We get this question all the time: what’s the difference between search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM)? So we put together this post to explain the difference between these two and also define them along the way.

Many people use the terms search engine optimization and search engine marketing interchangeably, when in reality there are some differentiating factors that set them apart from each other. Search engine optimization (SEO) falls underneath the broad umbrella of search engine marketing (SEM) and both are a means for site owners to drive traffic to their websites by utilizing search engines. To give a visual, SEO results are those typically displayed along the left of the screen in regular sized text and are not paid advertisements. SEM ads, often labeled “sponsored links,” appear on the right side of the screen in smaller text. Search engine marketing could be considered a manipulation of sorts because it involves paid ads, while search engine optimization is a more natural way of driving traffic to a website with keyword placement. It is important to have an understanding of the fundamental differences between the two terms to understand why each is important in building a successful and profitable website.

Search engine optimization is the more organic way to optimize hits from search results by the placement of key words and other content within the inherent HTML of the site itself. Traffic is driven to a website by the results of electronic spiders, or robots, which count keywords and compute them with an algorithm to decide the placement of a site in its search results. The higher the scores computed by the spiders, the better the listings in the search engine results page. The spiders also count links pointing to a site from another website, as well as taking into account updated content when determining ranking. The distinct advantage of SEO is that it is a free service, i.e. you do not need to pay the various search engines to do SEO, that increases brand recognition. The disadvantage is that in highly competitive markets, it’s harder for a site to differentiate itself from its competitors, and therefore gain recognition and high rankings by the search engine spiders. Overall, this cheaper, long-term approach helps the site owner increase traffic by building a quality website with good content and a nice layout that ultimately translates to sales.

Search engine marketing is a broad term that is the “instant gratification” answer to getting a website highly viewable on search engine results pages as a result of the payment of a fee. Because the site owner builds the ads from scratch and to his specifications, he can decide where he wants his visitors to be taken when they click the link or advertisement. The owner even decides how much he’s willing to pay for good ad placement and some of these ad spots are very competitively priced. As discussed above, control is a huge issue in the world of website optimization, and the site owner has it with SEM because he is buying his search results. The distinct advantage of SEM is that it provides almost immediate results; just as quickly as the ad can be created, paid for, and uploaded, the site owner is likely to see hits. The disadvantage is that it’s costly. SEM is often referred to as pay per click (PPC) because site owners pay each time someone clicks their links.

Search engine optimization is absolutely vital to successful search engine marketing; yet SEO in most cases — and especially for new ecommerce sites–is just the first step to creating a successful online presence.

What makes a successful email marketing plan? Here are 10 quick tips to consider when launching yours:

1. Ask for permission.
Sending to people who want to hear from you is the best way to remain legally compliant, maintain a solid reputation, and generate great results. And with consumers becoming more finicky about what they read – and servers becoming more finicky about what they deliver – building a true permission-based list is more important than ever.

2. Get into the address book.
Want to know the secret to reaching the inbox? It’s the Address Book. Get in there, and you’re more likely to bypass any filters and show up just the way you want to. So remind your audience members to add you to their address book (or white list or safe senders list) every chance you get.
3. Give your emails style and substance.

The visual possibilities of HTML mean it’s easier than ever to create emails that are attractive and enticing. Just make sure that in addition to creating emails that look great, you’re also giving your emails enough substance to warrant sending them in the first place. Marry style and substance with the campaigns you send, and your readers will thank you (and probably buy something while they’re at it).

4. Send with delivery in mind.

Before your emails can be read and responded to, they have to be seen. That’s why we make sure your emails are sent in a way that’s designed to ensure high delivery rates – through personalized delivery, sophisticated delivery policies, and ISP relationships. And it’s why we offer you the tools to proof your campaign’s content prior to send-off and see the complete results (good and bad) after it’s out.

5. Use (really use) the subject line.

Arguably the most important single line of any email, the subject line is your two- second opportunity to catch someone’s eye and convince them to stop and look. Morethan one great email has been ruined because of a generic, vague or uninspiring subject. So craft your subject line with care, test variations whenever you can, and remember that those are the most important 5 to 10 words in your campaign.

