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Generating web site traffic: a new model for SMEs
Generating web site traffic
Sarah Quinton and Mohammed Ali Khan Business School, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
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Abstract Purpose – Organisations now regard having a web site as mandatory but as more businesses create websites the real challenge lies in driving traffic to a specific web site. Little research attention has been paid to the issues for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of how to increase traffic to their web site. This paper addresses the issue of web site traffic generation for SMEs which have limited resources to determine how SMEs might make more effective use of search engine marketing (SEM) tools to increase web site traffic. Design/methodology/approach – An investigation of specific SEM tools, including press release distribution and directory submission, that are available to SMEs was conducted. This research paper follows a mixed methods approach incorporating Pearson’s product moment correlation conducted on web site traffic and backlinks data as well as qualitative analysis of interview transcripts of three SME organisations and their use of search engine optimisation across different industries. Findings – The findings indicate that a combined use of both press release distribution and directory submission does increase traffic generation to a web site. A tentative model is proposed which requires further testing. Practical implications – This paper demonstrates the synergy that can be created from two easily accessible and low cost SEM tools for SMEs in order to improve web site traffic generation. Originality/value – The value of this research lies in the fact that the tools used in the creation of the model are within the means of small organisations and therefore highly relevant to SMEs. Keywords Worldwide web, Search engines, Small to medium-sized enterprises Paper type Research paper
Introduction Giles and Spenser (2001) suggest online marketing is transforming the way marketing is conducted and provides firms with a new set of capabilities. This can be attributed to online marketing no longer being seen as an optional component for business, but a strategic platform (Quinton and Harridge-March, 2003). Thus, businesses should aim for online marketing to be an integral part of the business or risk being disadvantaged (Smith and Chaffey, 2005). The presence of and access to a web site is central to online marketing. However, as the number of companies exploiting online marketing and the use of search engine marketing (SEM) grows, it is becoming more difficult for businesses to attract web site traffic. Online marketing and in particular SEM can be used by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in order to compete on the same terms as large firms, and level the so-called “playing field” (Levenburg et al., 2006). SMEs are particularly constrained as they have the smallest, if any, budget available to spend on online marketing (Daniel, 2003). Yet, despite constraints, SMEs including sole traders, account for 99.9 per cent of UK businesses and make an important contribution to the economy based on turnover and job creation (Kumar, 2007; European Commission, 2006; SBS, 2006, Curran, 1999).
Direct Marketing: An International Journal Vol. 3 No. 2, 2009 pp. 109-123 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1750-5933 DOI 10.1108/17505930910964777
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SMEs are interested in online marketing and specifically SEM because it is affordable, flexible and as such has real relevance to the SME sector. The term “online marketing” has been used synonymously with “e-marketing” and “internet Marketing” (Leonard, 2001). However, in some situations online marketing has been used with a very selective meaning. To web developers online marketing focuses on building websites which are robust with high traffic, whereas to advertisers the term emphasises driving traffic and brand building through internet advertising (Kalyanam and McIntyre, 2002). However, merely having a web site is not sufficient, it needs to receive traffic as affirmed early on by Ellsworth and Ellsworth in, 1996 who stated that one measure of success of a web site is that it receives a high volume of traffic. Hamill and Gregory (1997) affirmed this and considered that using SEM can provide high access to a web site, which in turn will lead to a large number of hits. Rowley (2000) agrees and suggests that organic search engine listings can assist in enhancing the visibility and ease of finding a product. Search listings are important to SMEs as they can provide effective low cost communication with actual and potential customers (Hamill and Gregory, 1997; Quelch and Klein, 1996). However, being listed in a search engine is not sufficient as search engine users are becoming less willing to search through all of the search results to find the most relevant one (Brin and Page, 1998). Therefore, a web site that ranks higher is more likely to be clicked. Past research suggests that high listings are important for visibility as between 62 and 73 per cent of users do not look beyond the first page of results (Fagni et al., 2006; iProspect, 2006; Jansen and Spink, 2006). Thus, the aim of this paper lies in exploring how SMEs could increase web site traffic, using different tools including press release distribution, backlinks and directory submission. The following objectives were developed in order to achieve the aim. First, the online marketing tools were outlined that could be of potential benefit to SMEs. Second, to evaluate the effectiveness