Apr 30, 2007

In Search of TrafficBy Kelly K. SporsWSJ.com

For small companies, just having a Web site isn’t enough anymore. To be successful online, they must learn to harness one of the Web’s most powerful tools: search engines.

After all, search engines like Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp.’s MSN are often shoppers’ first stops when they’re looking for a product on the Web. So it’s crucial for small businesses to show up prominently in search-engine results — and that’s a complicated job.

Guerrilla marketing is a great way for a small business to get attention. But it’s a tactic that can easily backfire. Plus, ads on cellphones can be annoying, but they can also be a terrific marketing tool.

Search engines don’t disclose their ranking formulas, making it tough for small companies to figure out how to boost their site’s results. Even worse, big competitors can afford to pour lots of resources into that same effort — putting small companies at a bigger disadvantage.

The good news? While the exact ranking formulas are a mystery, there are plenty of clues about how to improve a site’s position. Add lots of relevant descriptions to the site’s text, including the search phrases for which you want a high ranking. Have other sites link to it. Offer a blog or other informational content for customers. And if these efforts prove too complicated for a business to handle, not to worry: A whole industry has sprung up to help companies improve their rankings.

Small businesses are discovering other search strategies, as well. They’re getting smarter about ads, for instance. Pay-per-click ads that pop up for general search terms (such as “clothing”) tend to be very expensive — so companies are buying ads for much more specific terms to cut costs. Many businesses are also focusing their efforts on search-engine pages devoted to their own geographic area, instead of trying to compete against businesses world-wide.

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