For most websites, competing in the search engine arena is like being in an endless ocean of nameless, faceless destinations, which are suspended in the shadowy ambiguity that is cast by a few well lit successes.

Achieving distinction is essential to your success online. No, that's not quite right:

You must shine bright enough, yell loud enough and imprint hard enough to be noticed, selected and remembered: OR YOU WILL FAIL!

Sound harsh? Well, it's also the truth, and deluding yourself into believing otherwise is a death sentence for your online business.

Showing up in the search results for your targeted search phrases is a significant accomplishment; however it's only about 25% of the battle. The rest goes something like:

  • 25% - Being selected from amongst the other search results (which is what we are concerned with here).
  • 25% - Ensuring that the visitor isn't pissed off that they selected you (having an exceptional website that satisfies the visitor's need with minimal effort).
  • 25% - A variety of random factors that fall under the “luck be a lady tonight” category (uptime, user distraction, etc.).

This is why finding the “gaps” to fill is so important. However once you have found your gap you need to develop a powerful image and a unique position which clearly insists why the grass is greener doing business with you instead of one of your 53,000,000 competitors.

This process begins with what may be the most timeless and powerful of all the tools in the marketing arsenal: The

USP.

A well developed and clearly defined Unique Selling Proposition has the ability to:

  • Tell who you are.
  • Say what you do.
  • Describe why you’re unique.
  • Spark interest.

And it can do all of this in only two or three sentences, which have been crafted with care and precision that rivals the artistry of the Mona Lisa.

The technical development of a powerful USP is beyond the scope of this short informational; however I will offer the following resources for further exploration:

SERPS Appeal: In this section of your SEM plan, you will describe yourself as you would to your ideal customer. List your USP(s)*, your brand, slogans, etc. Now take a look at your top competitors; would you select your listing over theirs? Get outside opinions and gather hard statistics concerning searcher behavior. Are there transparent factors that can be leveraged to improve your click-through? I absolutely guarantee there is. The catch is that all of this must be done while observing the restrictions that are inherent in the search engine results listing: limited text, limited space, direct competitor interference, etc. There is a clever tool called Poodle Predictor that can assist with this process