
Excellent BBQ, strong entrepreneurial spirit, a booming technology industry and green initiatives — Houston, Texas is the new business hot spot. The city attracts a variety of large corporations from around the world as well as graduates from the country’s most elite colleges. But, as with most things that are good, there’s unfortunately a bad side.
Marketing a business in Houston can be quite difficult because competition is fierce; there’s no doubt about that. Companies have highly qualified employees and strong financial backing (or high revenue) to gain exposure, attract new customers, and retain current customers. It’s all about having the money to market and understanding exactly how to achieve the desired results. This, my friends, is where most companies (and marketing consultants believe it or not) drop the ball.
To really get ahead and put a hurting on competitors, Houston companies must engage in Search Engine Marketing (SEM). There are no ifs, ands or buts (unless they’re pork butts smoked to perfection). Businesses — restaurants, hotels, law firms, technology companies, etc. — must focus on learning their target market and truly understand what makes them tick. What do they like/dislike, what types of keywords do they search for, which social media channels do they communicate on, etc.
The purpose of Search Engine Marketing is to make websites, videos and other online content rank well “organically” in the natural search results. These are the results returned after a search is run. For example, if Shmohawk’s Italian Restaurant in Houston is marketing to potential customers with SEM they will target keywords such as “Houston Italian Restaurant” or something along those lines. The goal is to rank at the top of search engines so customers looking for an Italian restaurant in Houston will see Shmohawk’s site right away, before competitor sites, thus boosting exposure. Increased exposure = increased revenue. Catch my drift?
Houston businesses looking to advertise with Search Engine Marketing should consider investing in a qualified SEM/SEO consultant. It will put you far ahead of the 8-ball and ensure results are achieved in the near future not after years of trial and error (and headaches). Find an online marketing professional that can achieve your goals and has statistics to prove their success. In the long run, it’s all about the numbers.
I hope this article has been helpful to all of you reading this and may the force (the marketing force) be with you.
Aaron Schoenberger
The Brainchild Group