of each identified tool and finally to create a tentative model based on the findings which could be used by SMEs within their online marketing strategy. Literature Internet searching and web site traffic generation Though not the primary focus of this paper, how potential customers search for goods and services on the internet needs to be understood in order to design optimising tools which will take account of search behaviour. It is now estimated that 1.2 billion online searches are conducted each month (Krol, 2008; McCarthy, 2008). Both analytical and heuristic searches are made by potential customers. Analytical searches rely on search engines and are planned around a specific focus whilst heuristic searches are less formalised and rely on hyperlinks (Marchionini, 1995). The majority of new customers and some existing customers use search engines such as Google to find websites even if the web site address is known; because users prefer to search rather than type in the web site address such as ebay.com into the address bar (Kopytoff, 2006). However, according to both Rowley (2000) and Ylokoski (2005) the latter search type, heuristic searching, is more common in typical customer searches as people follow links that arouse their interest and browse top ranking pages. Therefore, it is vital for the company’s name and web site to rank highly in search engines otherwise potential customers may not be able to find them. Both heuristic
searches and analytical searches can be followed and broken down by optimisers which aim to improve the search engine functionality and increase traffic generation. Web site traffic can be developed through online partnerships such as affiliate marketing (Chaffey et al., 2009; Smith and Chaffey, 2008) which involves partners being paid commission for each sale or lead. There are many successful affiliate programmes such as Amazon, which started one of the first programmes in 1996 and has developed an affiliate base of over 400,000 (Goldschmidt et al., 2003). Affiliate marketing can be beneficial in a number of ways; it enables a web site to be promoted on potentially thousands of other websites depending on the size of the affiliate network (Duffy, 2005). Additionally, affiliate marketing provides many links back (backlinks) to the web site; this is important for high natural search engine ranking (Ellsworth and Ellsworth, 1996). However, these programmes can only be beneficial if there are sufficient affiliates actively promoting the affiliate programme. Businesses can join established affiliate networks with thousands of registered affiliates such as TradeDoubler and Affiliate Window (Goldschmidt et al., 2003). Large networks such as TradeDoubler have high initial setup and ongoing costs which make them an unviable option for many SMEs (Smith and Chaffey, 2005; Thurow, 2003). Large affiliate networks have also been criticised as they attract unfocused affiliates which can dilute the brand (Bruner et al., 2001) as well as increasing the level of administration and communication costs (Goldschmidt et al., 2003). Furthermore, there are a number of other barriers that SMEs face when using affiliate networks. The uncertainty of not being able to budget the advertising revenues ahead of time as well as being unable to meet the extra resource requirements needed, such as extra employees (Papatla and Bhatnagner, 2002). Thus, affiliate marketing can become untenable for SMEs. Therefore, alternative options such as SEM need to be considered. Search engine marketing An alternative approach to improve web site traffic is by improving search engine listings. SEM can offer significant opportunities for SMEs to improve their online marketing effectiveness (Murphy and Kielgast, 2008). Search engines channel users in addition to generating revenue for websites. The factors used to calculate the ranking algorithms in search engine optimisation is still regarded as part art, part science (Evans, 2007). Major search engines currently offer two alternatives for displaying search engine results; Pay Per Click (PPC) listings and organic listings. PPC listing is also known as paid listing or “sponsored links”, This type of listing occurs when a user types in a specific search phrase into the search engine and the advertiser is charged for each individual click (Smith and Chaffey, 2005). Owing to the widespread use of PPC, the cost of per click, which is determined by the amount bid by each advertiser, is high on competitive keywords, which has resulted in top positions being dominated by large organisations (Smith and Chaffey, 2005), some of which are not optimising the potential of PCC (Collins, 2005). Although at first it may appear as an advantage that only targeted traffic is being paid for, it is also a major disadvantage. Because advertisers pay for each click through on their advertisement, it has led to an industry wide problem of click fraud, where users intentionally click on
