WebProNews

Speaking at New York's Ad:Tech conference, SiteLab VP and SEMPO president Dana Todd told an audience SEO gets overlooked despite offering the best return on investment for businesses.

DMNews.com covered Todd's talk at Ad:Tech. Among the advice she gave about marketing and using limited business resources strategically, she said, "It's ok to guess, it's ok to use your gut" as companies step into the SEO world.

She doesn't have much regard for the software tools available today, either. "The generation of software we have both at the low end and the high end suck."

Todd's advice addressed concerns noted in a Jupiter Research study on search needs for businesses; issues with SEO tools and the growing competition for rankings topped the study:

First, don't rush into SEO or PPC efforts. Firms first should do their homework with tools and tracking. Second, pick one or two product lines to advertise, especially highest-margin items. Third, use geo-targeting if the firm's footprint is local. Local targeting capabilities are improving.

Also, ensure the site is converting at least 1 percent. Her formula: leads/total visitors = conversion.

"This is a lot of work," Todd said. "This is something you need to task your Webmaster [to] measure."
Getting that return on investment, "free money" as Todd called SEO, small businesses should start with outside SEO help as they bring internal staff up to speed on search trends.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.