Search engine marketing is not an all or nothing affair. It is extremely possible to get into it slowly, a step at a time.
For example, in mid-May, Sanibel Holiday (www.sanibelholiday.com), which rents condominiums and homes for vacationers to Sanibel and Captiva islands in Florida, began working with search engine optimization firm MoreVisibility.com, Boca Raton, FL. Sanibel Holiday is dipping its toes into the search waters, optimizing on only three keywords and six secondary keywords for the engine’s regular listings.
Rebecca Berger, Sanibel Holiday’s director of operations, estimates that its Web site traffic has increased 10% since it started. "We’re getting a lot more e-mail requests than we were previously," she says. "We’re getting more genuine hits, more qualified leads."
The three main keywords are "sanibel rental," "sanibel island rental" and "sanibel accommodations."
The secondary ones are variations on the main ones, such as "sanibel island vacation rental."
Berger says that the company is satisfied with taking this kind of approach. It has not worked with paid links yet.
The real test will come this winter—high season for Florida vacations.
