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Search Engine Marketing Soft Sell

When it comes to online marketing (or indeed offline marketing), people immediately put their guard up against the hard sell. In-person the hard sell is sometimes successful, although it takes a lot of tact and skill to pull it off. Delivered poorly, the hard sell can actively drive business away and tarnish the reputation of a brand.

Online marketing is no different. Pop up advertising and email marketing is the closest the Internet gets to the hard sell. Done with tact, these methods can be successful. However, it is a gamble. Unless the online marketing company uses a specific strategy to target potential customers, it can be sloppy and expensive, and it could even frustrate and discourage customers loyalty and engagement.

People like to have at least the illusion that they are making their own decision; we all want to believe that it is entirely our personal choice.

There are a vast number of controllable variables that lead someone to select one brand over another; that’s why marketing exists. Search Engine Marketing is the most popular form of online marketing. Customers search freely, without being pressured, and choose the company which best suits their needs. The aim of Search Engine Marketing is non-intrusive; it is merely to make the website more visible on search engine listings. The encouragement is subtle and therefore, somehow more trustworthy.

Online Marketing can be broken down further into Pay Per Click (PPC), Display Advertising, Social Media Marketing and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). PPC, Sponsored Ads and Display are less subtle, but it can help brand recognition, engagement, product sales and brand introductions. With engaging messaging and the correct use of campaign data, this can method can be the most rewarding.

Search Engine Optimisation (which now includes Google Maps Listings) is subtle and effective. Online businesses have seen the proof of its success, and that explains why it has been the fastest growing online marketing medium in recent years.