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adverts even though they do not have any intention to buy the product or service (Kitts et al., 2005; Seda, 2005). PPC has received negative press owing to the cost of fraudulent clicks to advertisers which has been estimated at $800 million (Bonello, 2006). It is estimated that between 1 and 2 clicks out of 5 (20-35 per cent) are fraudulent and because of this the cost of PPC can be very expensive when using generic keywords such as “insurance” (Fleischmann, 2006; Glow et al., 2006; Freeman, 2005). Furthermore, 79 per cent of search engine users do not look at PPC (sponsored listings) at all or only look at them after looking at organic listings (Hotchkiss, 2004). In addition, PPC listings are not built up over time. The top position can be achieved instantly by any business willing to bid the highest amount. Two tools suggested for improving web site ranking that do not have these problems and yet achieve higher listings are link building and directory submission. Link building In order to rank highly in search engines the main tool identified from the literature is link building (gaining backlinks) (Furlong, 2006; Yang, 2006; Smith and Chaffey, 2005). Search engines use the number of backlinks a web site has as a method of determining what the rank of the web site should be. As the number of backlinks to a web site increases, search engines view the web site as more credible which improves its ranking (Yang, 2006; Thurow, 2003; Brin and Page, 1998). Evans (2007) suggests that there is fierce competition among competing websites to attract the search engine users to their web site. After analysing the techniques used in a SEO competition by top search engine optimisers to achieve a first place ranking Evans found that the winning SEOs gained many backlinks, with a clear trend showing that lower rankings had a declining number of backlinks. Furthermore, the successful SEOs had obtained backlinks in successful online directories. This reinforces Smith and Chaffey’s (2005) earlier suggestion that link building is important in SEM. Directory submission There are a number of tools which can be used to increase the number of backlinks to the business’s web site, these are reciprocal linking through building partnerships and directory submission (Thurow, 2003; Hamill and Gregory, 1997). Reciprocal linking provides the benefit of increasing the number of links to a web site. Directory submission is a similar technique to reciprocal linking and was initially conceived with the purpose of raising the awareness and credibility of a web site. As the number of directories has grown it has become a popular link-building tool to increase the number of backlinks to a web site. However, it does not require a corresponding backlink to the directory, thus making the link more valuable in the eyes of Broersma (2006) and Smith and Chaffey (2005). Press release distribution A further tool not yet widely discussed in the literature is online press release distribution owing to its early stage of development and commercial application, nevertheless its prevalence is growing as users cite it as important and are more likely to click on its results (iProspect, 2008; Krol, 2008; Zlobec, 2008). Crosman (2006) and Smith and Chaffey (2005) affirm that the purpose of online press release distribution is
to aid link building and help in search engine optimisation to increase web site traffic. Online press release distribution is the process whereby news releases are submitted to online news feeds to be distributed across the internet. Murphy (2009) suggests that online press release can improve web site traffic in a cost effective manner and Willcox in, 2007 contended that online press release distribution can raise the awareness level and the profile of a business and therefore encourage potential customers to visit a web site. Potential synergy The tools outlined above for improving search engine ranking are useable by SMEs as both directory submission and online press release distribution involve minimal cost, therefore there is no risk of high customer acquisition costs unlike PPC and there are no high setup or ongoing costs such as in affiliate marketing. Additionally directory submission is a tool which is most commonly quoted for link building (Zlobec, 2008; Evans, 2007; Smith and Chaffey, 2005). Furthermore, these tools aid link building which improves organic listings (Michael and Salter, 2007; Clukey et al., 2005). Organic listings assist in long-term rather than short-term search engine ranking improvement as it can take between two to six months for results to become visible (Kahlow, 2006; Scoviak, 2005). Not being listed towards the top of a search results ranking is likely to result in fewer potential web site visitors for an SME thus the use of tools which will raise the ranking will assist the web site traffic generation. Method Owing to the dynamic nature and relative youth of SEM (Smith and Chaffey, 2005), there is a paucity of published research within the subject area (Chien-Huang and Shu-Fen, 2006; Eid et al., 2006; Mitchell and Walsh, 2005). Therefore, an exploratory research approach was the most appropriate (Churchill and Lacobucci, 2005; Malhotra, 2004; Wilson, 2006) to conduct an initial investigation into the practice. A mixed method approach was adopted which improved the triangulation of data (Chisnall, 2005; Saunders et al., 2003). A search of the available literature was made which identified peer reviewed academic articles as well as contemporary practitioner material. In addition, web site statistics and sales data was gathered directly from the case study companies in order to undertake the quantitative analysis and correlation. Primary data Purposive sampling was employed (Neurmann, 2000) to identify and locate the participant case studies. A heterogeneous sampling strategy was adopted, using three cases from three distinct and different industry sectors; a retailer with a both clicks and mortar presence (a shoe company) a retail service provider (an airport parking business) and a business to business technology service provide (a data software management company). Thus, the wide differences between the companies created maximum variation within the data that could be collected to describe and explain the key themes. Although criticism could be made of the diverse sample of companies across three separate industries and the subsequent differing online search behaviour, the use of multiple cases through which to explore a phenomena has been endorsed by Bryman and Bell (2003) and Yin (2003). Although operating in different sectors the SMEs shared similarities and these similarities formed the criteria for inclusion in the
