An interesting article in Entrepreneur magazine shows the value of networking when it comes to getting business. The premise of the piece, argued by Dr. Ivan Misner, is that a greater number of personal contacts can result in sales and leads even when you can’t make a direct correlation between your initial contact and your prospect. As is often the case with networking, the more you do it, the more business you’re going to get, even if you can’t draw a straight line between your contact and your new customer.

The use of Search Engine Optimization, in relation to online marketing and branding, can work in the same way. If you’ve ever brought up a topic in conversation, and had someone reference a website they’ve visited, you can see this idea in action. If that person fits the profile of most internet users, he or she came to that site by way of a search engine while looking for information online. The site (or sites) found by that person appeared in the search results because they were properly formatted for search engines to read and index. A line of other web pages, stretching into the millions of results, went unseen for one reason or another, and therefore did not enter into the attention span of the visitor. Without Search Engine Optimization, all the businesses represented by these sites remain virtually invisible.

SEO is also very useful if you have a business model with a long sales cycle or a small group of potential users. If you’re selling enterprise level CRM solutions, one good sale can keep your company in the black for years. Even if a handful of people look for your service offering by way of search engines, your presence in the results can result in inquiries from motivated customers, which are the easiest sales leads to close. When it comes to networking, some of your visitors may not be a good match for what you are offering, but may still bring up your site in conversation with colleagues (and even competitors) in the course of conversations and business conferences.

What can you do to increase your chances of getting more “word of mouth” via search traffic? Aside from the obvious advice to ensure that you have the most search engine friendly website, there are a few ways to make the site “sticky.” If your site has any useful tools, “how to” information, or unique features on your site, you can get people in your field to keep coming back. Users may also link to your site from their own websites, which is the kind of “networking” which Google and Bing reward with better rankings. Many respectable businesses will send white papers to readers in exchange for an email address or other contact information. In the same way that you hand out collateral at a trade show, you can also have PDF documents available online for visitors.

One of the most aggravating things for a website owner involves analyzing traffic, through a program like Google Analytics or Omniture, and seeing all the visitors who come to the site and choose not to take an action. Most of the online public seems to be doing “window shopping” even when your website is aimed at a very specific audience. However, you may not know that these window shoppers can become your unwitting evangelists when they talk about what they found on your site.

As most people in the sales and marketing field know, it can take a while to build a good pipeline, but after enough time it can become self-sustaining and quite profitable. In the online world, the presence of your site can help build the critical mass of eyeballs necessary to generate direct and indirect leads over time. In networking and SEO, patience can be the watchword when starting out, though it pays to get a head start and keep at it until you achieve the results you want to have. While you’re refining your approach, watching your search engine rankings grow, and getting more leads, you’ll also be building a network that can represent millions of potential prospects. All of these people can spread the good word about your products and services, but only if they can find your website.