Web Design in Oklahoma City

The world of Internet Marketing is tough to define because there are many companies offering different packages. Those packages usually get lumped into three categories: internet marketing, search engine optimization, and search engine marketing services. Since different companies may refer to the same service by different names it often makes comparing companies and packages very confusing.

Internet Marketing is a broad term that can include everything from pay-per-click management to a full-blown online marketing campaign that builds traffic and tracks site visitors to increase conversions from all mediums. I like to think of Internet Marketing as encompassing all of the following disciplines: search engine optimization, pay-per-click management, link building and affiliate marketing.

Search Engine Optimization is the process of getting your site ranked well in the major search engines, mainly Google, Yahoo!, MSN and Ask (yes they still get traffic). This is easy to define but some company's SEO offerings encompass more than just getting you ranked well on the search engine results page (SERP).

Search Engine Marketing usually includes managing your pay per click campaigns and banners ads across affiliate networks. If you are considering a search engine marketing service, be sure to ask about landing page optimization.

Here are a few questions to ask to determine whether a company's services are right for you:

1. What does your Internet Marketing Service include? If they answer with "getting you ranked on the search engines" have them expand on the process they follow to achieve optimal rankings. I am a big fan of getting traffic to a website, but I am a bigger fan of producing results. Make sure if you hire someone to deliver traffic that you have someone monitoring the traffic to allow your customer to determine the perfect site layout.
2. Are you dedicated to Internet Marketing? This one is big! No matter who you are talking to, agency or freelancer, they must be dedicated to immersing themselves in the changes that take place on the Internet. As search engines and other networks (Digg, reddit, propeller, Del.icio.us to name a few) change their algorithms, they must be able to make adjustments to have continued success.
3. Do you monitor traffic and make suggestions on conversions? Ask how they track your site's conversion rate, what tools they use, and what types of reports you will receive. If they are just delivering reports and expecting you to decipher them, you need to make a decision on whether you have the technical skills to determine what changes, if any, need to be made.
4. Will you create my content? Some Internet Marketing companies will provide different options for getting the content recommendations together for your site, but make sure you know who will be responsible for this deliverable. If the company does not provide content services, ask them if they have partners they can refer you to or how much help they will provide you if you decide to create the content yourself.
5. How do you create incoming links? Incoming links are a very large part of an Internet Marketing campaign. They are not only a major part of Google's Algorithm, but they can also create a decent stream of business if they get you listed on relevant sites. Ask your potential Internet Marketing partner where they will find their links and stay away from companies who will use link farms and other similar sites.

Those are some critical questions you should ask any potential Internet Marketing partner, but the most important question is yours to answer. Do you have time to make sense of the latest Internet Marketing trends or is it worth hiring a professional to stay up to date with the latest trends and make changes and recommendations accordingly? If you choose the professional route, my personal recommendation would be to go with someone who will provide a comprehensive package, utilizing all online mediums and monitoring traffic to make conversion recommendations on a monthly basis.