B2B users clicked on organic search results first 75% of the time (Marketing to a B2B Tech Buyer).
10.5 Billion Searches Per Month In The US: Searchers are becoming very savvy with respect to the anatomy of the result's page. They know there are two types of results: natural results and paid ads. When they're doing purchase research or just looking for information, they know the organic results often yield the most diverse and promising results.
It's All Net: JPMorgan estimates global search revenue will reach over $30 billion in 2008 and $60 billion by 2011. Search Engine Marketing is big business in the acquisition stage.
