The New ROI of SEO and Social Media | ymarketing
Posted by David Carpenter on Tue, Nov 17, 2009 @ 02:04 AM
In poll and after poll of marketers and business decision makers alike, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes out on top or near the top in terms of ROI. But how do we really know? How does an organization measure the ROI of an SEO initiative? And with mounting evidence of the impact Social Media has on Search Marketing, how do we measure the ROI of Social Media initiatives?
ymarketing conducted extensive research on the web from July to October of 2009 looking for the definitive answer for Return On Investment from SEO and Social Media (looking for ROI calculators, case studies and other research) and, aside from a bevy of polls citing the high ROI value of SEO, were surprised to find that there seem to be no great standards or agreed upon methodologies.
TopRank poll on the top digital marketing tactics in 2009
Your Input Sought
In the first of a series on the topic, we'll share some of the evidence we uncovered and invite readers to contribute their own innovative ideas, experience and evidence that they've found. If you'd like to participate, leave a comment below and add it to the discussion.
What's Coming Up
In part 2 of the series we'll cover the traditional methods that SEO practitioners use - ranked keyword lists and other forms of measurements that, by today's real-time web standards, look pretty crude and unscientific. We'll also de-mystify the confusion around ROI and ROAS (Return on Advertising Spend) and evaluate if there is a meaningful distinction between the two.
SEMPO Study on top three marketing tactics for 2009
In part 3 of the series we'll delve into solutions: new methodologies, tools and solutions companies are using to track, measure and quantify the value of their SEO initiatives, including exploring a topic we like to call organic keyword monetization.
Because of the tight partnership between Social Media and Organic Search, a part of this discussion will be focused on exploring a topic raised by David Spark in an article "Social media success doesn't start with ROI" which highlights the troubles in using old media metrics in a new media world.
There is consensus about the value of SEO... but how do we measure it in our own businesses?
