Killing it with your keywords. "The worst mistake marketers make is slicing and dicing their keywords too finely beginning on Day One," says Bob London, whose marketing consultancy is based in the Washington, D.C., area.

For example, London's client Doug Zimmerman heads the mid-Atlantic franchise for Freedom Boat & Yacht Club. The company sells time aboard boats. Founded in 1989, FBYC now has 10 locations, four franchises and 1,300 members who each pay $15,000 a year for unlimited access to boats any time they want one. The only additional cost is fuel.

Zimmerman budgeted $2,000 for a round of search-engine optimization tests. "Our keyword program began with 'boats Maryland,' which is one of the states where Freedom Boat operates," London says. "Once we determine whether those leads are qualified, we can drive down the cost-per-click by segmenting, for example, 'boats Maryland rental." Adding the word "rental," London says, is "a proxy for those looking for water recreation without commitment." After spending only $200, London says they've targeted the right keywords. In this case, with a regional and high-end niche business, the process was easier.

Mass-market products might take more testing. "Often, companies use industry buzzwords that their target audience isn't using," says Stacey Williams of Prominent Placement, a search-engine marketing consultant based in Atlanta. She suggests business owners subscribe to Wordtracker.com, an affordable online tool that can keep you updated on current keywords.

Managing it all yourself. "Managing rankings is a full-time job," says James Korenchen, managing director for PR at McKee Wallwork Henderson, an interactive ad agency based in Albuquerque, N.M. Staying on top of keywords, measuring results and conversions and making sure search engines deliver on pay-per-click arrangements takes technical expertise and a lot of time.

You're smart to have your search-engine marketing managed by an agency, a consultant or an engine's software offerings. For less than $100 a year, for instance, Microsoft's Submit It! can recommend keywords, submit to engines and track your progress.

Assuming one engine fits all. Relying only on the big, well-known engines limits your placements. "The most common mistake is throwing too much money at one method, one search engine or one message," says Aaron Keller, at Capsule, a brand development company in Minneapolis. Instead, budget your money to develop a distinctive set of messages and use a combination of search engines to successfully reach customers.

Giving up too soon. Make sure your expectations are realistic. Search engines may take up to eight weeks before listing your site. Paid listings go up more quickly, but also take time. You'll need to fine-tune the right package of keywords, engines and pay-per-click or paid searches. Stay with it and you'll be rewarded.

Blinded by the site. If your pages aren't optimized for search engines, all the right keywords in the world won't get you results. A frequent error is that the home-page floats, say, because of a splash page or a recently redesigned page left unlinked to other pages. If that's the case, the engine won't scan all the relevant pages.

On the flip side, owners sometimes try to cram too many keywords onto the home page itself. But, says consultant Williams, "when a search engine reads hundreds of different words or phrases on a page, it doesn't know what that page is really about, and the page won't get ranked high for anything. It works much better to optimize all the key pages on a site for one or two different search terms." Besides submitting keywords, for example, Submit It! also analyzes your Web site to ensure that pages are optimized for submission.