What is SEO and why do I need it? – SEO is the acronym for Search Engine Optimization. What this means, in a nutshell, is the process of improving the likelihood that your website will be one of the first results displayed by a search engine, based on the keywords used to generate the search.
Google and Yahoo – By far the vast majority of computer users out there use one of the major search engines: Google, Yahoo, or Bing to locate goods and services online. Therefore, most SEO is geared towards achieving the best ‘Page Ranks’ on Google, Yahoo or possibly Bing.
‘Page Rank’ – is the term used to quantify a websites’ authority on the internet. ‘Page Rank’ is a number between 0 and 10, with ten being the highest possible score. The more authority a website is deemed to have, the higher the ‘Page Rank’ and the higher the website will appear in the search query results.
Typically – the average computer user does not look further than the second or maybe the third page of search results when querying the internet for a business or service. Most people assume if a business is within the first page or two of results then that business must be doing something better than the ones that get listed below it.
In Fact – According to research group Chitika, a search based advertising network, the top ‘organic’ position in Google drove 34.35% of all traffic in the sample. This was almost equal to the combined traffic from positions 2 through 5, and was more than the combined total of positions 5 through 20. Organic spot number 1 is worth almost exactly double what organic spot number 2 is worth, and the drop is precipitous thereafter.
Clearly – if you plan to generate leads or increase business through the Internet by means of your website, it is critical that your website appear near the top of the list for the keywords associated with your business or service.
SEO – A Strategic Investment – The exact actual algorithm that Google and to a lesser extent Yahoo use to determine ‘Page Rank’ is known only to them and is a closely guarded proprietary secret. However, enough is known generally about the criteria that the search engines deem important to ‘Page Rank’, that effective SEO is still possible assuming the correct strategy is followed.
There Really is no ‘Trick’ or ‘Secret’ – that will land you on the first spot on Google overnight (assuming you discount unique, rarely used, keyword phrases). Now I know there are going to be some of you reading this article saying, ‘What about this trick or that trick that I read about on ‘Blue Hat’ or ‘Black Hat’ forums?”. Well, this article is focused on the techniques that someone would use for an actual business website, not some SEO affiliate marketing site, and I will only discuss ‘White Hat SEO’.
Implementing – a complete, comprehensive, SEO ‘strategy’ is the key to improving ‘Page Rank’ and it takes time and some work. The days of being able to simply ‘keyword stuff’ or use hidden content to boost page ranking is over. Search engines are far more ‘intelligent’ today and effective SEO requires actual meaningful content pages, social networking, social bookmarking, articles submissions, and a focused marketing effort.
Start With a Solid Website Design – The first and most important factor in SEO is a well structured and well written website design. This is the foundation upon which everything else is going to be built. Trying to do SEO on a poor website design is like building a castle on quicksand! No matter how hard you work at keeping things together, eventually it will all fall apart.
Marketing & Patience – Assuming that you have a solid website design the next step is doing a little market research. It’s important to know what ‘keywords’ to optimize for. Search volume is a very important factor in determining keyword focus. There would not be much point in trying to focus on a keyword phrase if no one is searching for those keywords! A determination needs to be made on two or maybe three keyword phrases that best describe your business or service. Focusing on these keyword phrases will give you a ‘niche’ that you can target aggressively.
How Long is this Going to Take? – Ok, so now that you have started a comprehensive SEO strategy, how long is it going to take before you will see results? To be realistic, expect 1 to 6 months of intense SEO and marketing efforts before real significant results are going to be realized. Remember, this is a long term solution and needs to be thought of as an investment. Relax and be patient, the rewards of an effective SEO campaign and marketing strategy are too numerous to list!
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