Posted by: Kayla Wagner, Account Manager

The search engine landscape is always changing and will continue to do so in 2009. But rather than going with the latest and greatest, take the new year to focus on the basics first and then build on top of them. Is the base of your SEM program serving as a strong foundation?

1. Recalibrate your keywords in your SEO and paid search (or PPC advertising) programs to match your goals. Often we start with terms that we’re used to using internally at our companies. But is this what your prospects are using to search for you? And aren’t those prospects at various points in the purchase cycle, ranging from completely unaware to aware and ready to buy? Make sure your terms and phrases account for the various segments of your audience.

Here are a few resources to help you create your strategic keyword list:
-    Google’s Search-based Keyword Tool
-    SEO Book.com
-    Microsoft adCenter Labs Keyword Forecast

2. Are your URLs what they should be? Do you have the proper redirects in place? Set a standard companywide for a URL strategy including naming conventions and server side redirecting, and clean up any unused or error pages that are out in the abyss. This will help you site-wide in SEO efforts and improve quality scores for PPC.

3. So you have some meta data on your site. Maybe you even have optimized copy. But do you have a plan to update this based on what’s working this year? Take the time to refresh your SEO creative at least once per quarter in 2009.

4. In a recent interview with Google’s Matt Cutts, he said, “I’m not sure I would say ranking is dead, but it’s not as important as it used to be. The fact is the smart SEOs are not just necessarily looking at the rankings. They are looking at conversion. They are looking at their server log. It’s great if you’re ranking for a phrase, but unless that leads to sales, that doesn’t help you very much.”

He continued, “The challenge is not to pay so much attention to ranking, but pay attention to traffic, pay attention to conversions and keep building good content. Don’t worry about, ‘Can I show people that I rank number one for my trophy phrase?’”

This is exactly how you should look at your search program in relation to universal search. If you’re focusing on what’s working based on measurable results, you’ll have a positive program in 2009 and beyond.

5. Be integrated. When you go to google.com these days, it’s not just 10 results. There are expanded results (10 blue links), maps, news, video and images… just to name a few. Be sure your SEM programs and any social media marketing efforts all align with your business goals. Align them and track them in tandem.