Q. How do search engines work?
a. Search engines are Internet tools that scour the web to quickly find and return information about a specific topic or keyword. Using specialized programs called algorithms, search engines scan a database of websites and return results matching the original request as closely as possible.

Q. Which search engines get the most user traffic?
a. Search engine traffic is dominated by four major players: Yahoo!, Google, MSN and AOL. Together, these search engines provide results for more than 400 million searches per day.

Q. What is search engine marketing (SEM)?
a. Search engine marketing is a 'catch all' term that includes the different techniques used to get your website optimal placement in the search engines. SEM encompasses both search engine optimization (SEO) and paid placement in the sponsored listing sections of search engines, also called pay-per-click advertising (PPC).

Q. What is search engine optimization (SEO)?
a. SEO refers to the process of making a website more visible to search engine spiders in an attempt to ensure a high ranking among natural, also called organic, search results. This involves tweaking several different aspects of the website, including content. Plus, there are other tactics, such as blogging, linking, indexing and social networking that can be done to enhance rank organically. Using SEO, you don't have to pay for clicks. SEO also is commonly used for helping defend the reputations of businesses and people featured online. Using SEO strategies, L2T can help push down negative content posted about people or businesses, replacing that with positive postings.

Q. What is pay-per-click (PPC) advertising?
a. Pay-per-click listings, or paid search, allow advertisers to bid for top placement within the search results of all the major search engines in an auction style process. Companies bid for the specific search terms that target potential customers and their listings appear as search results. When a user searches for a search term you have bid for, your listing will be displayed as one of the top search results. By outbidding, you pay a fee each time a targeted prospect reads your listing and decides to go to your site.

Q. What is the difference between Paid Search and SEO?
a. With a paid search campaign, you control whether or not you appear in the advertisement listings, but you pay for traffic. With SEO, you increase the chances your site will get high rankings in organic search results, which are free, when the customer clicks on your link. There are common tactics as mentioned above that are used to increase organic rankings, but these tactics must be administered and maintained for several months to achieve significant results. The benefit is that once you have achieved high ranking in organic listings, they generally are long-lasting and always free when a consumer clicks on your link.

Q. Why is Internet marketing important, and why should I consider it for my website?
a. More than 400 million people perform Internet searches every day in the US alone. People rely heavily on search engines to organize and present the information and services they are looking for, but they will only see what the search engines find. SEM and SEO ensure that when a potential customer or client is searching the Internet for your products or services they will find you. Internet marketing is a major shift from traditional advertising mediums such as radio and television where the goal is to reach as many people as possible and hope someone becomes interested and takes action. Using SEM and SEO, you are engaging with people who are actively seeking out your products and services.

Q. Why would I want to pay for traffic if I can get it free by optimizing my website?
a. Having visible presence in both the organic placement and paid sponsored sections of search engines has proven to add credibility to your business in the consumer's eyes. The more places your business appears, the more likely a potential customer will click on your site. Additionally, let's say you want to market a short-term promotion. Naturally, your efforts should focus on PPC as it offers both speed and flexibility. Not only can you control the start and stop dates of your campaign, you can select the exact messaging you would like to deliver, and even use it to quickly step up volume for an end of the quarter rush. It also allows you to easily create new landing pages to accomplish your desired goal. With PPC, all of these elements can be up and running quickly, whereas SEO's lack of speed makes marketing short-term campaigns less productive. On the flip side, SEO is best at driving large volumes of traffic by optimizing for content that is consistently featured on your site. Therefore, it is ideal to optimize for your core terms in SEO and drive quality traffic. Should you need a short-term burst, go with PPC. However, if you want to leverage SEO to get some more immediate returns, we suggest optimizing for video and image search as you can typically gain traction in these areas more quickly than with conventional SEO methods.

Q. How do L2T's sponsored listing campaigns improve my ranking in the search engines?
a. L2T Media employs campaign managers who have years of experience developing keyword lists and managing campaign budgets that produce cost-effective results. We ensure that you are using the right keywords and paying the right price to get the placement you need to maximize your return on investment. This doesn't necessarily mean getting the #1 ranking for every search term. It means using search engine rankings to promote your site in the most cost-effective manner.

Q. Why can't I develop my own sponsored listing program instead of outsourcing it?
a. Theoretically, you can. But, realistically, you won't. Any successful PPC program requires a significant amount of time, experience and attention. Devoting resources to this process can quickly become more costly than outsourcing. Plus, keeping up with the different rules, regulations and new products that each of the search engines have requires a significant time investment. Outsourcing gives you the benefits of using a professional team with experience and expertise to run your campaign while you concentrate on your core business.

Q. How do I calculate my return on investment (ROI)?
a. One of the greatest benefits of PPC is that ROI is easy to calculate, particularly if your website features a specific call to action such as requesting a product brochure or submitting a product inquiry. Using a pay-per-click program, you can determine exactly how many visitors were brought to your site by the dollars you spend. Using a unique call tracking software application, L2T is also able to determine how many people actually called your company as a result of clicking on your site using search.

Q. Which search engines will display my site?
a. Using Overture and Google, your site will get coverage across 90 percent of search engines. Overture's distribution network includes Yahoo!, MSN, Excite, Hotbot, AltaVista and CNet. Google's distribution network includes AOL, AskJeeves, Netscape, Lycos and Earthlink.

Q. How many extra visitors am I likely to get by using L2T's service?
a. Although we can't guarantee a particular number of targeted visitors, before the launch of any campaign we determine the total number of searches done each month on all the keywords proposed for the campaign to determine the number of targeted visitors you can expect each month. Based on the number of expected visitors, we work with you to determine a monthly budget that maximizes your ROI.

Q. How long will it be before I see results?
a. With a pay-per-click campaign, your site can be listed at the top of all the major search engines within days of signing our contract. Search engine optimization often takes longer, approximately 3 to 6 months, to produce results.

Q. How much does SEM cost?
a. Our fees are dependent on the scope of your particular program. Generally, for PPC campaigns, you pay a one-time set up fee and then a monthly campaign fee. The campaign spend is determined by your business segment and how competitive the PPC landscape is for your business. Our team can create a comprehensive SEO package that includes several different tactical SEO strategies. Generally, SEO requires a large amount of up-front work setting up the various tactics, such as creating your blog, submitting relevant content to indexes, establishing a presence on social networks and linking. For the first two months, your SEO cost will be more expensive. After that, there is a lesser maintenance fee.