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study; all three had interactive websites, a lack of expertise in web site traffic generation, limited marketing budgets, had conducted PPC marketing at least six months prior to the study, a desire for improving their web site traffic numbers and all had acknowledged the potential for improved marketing results through the more effective use of their websites and were actively seeking guidance to achieve this. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with three managers from the three different SMEs (companies A, B and C) were conducted which provided “rich” sources of information (Krueger and Casey, 2000; McGivern, 2006). Interviews allowed for a greater in-depth understanding of the topics, due to the diversity of themes which were being explored, such as the problems and benefits experienced by SMEs in using SEM tools. The managers were selected as SME managers have an overview of the business, as well as having vested interest because they are frequently the founders of the business (Wilson, 2006). Statistical analysis Statistical analysis was carried out on secondary data such as web site traffic, and backlinks so that the researcher could identify relationships. The aim was to establish correlation between the number of backlinks and web site traffic. Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient (PMCC) was used to examine the strength of the relationship between the pairs of metric variables. PMCC was the most appropriate technique as the strength of the relationship between two quantifiable data sets was required, in order to calculate the PMCC (r) the formula shown was used below: nSxy 2 SxSy r ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 2 ððxSx 2 ðSxÞ2 Þ ðnSy2 2 ðSyÞ2 ÞÞ 4ð963; 897; 165Þ 2 755 £ 4; 447; 170 r ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ¼ 0:97 ðð4 £ 152; 011 2 ð755Þ2 Þ ð4 £ 6:67 £ 10^12 2 ð4; 447; 170Þ2 ÞÞ The coefficient can take any value between 2 1, which represents perfect negative correlation (indirect relationship between variables), to þ 1, which represents perfect positive correlation (direct relationship between variables); additionally a value of 0 indicates that the two variables being tested are perfectly independent and no relationship exists (Bernard, 2000). By comparing the number of backlinks and web site traffic it was possible to examine the relationship using PMCC. There was a strong positive PMCC of 0.97, which suggests that increasing the number of backlinks to a web site can help to increase the level of web site traffic. Discussion Problems faced by SMEs with web site traffic generation All three respondents reported a variety of problems in using SEM. However, all three respondents commented that potentially there was a high cost involved for ineffective results when using SEM. Additionally it was considered to be a waste of time and effort, which businesses, particularly SMEs do not have. All three respondents identified that the problem they had experienced with PPC advertising was that it achieved low return on investment (ROI) and involved high relative costs:
Online sales had declined due to high competition in PPC (interview with Company A, 18 September 2006).
One interviewee said that the cost of PPC advertising had become so expensive that the business was being driven out of the online market, resulting in low ROI. This is consistent with the findings of Hotchkiss (2004) who discovered that the ROI for PPC is low due to click fraud and 79 per cent of consumers do not look at PPC. The reason some SMEs cannot compete in online marketing through the use of PPC is because they do not have the same resources as larger businesses (Bennett and Smith, 2002). The market for PPC advertising has become competitive as it has become easier for businesses to use; thereby increasing the numbers using it and inflating the cost per click (CPC) (E-consultancy, 2006). Additionally the increased possibility of imitating and replicating the results of competitors has further attributed to inflating the CPC (E-consultancy, 2006). To summarise, the key issue raised in the interviews was the limited funds that SMEs have for SEM as suggested by Smith and Chaffey (2005). In addition, SMEs, owing to a lack of expertise find it difficult to identify the appropriate online tools which could provide an acceptable level of ROI (Hotchkiss, 2004). Appropriate tools for SME web site traffic generation There are a number of appropriate SEM tools for SMEs which were identified in the research. When discussing the tools of online marketing for SMEs all respondents identified PPC advertising, an inorganic tool; however, respondents stated that they were trying to reduce the dependence on PPC due to the low ROI. In the interview with Company A the researcher found that PPC had become an unviable option in very competitive keywords, where top positions were held by large businesses; for example, the search term “gatwick car parking” the cost for position 1 in Google PPC (Adwords) is £3.21 per click; this position is occupied by BAA (Google, 2007). However, the cost per actual visitor is increased further, owing to click fraud as previously discussed. This not only affects conversion rates but also this increases the cost per actual visitor to £4.01 significantly reducing profitability: PPC advertising is difficult for us to compete in, with certain keywords costing between £6-7 per click (interview with Company A, 18 September 2006).
