SEO, CEO and a little more profit
The world has become more dynamic than ever before. New businesses and firms are being set up. Mergers and acquisitions are becoming a common sight and it does not take much of a time for a company to lose its top position to a rival. With myriad products available for selection, the adage 'Customer is the king' is gaining grounds at a rate faster than the launch of a new Google product! The CEOs of the companies are increasingly feeling the need to search for new streams of revenue. In such a case going in for a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) might prove beneficial. Here is a presentation of some reasons as to why SEO might just find favors with a CEO.
Vision:
"The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet."
- Theodore M. Hesburgh.
A CEO being a leader must have the vision to identify the opportunity for achieving the desired growth rate.
According to a survey carried out by comScore World Metrix, the online population was 694,260 in March 2006, there has been a steady growth in e-commerce. E-commerce registered a growth of 7% in the first quarter of 2006. A growth of 7% in four months only further strengthens the case for a CEO to have a search engine friendly website which in turn will help to realize the set targets.
New channel of revenues: The top management of the company is always in search of new channels to increase the revenue. It is often noticed that over the years the traditional markets get mature and there is little room for improvement. In such a case the Internet can be used as a new age tool for attracting customers. For e.g. research carried by Global Spec showed that most of the customers looking for industrial equipments and goods relied more on the internet than the traditional sources such as directories and trade magazines. It put the estimated number of people using search engine to locate products at 52%. This is the figure for the month of January -February 2006.
The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, USA also reported a rise in the percentage of e-retailing. The total of retail e-commerce sale for the first quarter of 2006 was $ 25.2 billion. It also stated that e-commerce sales that in the first quarter was 2.6% of total sales.
This proves the fact that SEO is of vital importance. SEO helps to push up the rankings of a website in a search result page. If the site features higher in a search engine result it will be able to attract more customers.
Hence a CEO in search of a new revenue option can consider Search Engine Optimization.
Facts and Figures: It is often argued that a CEO always uses hard facts and figures to plan his future strategies.
Consider this: The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, USA reported that B2B accounted for 93% of the e-commerce. According to AC Nielsen, one tenth of the world's population shops online they have estimated that almost 325 million had shopped in the month of September 2005 alone.
These figures probably explain the large markets that exist in online shopping. This also highlights the importance of having a website and making it search friendly for drawing traffic. According to a survey carried out by the Georgia Institute of Technology in the US, 85% of the users found information about websites through search engines. This fact again underlines the reason for making a website search engine friendly.
The above facts and figures that a CEO can try to focus on new channels like online marketing, Search Engine Marketing etc.
Helps in achievement of targets: With the competition hotting up, CEO and the other top management officers are under an increasing pressure to achieve the desired growth rate. The Internet has the potential of opening up unconventional channels of sales. With the online population increasing in leaps and bound, online sales is bound to go up. According to a report from clickz.com, online sales registered a growth of 70% for the year ending March 2006; the growth potential offered by the Internet can be utilized for achieving sales targets.
Since online sales are more cost effective, it will lead to generation of revenue at a lower cost of operation and this will ultimately increase the bottom line.
The above-mentioned points only strengthen the case for an implementation of Search Engine Optimization by the CEO and the top management. They can then ensure that the company marches on the path of progress and prosperity.
