Myself and biz partner took the step and bought a sponsored link on google! We are going to be guaranteed both a sponsored link (upper right side of the search page) and first response to the search "Miami Photographers"... It will be an interesting experiment to see how well this works to get more revenue.. Now we "really" got to get the site in top shape.. ...
I will keep everyone posted on this "experience" and if it was worth the money..
Be very careful with companies that promise you the first organic result in google. Google doesn't sell positions in their organic search results, and no reputable SEO company will guarantee 1st position. Many of the SEO companies out there that offer "first page Google" and the like use "black hat" SEO techniques that can actually cause Google to penalize your site if you get caught.
I'd encourage you to sign up for google analytics and google webmaster tools, and then do some reading on SEO (particularly the webmaster help forum!)
Thanks Evan... your right.. come to think of it he did not promise "1st" spot.. in fact he said, that some where on the first page is all they can ensure.. but the "sponsored" link is for sure on the first page. I will check out your info.. Thank You so much!
So, now in google.. "miami photographers" renders us as a sponsored link at the very top of the page! YAY! However, getting the site listing in the "normal" search results section will take them a few days to make happen... ... so I guess we will see how it works..
But, hopefully the sponsor link will be enough to get some clicks.. and pay for the monthly service... and help out on the hefty equipment loan we have....
Well.. one week down with the sponsored link.. nothing. Not one inquire! .
I think the organic section is where the money's at. AND.. as it has been pointed out, not easy to float to the top of google. Especially for my fancy pants flash site
I think with photography organic growth is going to be the most fruitful for you. However, my company (not photography but still a niche business) has been using the organic growth model for 20 years. It has worked well. 2 Years ago we decided to start a Google advertising campaign. After 3 months we had received a 10-20% increase in initial contacts directly linked from Google. If we don't sell it that is our problem not Google's. In the end it has increased our exposure to the outside world and has more than paid for it's monthly costs.
One thing to make sure of is that your site is setup for Google Analytics. This will enable you to see where people clicked through to get to your site. We have found many blogs and forums where people recommended us was also a major source of revenue on top of the Google AdWords advertising. We have even became a partner with one of the websites that sending people to us.
As my personal photography business takes off I am planning on doing the exact same thing so to hear your results over the coming months will be interesting.
Having tried the paid links in the photography catagory as well as another business I had for many years, I found that it takes too many hits to get a sale most of the time. When I got my photography site to the top of Local Google searchs for 2-3 key word phrases I did get several emails. If you can get on the first page it does pay off. Page 2 can even work depending on who is on page 1. In my area you see a lot of associations and paid group listings that have little real information. Most would see that and move on to the next listing that looked like it has substance. My Bing listings were a lot easier to get but don't have the numbers of hits I expected.
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