Therefore, based on the weight of argument, PPC is not a suitable tool for SMEs as a web site traffic generating tool, because not only does it provide low ROI due to factors such as click fraud but it is also expensive, and many SMEs businesses simply cannot afford it. Organic SEM tools such as listings are important as 79 per cent of search engines users looking at organic listings first (Hotchkiss, 2004). Additionally 62 per cent of search engine users do not view more then the first page of results (iProspect, 2006), therefore it is vital that the organic search engine rankings place the company as high as possible, on the first page, and this can be achieved through link building. All of the respondents stated that they were trying to improve their organic search engine ranking. One respondent stated that the organic listing had the benefit of: Zero cost per click (interview with Company C, 21 September 2006).
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Link building was identified in the literature as the main tool for improving search engine ranking (Furlong, 2006; Yang, 2006; Thies, 2005; Smith and Chaffey, 2005; Thurow, 2003; Hamill and Gregory, 1997). Tools identified from the interviews and literature for link building included: directory submission, reciprocal linking and online press release distribution: I understand link building is an ongoing process (interview with Company C, 21 September 2006).
Link building to improve organic search engine ranking takes time to develop and build up (Kahlow, 2006; Scoviak, 2005; Thies, 2005). Link building also relates to affiliate marketing where the affiliate programme can be developed over several months. However, affiliate marketing poses a problem for SMEs over the uncertainty of the advertising budget as well as the extra resource requirements of managing an affiliate program (Goldschmidt et al., 2003). Additionally many SMEs cannot afford the fees charged by the affiliate networks. Company C disclosed that their monthly advertising budget was £200, however for an account on TradeDoubler an affiliate network, it would cost £300 per month network access fee and £5,000 set up fee. This equates to £8,600 for the first year prior to paying commission, which is an overriding 30 per cent of commission paid to affiliates (TradeDoubler, 2006). Reciprocal linking was only mentioned explicitly by Company C out of all three interviews. It was identified by the literature as a tool which can be beneficial as it increases the number of inbound links. Unfortunately reciprocal linking requires time to contact the web site owners to arrange a link exchange and furthermore, the value of reciprocal linking is decreased by its very nature, the exchange of links (Thies, 2005). An inbound link with a corresponding backlink holds a lower value compared to if there was no return outbound link (Smith and Chaffey, 2005). Directory submission is another form of link exchange, and it has fewer disadvantages than reciprocal linking. The process of directory submission requires less time compared to reciprocal links because web site owners do not need to be contacted, only a submission form is required to be filled in, which can be done automatically through software. Additionally, there are a large number of link directories which do not require a corresponding backlink, which is considered to be a superior link and therefore it is of greater benefit to the web site (Broersma, 2006; Smith and Chaffey, 2005). Online press release distribution was the final tool identified from the literature as well as the interviews. The respondents identified it as an important new tool that they were implementing to varying degrees in order to improve web site visitor numbers. This affirms Crosman’s thoughts in 2006, who suggests that it is a powerful tool in driving visitors to websites as well as helping in search engine optimisation as it helps to gain quality backlinks from other websites. Therefore, based on the analysis undertaken, directory submission and online press release distribution were identified as the most appropriate SEM tools which could benefit SMEs, through their use of links to improve search engine rankings (Kahlow, 2006, Scoviak, 2005; Thies, 2005). Evaluation of the effectiveness of online press release distribution In order to isolate the effects of press release distribution no other activity was conducted during the research period which advertised/conveyed the web site.
A press release was created for Company A and submitted to twenty press release distribution services. These were the only twenty known free press release distribution services. After the press release distribution the unique number of visitors (web site traffic) began to increase significantly after May 2006. However, web site traffic decreased month by month subsequently. The reason for the high traffic initially was due to the large number of readers viewing the press release and coming to the web site; however, as the press release got buried beneath newer press releases, the traffic began to decrease. This corresponds with the findings of iProspect (2006) which found that as the position of the entry declines the probability of the entry being clicked is reduced.
