Search Engine Optimization - 2 comments

Wednesday the 12th of April, 2006 | Articles | Business | Marketing |

I had lunch the other day with a buddy of mine who also happens to be a client.  He was asking how to get ranked higher in the Search Rankings and if he should invest in Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  I told him I’d look into it, but advised simple local marketing.  I’m becoming concerned the more I read about SEO and their unrealistic promises.  Here is an excerpt from an unnamed SEO web service.

Research shows that most web traffic comes from search engines. But if your site is not ranked high enough on the search engines (e.g. after the third page of the search result), none of that traffic will come to you. Worse, it might all go to your competitors.

Search engines are a very important source of traffic because it’s highly targeted. Visitors that come to your site via search engines got there because they focused their search using keywords related to your products or services. But because there are so many pages on the web, and more submitted every day, your site is competing with an increasing number of other sites. So what can you do?

That’s where Search Engine Optimization comes in. Search Engine Optimization is the process of preparing your website so that search engines can better understand its content and/or purpose.

Think about it! If a search engine can not clearly identify the content of your site, why would it give your site a high position in the search results? Your site must be focused on the content, products, or services you provide. Optimizing your page will save you money that you would need to spend on advertising otherwise.

If you want guaranteed top ranking in the major search engines, we provide a full search engine optimization service: 20 guaranteed top 20 ranking.

The first two paragraphs are very much true.  Most traffic comes from Search Engines, Google being the largest chunk.  The final three paragraphs are nothing more than a snake oil salesman’s pitch.  Google has spent the last 7 years with the finest mathematical and engineering minds on the planet developing algorithms to identify what a site’s content consists of and how it should be ranked. Google’s sandbox effect can take a few months before they even catalog you.  This is to make sure your site has longevity and they aren’t listing sites that are here one day and gone the next.  The fact of matter is no one can guarantee a top 20 ranking.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

So how do you get your site noticed in the search engine market?  Your site has to grow organically.  Just like any business, developing a successful site takes time and energy.  There are two important rules to follow when building your site.

Always be adding new relevant content

The idea is to develop an extensive knowledge base on your website that relates to your industry.  You want high quality content, a lot of it.  Take the time to develop content that relates to your business and that people will be interested in reading.  If they search for a term that is mentioned often in one of your pages, you have a higher likeliness of getting that reader.

Find a way to get as many relevant high-traffic websites to link to you

The best way to do this is by getting involved in your industry’s online community.  If you are a photographer, start commenting on as many photography blogs as possible.  Things like, “good post” won’t quite cut it.  You have to give something back to the community.  Find a small list of blogs that welcome comments and get going.

As I said before, traffic doesn’t just come overnight once you’re on the web.  People have to sift through all the trash first.  Once they find you, word of mouth takes over.  Once a site develops its online reputation, the traffic will follow.

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