SEM: Search engine marketing: fine-tuning relationships with SEM firms
Search engines are such a crucial customer-acquisition tool for online retailers that many online retailers turn to experts to make sure they attract as many searchers as possible. But this is a new field and the firms tend to be young and small. It’s hard to know how much to pay and how to measure performance. This story will draw on retailers’ experiences with search marketing specialists to explain what to look for in a search marketing partner, how much to pay them, how to measure performance and how a retailer can be sure to get top-notch service from a growing firm. It also will examine what in-house resources a retailer needs to get the most out of the expertise of its search marketing firm.