The internet provides everybody with a quick and easy way to find out information. It really could be anything under the sun. What differentiates between success and failure of your online marketing attempts can be put down to 2 very simple reasons - visibility & feasibility

1. Visibility Most people search for information online via search engines. 3 major players include Google, Yahoo and MSN. Of course there are other engines out there such as AskJeeves, Altavista, AOL and other location-specific engines.

More often than not, the results will be similar and inter-linked. So, if you need your product or service to be found, it needs to be "searchable" by the engines. Otherwise, how do they possibly list your information?

Now, the main question - HOW TO GET LISTED ON SEARCH ENGINES?

Actually, its pretty simple. If you already have a website, just go to any of the 3 major engines to look for your domain name. Alternatively, you can download this software (free 15 days trial) to check your position within individual engines.

For those who are already listed, we will touch upon HOW TO INCREASE YOUR SEARCH ENGINE RANKING later.

Previously, websites were listed within directories and the more systematic & densely-populated ones generally enjoyed more viewers. This was how net users used to search for information before engines became popular.

So, search engines can be considered to be a progression from directory listings, whereby you now enter "search words / phrases" and results get churned out for you using specific algorithms.

It's hard to tell exactly how each engine sets its criteria for displaying results. But there are a few basic steps that one can take to have a higher chance of being listed.

Research your keywords / phrases properly (if possible, use keywords for your domain name) Make your page rich in useful content (think of what the viewer wants to read, not what you want to show-off) Place important keywords nearer the top and left of a page Use your H1, H2, H3 and BOLD tags in a proper and logical manner Customise your meta description and keywords individually for each page (based on the page's content) Get other complementary / similar websites to link to you (using your keywords!!!) Create multiple inter-links within your own site (not just via navigation bars but also through text phrases in main content) Search engines have their own submission system whereby you can list your website for them to "crawl" - meaning for them to send their "robots" to your website and see what's available. The most important thing about these robots or spiders (which some might call) is that they only see text. They don't "view" images. But of course that's what the tags are for, right?

GOLDEN RULE #1 - "thou shall put keywords within thy text"

Another way to be listed in engines is to submit to their directory. Yahoo, for instance, allows for free and payable submission. If it's within your marketing budget, then why not?

Some engines also allow for Pay-Per-Click advertising (PPC) whereby you can advertise your website (for specific keywords) by agreeing to pay a certain amount for every click. These is pretty good for those who are in the early phase of submission but want to quickly see their site "appear" in first few pages of search engines.

2. Feasibility Studies have shown that most online transactions are for homogenous, standardised products such as electronics , books, DVDs, CDs, show tickets and so on.

If your product is more specific and need a "try-on" before purchase, chances are it won't be that saleable unless of course you are marketing an already-popular brand and consumers are familiar with the quality class, cutting, size match, material, taste.

Now, for services and other truly heterogeneous products which a consumer MUST EXPERIENCE LIVE before deciding, how do you conduct a sale online?

Trouble is YOU CAN'T. Reason is simple - this is the nature of such goods and nothing will ever change.

For instance, a dentist can put up his service online but I still need to physically visit him to do my check-ups. Real estate can be advertised on the internet but prospective buyers still need to physically experience the house and its surroundings before making the decision.

So, why then should you market online if your service or product is part of the latter group?

GOLDEN RULE #2 - "EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE"

Think of how a business typically brings in revenue - (1) Get (2) Advertise (3) Sell

What you really want is to maximise exposure at every stage. It helps bring the costs down, create greater awareness and hopefully result in more sales.

Online marketing is not much different from traditional print ads in this respect whereby one typically advertise for greater awareness and wait for enquiries to come in.

However, online marketing is similar to enjoying fine wine and has one huge advantage over traditional print ads - it gets better with time.

If you place an advertisement in today's newspaper or this month's trade magazine. By next week or next month, it will probably be forgotten and treated as non-existent. But if you manage to include your website into the internet today, in time to come, it can still be found.

In fact, in one year's time, say, it is probably going to enjoy a much better standing in the engines' results than it does today and you will enjoy incremental exposure as time goes by (pretty much like having your money in a fixed-interest deposit and watching it grow and grow).

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