Have you ever heard the expression, “If it’s too good to be true, then it probably is?”  The value of this saying extends to the internet, and certainly to internet marketing.  Just like “Earn thousands a week working from home!” promises to be a scam, there are certain things that should raise red flags when you’re looking for guidance with internet marketing.

1. Outlandish promises.  Agencies offering to quadruple your traffic in a week are too good to be true.  Especially if their claim is as vague as that…if they won’t disclose how they will go about generating that traffic, then you don’t want to work with them.

2. Reluctance to report.  If reporting methods aren’t disclosed ahead of time, this should raise a big red flag.  You’re the one (or your company is) investing money into this endeavor.  You need to be able to see where that money is going and how it’s producing results.

3. Lack of original content.  If you’re seeking online content and you’re not promised that content will be original, back away.  The last thing you want to do is have copied content.  Perhaps your content takes a previously explored idea and expands upon it differently…but content copied word for word is not only bad for getting noticed by search engines, but it’s also plagiarism.

4. Quick fixes.  These types of solutions never work…why would they suddenly work on the internet?  There is no such thing as a quick fix or a quick solution when it comes to drumming up brand recognition, traffic and other desirable results.  Internet marketing is an organic process, and requires constant adaptation.

Ultimately, the best thing you can do is follow your instinct.  If it seems too good to be true…don’t sign on the dotted line.  Selecting an internet marketing agency is an important process that will determine the future success of not only your website, but your business.  Make that decision with care and listen to that inner voice if it starts screaming about red flags.

In today’s market, it is becoming increasingly more affordable and profitable to employ internet marketing strategies in addition to, or in some cases, in lieu of, other options.  Before you choose an internet marketing agency, understanding the differences between SEO and SEM is important, so that you know what you should expect to receive with each service.

SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process by which your online content is made easily readable by search engines so that your content can be ranked and displayed to searchers when they enter a keyword or keyword phrase.  SEO prepares your online content, be it a blog, website or article, so that the search engine can understand the value of your content and thus determine its ranking.  SEO is more of a process than a strategy.  A strategy outlines a plan, while processes help to see that plan come into fruition.  It may be a goal to receive high rankings by a search engine.  Part of your strategy might be to optimize your online content…but the actual process of SEO involves many factors, including the balance of keywords we discussed yesterday.

SEM, or search engine marketing, is a collection of strategies designed to increase brand recognition and improve your virtual presence by strengthening it through the employ of various techniques that might include PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns, blog management campaigns or email marketing campaigns, to name a few.  Often times, these campaigns may incorporate some of the processes involved with SEO, but SEO and SEM are different.  The goal of search engine marketing is to drive traffic to your site through a variety of online marketing tools.

Understanding the differences between SEO and SEM is important; not only so that you know what you’re signing up for but also so that you can understand what sort of reports you should expect, so that you can monitor your progress.  An internet marketing agency not offering to report back to you is likely trying to scam you, so knowing what to expect is crucial to making the choice of which internet marketing agency you should work with.

Have you ever been watching television and a commercial break comes on…the first commercial is for, let’s say, a Toyota Prius.  The second commercial is for McDonald’s, and then the same Toyota Prius commercial comes back on.  Was that a mistake for the same commercial to air twice in one commercial break?  Not really.  Let’s look at two potential situations.  The first is that you’re sitting and watching all of the commercials (either you forgot to DVR your favorite show first or you like commercials).  So you see the Toyota Prius commercial twice.  Maybe there’s catchy music or a slogan that gets stuck in your head.  That commercial was a success because you remembered something from it.  The second scenario is that you get up and walk around during the commercials.  You miss the first commercial because you’re in a different room within your home, but you catch the second two.  The repetition was successful yet again, because whereas you may have missed the commercial if it only aired once, you ended up seeing it the second time around.

Internet marketing, no matter what method, is no different.  Of course, you don’t want to be overly repetitive.  Of course you don’t want to be overly repetitive.  Of course, you don’t want to be overly repetitive.  (See?  Doesn’t that get annoying…like a broken record?)  But you do want to present the same ideas more than once.  (Just presented to you the idea of repetition in a different combination of words.)

If you send out an email marketing campaign, you may elect to have the message mirror something you said in your blog or online video advertisement.  By repeating your core message in multiple fashions, you are more likely to be remembered.  Also, you may catch prospects with your blog who deleted your email, or you may interest someone on YouTube who doesn’t have the time to read through your blog.

A common rookie mistake with search engine optimization is the improper use of keywords in online content.  Whether it’s content on your website or an article in your blog, there are three ways that can ruin an otherwise good keyword, or otherwise good content.  Though we’ve mentioned a few of these keyword mishaps in the past, we’re going to look at each one in a bit more detail.

Too much of a good thing: After some research, you’ve discovered some great keywords from your product.  Time to litter your site with them, correct?  Wrong!  Overuse of keywords will make the search engines think you’re trying to dupe them into giving your page more value than it deserves, and as such, your site may actually be penalized.

Not enough of your keyword: On the other end of the spectrum, not using a keyword enough times is like not using it at all.  If you have a webpage with content of one thousand words, and only mention a keyword once, you may as well have not used it all.  While you don’t want to go overboard, don’t be afraid to include your keyword or keyword phrase more than once if the content merits it in both length and relevance.  Hint: if your content merits multiple use of the same keyword in regard to length but not relevance, then it’s time to rewrite your content.

Tipping the scales: If all of your keywords are jammed into the middle of your content, or the beginning or end, the rest of your content may be viewed by search engines as less valuable, which means the valuable piece will be so jam-packed with keywords that the search engines might think you’re trying to pull the wool over the robot’s eyes.  Use your keywords judiciously and spread them as evenly as possible throughout your content.  This will also help to keep your content from sounding choppy by overusing the same word in a short passage.