When you're looking to increase search-driven traffic, it's easy to focus on a single element of your marketing campaign in the hopes of honing your overall strategy. However, by using SEO, SEM and traditional media together, you can organically drive search results and boost traffic, both immediately and over the long term.
Using Traditional Media to Draw Consumers In
Traditional media offers marketers a great way to spark initial consumer interest, which can lead to increased search traffic. Advertising through TV and other traditional media affords marketers the opportunity to pique consumer interest in a way that encourages search activity later on through the use of specific, search-engine-friendly keywords. MediaPost highlights the adults aged 25-54 demographic as one that is particularly inclined to perform searches after seeing an ad on television that contains easily searchable phrases and keywords and cites local news broadcasts as an area where ads looking to drive search results have been very effective. Though you certainly don't want to create ambiguous ads that don't give consumers enough information to care, it's important to craft ads for radio, print and television that invite the consumer to search for additional information in such a way as to lead back to you through a strong SEO and SEM campaign.
Using SEO and SEM to Create Long-Lasting Search Engine Growth
Though traditional media is a great way to get that "hook" that will initially connect consumers with your brand, a cohesive SEO and SEM strategy is vital for making sure that consumers continue to find your presence online long after your traditional ads have been seen or heard. Having high-quality, search-engine-friendly content will ensure that consumers see your content — and not your competitors' — when they're searching online for keywords related to your product or service, and will keep your search engine traffic coming in for the long term. For instance, if you're marketing a new line of beauty products, encouraging consumers to search for a new seasonal shade of lipstick or eye shadow will ensure that they can find more information on your product, including content, and will be more likely to convert as they learn more about the product and develop an increasing familiarity with your brand through casual searches motivated by traditional advertising methods.
Though there are many individual ways to increase search-driven traffic, taking an integrated approach that includes both traditional media and SEO and SEM is a great way to ensure that search activity gets an immediate boost and continues to grow over the long term.
