Search engine optimization takes a lot of time. It is easy to get to the top of Google for the business you are running in your local area, as long as you have the time to spend doing it. There are so many ways to go about getting ranked that it’s hard to keep them all straight, let alone find the time to implement the plan.

One of the things that needs to be addressed when you are working on your SEO is social bookmarking. Social bookmarks require constant maintenance. That is why they are called “social”. You need to stay in touch with your friends on Facebook, make new Tweets every day and do forum posting at least a few times per week. Who has the time to stay social when you’re also running a business?

You’re going to need to get some help with your social presence in order to raise your ranking in Google. You have two options here. You can either hire somebody in-house to do it or hire a professional company on the Internet. Using somebody in your business will cost a lot more than using a separate company.

Professional SEO companies have a system in place so that everything runs like clockwork. Things get done quickly and efficiently so that the work that needs to be done on your site is kept affordable. These companies also understand exactly what Google is looking for and operate based on this data alone. When you have somebody working in-house on your SEO projects it is easy to get sidetracked and spend too much time on Facebook or Twitter when other things need to be handled as well.

You’ll get more business as you become more social on the Internet. Word will spread about your company and what it has to offer. If you haven’t yet developed a social presence, now is definitely the time to do so.

Here are the four other sources of traffic that are most commonly used when proper SEO isn’t in place.

Banner ads

Only 2% of visitors to any website come from a banner ad. They usually cost money to place and many of these visitors are not targeted. There shouldn’t be a lot of effort wasted on banner ads.

PPC marketing

Approximately 16% of website visitors arrive at a site through ads placed on Google and other search engines. It is an expensive proposition to run a marketing campaign on Google and most people hire a PPC management company to do it for them.

Social marketing

About 5% of the visitors to a website come from a social marketing site like Twitter or Facebook. Social marketing is an important part of any business’ web presence, but it simply does not compare to natural SEO.

Text ads

These are ads that could be placed in a classified ads directory, on other sites or at the bottom of articles sent out. These ads only bring in about 0.5% of all visitors to websites across the world. There has been a lot written about article marketing, but while it does have its place, it should not be counted on to bring in a lot of traffic. It is best used for backlinking.

Natural SEO

There is nothing that can compete with organic SEO and probably nothing ever will. Proper SEO will bring in about 77% of the traffic to websites across the world. The only way that you can compete with the big guns out there is to have your site ranking near the top of Google. You can use the other sources of traffic, but don’t forget about the one that will give you the highest traffic volume.

Social bookmarking will help any business thrive and prosper. The problem is that it takes a lot of time to keep up with it. Updates need to be made to Facebook, Tweets need to be done on Twitter and other social sites need to be worked on as well. In order to remain social you need to visit the sites regularly, and who has time to maintain this endless amount of social SEO work?

If you are serious about expanding your business both online and off-line, social marketing is the answer. It is a vital part of any website SEO strategy and needs constant maintenance. The best way to keep up with it is to use the services of an SEO company that works with social sites on your behalf. This means that they will update and post on your sites for you. You’ll be able to have a social Internet presence without having to worry about taking the time to do it yourself.

If you’re worried about other people making your posts for you, that is totally understandable. It can be difficult to ask another company to handle your personal social sites, but when it comes to business it is a necessity. As long as you find a SEO company with a good reputation, everything will be fine.

This is what your competitors are doing. They are outsourcing this project to businesses that specialize in it. How else could they possibly find the time to constantly update their information? With all of the social sites on the Internet today, it isn’t humanly possible to do all this on your own while working on your business.

If your social marketing isn’t what it should be, consider outsourcing the job to a company that knows how to do it right. This small investment can lead to big rewards as your social presence rises and your business name goes viral.

If you’re not a social butterfly and don’t have hours to spend on these social sites, how can you compete with other websites that are doing this effectively and moving up the ranks in Google? How do you handle the situation if you’re simply not social and don’t enjoy spending hours on the Internet just talking to people?

The answer is to hire somebody else to do the work for you. This is, in fact, what your competition is doing right now. They don’t have time either to talk to people on the net so they outsource the project. There are people working for affordable SEO companies that have the charisma to update your Facebook and make Tweets for you. Nobody needs to know that you aren’t the one doing them and your reputation will begin to soar.

The fact is that social sites attract too many visitors to simply ignore. Millions of people every day visit Twitter and Facebook to stay updated on the latest happenings. People are just waiting on the edge of their seats for new information being passed along this way. Millions and millions of people are out there right now having conversations and passing along news. If you aren’t one of the ones giving it to them, you can rest assured that your competitors are.

There is no way you can play the Internet marketing game these days without including social sites. You have to make your online presence known to those that are waiting to hear from you. Even if you’re not a social person, you need to have someone be social for you. This is the only way you’ll be able to make a lasting impression on the Internet to your customers.

There are two killer methods you can use to increase your revenues right now. The first is a web presenter. This is a video that you can put on your site that has an actor talking right to your visitors. You decide what you want the actor to say and the message you want to get across.

The reason why this video is so effective is there is a real person talking to the visitor at your site. It grabs the attention of a potential customer right away, and if the message is effective enough, the person will watch this video through to the end and then take action on your site. They may buy something or opt in to be a part of your email list.

Building up a list of emails is another vital strategy that any business needs to employ. Once you have a list of people that are interested in what you have to offer, you can send them emails promoting products and offering sound advice. Targeted email marketing is the best way to reach people that are interested in what you have to offer. This is how millionaires have been made and local businesses have thrived. If you haven’t yet added an auto responder to your website to collect emails from your visitors, you’re simply leaving money on the table.

Web presenters get the attention of your visitors and help to lead them towards making a purchase or signing up for your list. When you have a presenter and a targeted list of emails, you will definitely see an increase in your profits as long as your web presentation is done properly and the emails sent out are written with good copy.