6. Know your audience.

The key to creating appealing content is to really know the group to whom you’re trying to appeal. Use your signup screens and database to collect information about out who they are, where they live, and what they like, and enlist your recipients’ help to keep that information fresh and up- to-date.

7. Tailor your message.

Forget the old days of batch-and-blast. Today, it’s about creating smaller, more targeted mailings based on your recipients’ demographics, interest and more. The more timely, relevant and personal you can make it, the better.

8. Handle opt-outs immediately.

This is one thing you can’t mess around with. The Can-Spam legislation grants you 10 days to handle opt-out requests, but in the world of email 10 days is an eternity. That’s why our opt-out feature handles requests instantly and remembers those requests to prevent against accidental abuse.

9. Understand (and use) your results.

Tracking metrics like receipts, bounces, opens, clicks, forwards and signups is the first step to understanding what’s happening to your emails. But those numbers are more than just metrics – they’re your audience talking to you. Not with real voices, because that’d be weird, but through their actions (or inaction). Listen to what they’re saying and then apply it to your future emails.

10. Experiment and adapt.

Like most things, email marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition. So start with a basic plan, apply your philosophy and style, and adapt as you go.

Welcome to Market Rocker Internet marketing blog! This is a project I’ve been looking forward to do for a long time and it is exciting to finally get it going.

I read a ton of internet marketing blogs. They are a great way to stay on top of the rapidly advancing industry and an indispensable tool to industry professionals like myself. But I find time and again that there is a gap between these highly technical blogs and the prospective business leaders that want to leverage internet marketing for their companies.  I hope that at least in part, Market Rocker blog will close this gap and clients, prospective clients, and any other interested party will recieve great “takeaways” from here.

Therefore, many post will be about the A-B-C’s of internet marketing. For example, this will be a place to learn about the difference between SEO and SEM or explaining what CMS is (gotta love all these acronyms). Basically, I want this blog to be an encyclopedia for the Internet marketing neophyte.

But this blog will also be more just a tool for the layman. There will also be technical blogs for other industry professionals, posts on business philosophy, and of course articles pitching Market Rocker for the prospective client. Of course there will be random musings and other (hopefully) entertaining content to keep you coming back.

So make sure to click the orange feed button to subscribe to our blogs and keep checking back to Marketrocker.com for more updates.

Many business owners and their management team have the dream of going global; reaching a world wide audience, global brand recognition, and of course, the sales that come with a multi-national audience.  But while dreaming big is important and global dominance is only a click away, there is an obvious question that tends to escape strategic planning: are you capturing your local search market?

Local search is a great – and overlooked- method to boost your site’s traffic and search rankings. Not only is it effective, but search engines like google, yahoo, bing, and Ask.com encourage local search and thus make it relatively simple (with sound strategy and good old fashioned know-how) to rank on the local search market.

Basically, local search is based on geolocation: the process by which search engines figure out where a computer is geographically. The more you make your website findable for local search terms, the more search engines will match you with the those local searchers.

For example, let’s say that you sell digital cameras from your store in Newark NJ and you have a website where you try to generate national, or even global, sales. Now, digital cameras is very competitive search term and you have a new site (or you’re new to optimizing your site) so there is very little chance that your site will be found when someone searches for “digital cameras.”

However, as you’re developing your ability to rank for highly competitive terms, becoming findable for more specific terms is much more doable for both the short and the long term. Here is where local search comes in. Ranking for the term “Digital Cameras Newark NJ” is an effective way to be found and generate sales (maybe to earn back the cash you just spent on that beautiful brand spanking new site).

We’ve only touched on a few points here about local search and we’ll develop more ideas and insights in later articles. But, here is the important point to remember: people often add location names with their keyword searches. Now ask yourself: is your site optimized for local search? Are you registered with search engines for your local predicts and services? If not, maybe it is time to go local.