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Evaluation of the effectiveness of directory submission The directory submission was carried out in isolation with no other activity being done simultaneously. A web site profile was created for Company B and submitted to the top twenty-five directories that offer free submission based on Google page rank. Following the directory submission the web site traffic for Company B began to increase steadily from May 2006. However, the increase seen via directory submission was smaller in proportion to the level of traffic increase achieved through online press release distribution. There was a steady increase in the level of traffic as the web site was approved in directories and listed. This echoes the findings of Kahlow (2006), Scoviak (2005), Thies (2005), and Thurow (2003) who all suggest that as the number of backlinks increase, the ranking of the web site increases due to the increase in credibility. Evaluation of the combined effectiveness of press release and directory submission A combination of online press release distribution and directory submission was undertaken for Company C. Web site traffic for Company C began increasing significantly, due to the initial impact of the online press release distribution. By comparing the quarterly web site traffic it is possible to see the significant increase of 52.9 per cent between Q3 2005 and Q4 2005. The web site traffic continued to increase, instead of decreasing as in Company A, where only press release distribution was carried out. The difference in results stemmed from the fact that the directory submission and the backlinks developed worked synergistically to improve the search engine rankings. After the online press release distribution and directory submission the web site traffic increased; however, Company C also experienced an increase in average sales per week from £2,885 in Q3-2005 to £5,638 in Q2-2006, this represents an increase of 95.4 per cent. Having investigated the web site traffic and backlinks data there is a strong correlation that as the number of backlinks increase so does the web site traffic (Table I). The interviewee commented that their sales had increased from “6 orders a day to over 10 orders per day since the press release distribution and directory submission” (interview with Company C, 18 September 2006).
Total Number of backlinks Web site traffic
April/May
June/July
August/September
October/November
124 106,785
169 1,099,035
205 1,309,770
257 1,931,580
Table I. Web site traffic and backlinks data
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The examples above emphasise that the success of online press release distribution and directory submission is enhanced by undertaking both activities simultaneously and that a synergistic effect is created. While online press release distribution provides high traffic initially; directory submission provides gradual traffic which builds up over time. Therefore, based on the evidence above online press release distribution and directory submission can be seen as drivers for success to generate web site traffic and improve an SME’s online marketing. Model creation Generalised curves from the primary data of online press release distribution and directory submission were overlaid in order to create the web site traffic generator (WTG) model, a stage by stage process of the creation of the model is shown in Figure 1. The creation of this model demonstrates to SMEs how integrated online press release distribution and directory submission can create significant and effective online marketing (Figure 2). The online press release distribution (stage 1) will, at the outset, increase the level of web site traffic as shown in Figure 1. However, as this begins to decline and the directory submissions (stage 2) are approved, the web site will gain backlinks which will help to improve organic search engine rankings (Figure 1). The backlinks from the
Web site traffic
Stage 1: Online press release distribution only
Time
Web site traffic
Stage 2: Directory submission only
Time
Figure 1. Compilation of the WTG model
Web site traffic
Stage 3: Complete model
Time
Further backlinks buildup
Website traffic
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Further improved ranking
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Figure 2. The WTG model Time
online press release distribution and directories develop over a period of time (stage 3), improving the ranking gradually and increasing the web site traffic which is likely to lead to an increased level of sales from the web site. Conclusion This paper has identified the potentially beneficial SEM tools of online press releases and directory submissions for SMEs. The effectiveness of both tools has been evaluated through the use of the three case studies and it has been discovered that using both tools together increases web site traffic for those companies. Finally, a model has been created based on the findings which can be used by SMEs to encourage web site traffic, the WTG model. The WTG model comprises of a combination of online press release distribution and directory submission. Owing to the nature of this exploratory research and the embryonic development of online marketing, the model has limitations. Even though applying the WTG model to SME would provide increased traffic to the web site, it does not assess the SMEs ability to cope with the increased business. Additionally the model does not consider a (limit/threshold) for the business for example in the service sector where there is a limit to the number of services which can be provided at a time, e.g. hotel rooms, cottage rental. The cases investigated were not representative for all SMEs seeking to conduct SEM, because only organisations in three industries were examined. Therefore, the ability to generalise the results is limited (Yin, 2003). Nevertheless, the findings supported the work of Kahlow (2006), Smith and Chaffey (2005), Scoviak (2005), Thies (2005), and Thurow (2003) and correlated with practitioner findings of (iProspect, 2006) and Hotchkiss (2004). In conclusion, the WTG model adds value as it allows SME’s to focus their scarce resources and expertise in order to achieve effective online marketing results through combining two separate SEM tools, both of which are accessible for SMEs, thus the model is highly relevant and feasible for small organisations. Combining both press release distribution and directory submission tools creates a synergistic effect and increases and then sustains the number of potential customers to a company’s web site. In addition, the upwards ranking of the web site that results from using this model would create a wider awareness of the SME and its brand to potential customers via the higher listing achieved.
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[email protected] Mohammed Ali Khan is an alumnus of the Business School, Oxford Brookes University and his dissertation formed the basis of this paper.
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