Even just a few years ago, you could set up a Web site and get noticed pretty easily. Today, competition is enormous for just about any business on the Internet and search engines constantly change algorithms in an attempt to deliver more meaningful and relevant search results and to thwart unethical practices aimed at "beating the system."

This means that there are no longer easy answers to ranking well in search results. This also means that you must take Internet marketing as seriously as you do any other marketing venue. Just as with offline marketing, your online focus should be on knowing who your prospects are and how they categorize your product in their minds, and then providing information that will be meaningful to them.

SEO vs. Branding If you even partly rely on searches to bring prospects to your site, you need to know how they actually search for the product or service you offer? For example, this excerpt from an article on The Internet Marketing Blog shows a huge discrepancy between two terms for the same product:

" Pre-owned cars - 2,124 searches; Used cars - 1,143,275 searches it is usually better to describe products with language already in use for similar products the objective is to be found by people who are looking for a product they are already aware of."

At this point, it can look like Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and branding are in conflict: branding attempting to carve a unique niche for your product and SEO demanding that you promote it with the most common words. But I disagree. I think SEO forces you to learn and take advantage of what's already in your prospects' minds. The above example is all about positioning and branding. If the seller ignores what is already in prospects' minds and tries to redefine his product by using the more positive niche term "pre-owned," the seller is not going to find, much less impinge on the minds of the majority of people looking for "used" cars.

The Basics Always Apply Find out the words that people use to describe your product or service and then use those words to get their attention. Once you have their attention you can show and tell why your product is the best among the competition. Part of positioning is not just calling things by different names, it is actually being different from the rest. Offering something no one else offers, providing better service, a higher class of products, more for your money, etc. If there is no difference between you and your competitors, renaming your product won't do much for you anyway.

So when marketing on the Internet, take advantage of all the research that has already been done for you and learn the best keywords to use for your product or service. Don't be afraid that it will interfere with your branding. If it's done right, it should only help you build your brand. There are lots of places to get help with keyword research. WordTracker has been around for long time and is an excellent tool. Another is Keyword Discovery which is recommended by several SEO experts.