Just like one shoe doesn’t fit all, the same applies to Internet marketing. I wrote a post the other day targeting keywords like Internet marketing Fargo and SEO Fargo for the sole purpose of ranking in the SERPS (search engine results pages) for those keywords. I wanted to spend a little time in an effort to rank and hold a ranking for those keywords. I view that type of Internet marketing as the equivalent of buying a house vs renting one. The easy way to rank for keywords is to buy ad placements from Google, MSN and Yahoo. By doing so you are guaranteed to rank on the first page for those words and generate the visitors you are requesting.

The flip side to the paid-for model of Internet marketing happens when you quit paying for those ads and disappear from not only the first page, but all pages. Instead, if you invest a little time and effort into promoting your site/business online, your site can be found by many people searching the same things. You will only invest time, not money. My site and sites like mine sit at the top of the results pages for a variety of keywords. When I go to sleep or leave on vacation, my site still sits there. Every once in a while I will add some fuel to the fire ensuring I stay above the competition.

I am #2 and #3 for the search term Internet Marketing Fargo just by writing one blog post. That puts me just behind all of the paid placements on Google. It won’t be long, and I will be ahead of the directory listing at the top of the page for my selected field. This is done by building more support to my pages than the yellow page generated results. I will also be doing the same for other keywords related to my local niche as I mentioned on my recent Fargo Internet Marketing and SEO post.

A funny thing happened the other day when talking with a client about my Fargo Internet Marketing post and targeting those keywords. The client asked me if my competition knew I was targeting those words. What I didn’t mention is that I already have other sites ranking in the top for those keywords. Those sites have been generating leads for the last 5 months. It’s just another way to capture as much of the local market as possible.

You have many different choices as far as Internet marketing goes, but I view SEO as a more viable promotion option than ad buying. But SEO takes time and effort and involves a longer ramp-up period. If what you are doing needs more of an instant promotion model, then you should buy ads from the major search engines. At the same time, start working your way to the top of the SERPS for relevant keywords through SEO. Eventually, you will either capture a lot more market share and customers from other keywords you don’t rank for or you can swap one model of promotion for the other.

All of these ideas and tactics lead to a very important discussion when starting Internet marketing and web promotion of your product or service. Don’t leave out questions like “Where do we want our traffic to come from?” “How much are we willing to pay in advertising?” “What is the percentage of fraud associated with paid advertisement?” and many more questions. Of course if you are interested is talking with me, I encourage comments or emails.

Related posts:

1. Internet Marketing and SEO Fargo