1. It's about being visible so that when consumers are ready and willing to buy, your company is the one they discover.

Have you ever found yourself saying, I would win business, if people only knew I was here? Search Engine Optimization is more than just being ranked #1 or #2 on Google, it's about being found by your customers. It is up to you to make sure that your business can be found.

2. More people than you think are using local search to do business.

Over 60% of Internet Users perform local searches. About half of Internet Users type in a geo-modifier (like "Seattle" or "New York"). 82% of consumers follow up offline via an in-store visit, or phone call - and of those 82 percent, 61 percent made purchases. (comScore 2007) Online business is thriving; be a part of it.

3. Companies in the service industry especially have seen an increase in online search.

Nielsen/Netratings found Local Search surged 88% over the last two years while telephone directory use is down 62%. And what do people use the phone book for? Services like dentistry, remodeling, carpet cleaning, automotive repair, for more details visit to www.offline-promotion.com and the list goes on and on. Instead of looking at SEO as an additional marketing cost, why not re-evaluate the effectiveness of your current strategies? Are you seeing the same return on investment as you did in the past? If not, it may be time to consider other options.

4. If your small business is promoting a new product, service, or idea, people don't know to look for it yet.

Small companies and start-ups are entering an existing market to promote a new product or service. Without any brand identity, name recognition, or other endorsement, how will consumers recognize your company? When people are searching online with a question or problem, they don't always know the answer; for more details visit to www.keyword-swipe.com you need to be the answer they are looking for. I recently met with a client who developed a revolutionary new product and wanted to design an e-commerce website, but the product was so new that no one had ever heard of it and I questioned, how will people know to search for your product when they have never heard of it before? The first step is creating interest by providing a solution to a problem.

5. With small businesses especially, every dollar counts so marketing expenditures need to be reasonable, measurable and profitable.

There is a difference between generating a lot of traffic to your website and generating relevant traffic. With several avenues available for online marketing, it is difficult to know which is right for your business but commonly, a combination of search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising works best. In both sponsored and organic search campaigns, websites that generate smaller amounts of relevant, targeted traffic have a better return on investment than websites that generate larger amounts of untargeted traffic. Fewer targeted visitors will translate into better qualified prospects and more sales. The result of inefficient budgeting from too broad a campaign is often missed opportunities from a lack of diligence & discovery, lower ROI, and time wasted from cost of handling untargeted prospect queries.