As the number of people searching the Internet for
goods and services grows, the search engines remain
an essential part of the process. For companies wanting
to stand out from their competition, more and more
are turning to search engine optimization (SEO) to
enhance their rankings, their visibility and their
profits. This white paper illuminates the core areas
of search engine optimization, both organic and paid
placement, as well as explains how it can fit into
a comprehensive marketing effort.
The Ongoing Story of Search Engine Optimization
Back in the mid-1990s, as the Internet became an avenue
for communication and commerce, webmasters realized
they could adjust their web sites so that search engines
would rank them higher when users searched on certain
phrases. This was the birth of SEO. There was very
little in the way of spam detection early on, so many
webmasters could use less-than-honest means to obtain
higher rankings. In the intervening years, as the Internet
has experienced phenomenal growth, the search engines
have become more savvy in spotting these underhanded
tactics. Currently, search engine optimization remains
a powerful way to drive increased traffic to web sites.
Companies are either developing search engine optimization
talent in-house or going to external consultants for
help. The benefit of going with an established, outside
search engine optimization company is they will have
the wide range of knowledge in both organic techniques
as well as paid placement methods. Much of this knowledge
is gained through years of in-depth experience with
client web sites. The need for SEO continues to grow
as a growing number of companies come to terms with
the benefits of reaching vast yet highly targeted audiences
over the Internet.
Organic SEO - What's Involved?
- Take Stock & Eliminate Roadblocks .
Before any substantive search engine optimization
effort can begin, and exhaustive look at the current
state of the company's web site should be undertaken.
Stepping back and evaluating the goals of a site
and how well the web presence meets those goals must
be completed. A common ailment of web sites is they
are not user-friendly and do not provide intuitive
navigation schemes for their audience. It's important
to note here that no manner of enhanced search engine
rankings will solve these types of problems. People
who arrive at a web site and become confused or frustrated
will move on to a competitor's web site without hesitation.
Usability testing (sessions where actual users are
asked to perform typical tasks on the web site) can
uncover such problems as well as offer a valuable
and eye-opening experience for site owners. Discovery
processes such as this may result in the need for
a partial or complete redesign of the web site itself.
If a company does not have the resources to effectively
revamp their web presence, they are better off contracting
out this valuable step. With the solid foundation
of a highly usable web presence, subsequent search
engine optimization steps will be more effective.
- Run Keyword Analysis . The process
of identifying the words and phrases that your target
audiences are searching on is called keyword analysis.
Keywords are at the heart of every search engine
optimization effort. You have to target the correct
words and phrases and leave off those that are far
too competitive or have very little traffic. Once
a list of phrases is decided upon, then you have
the foundation for the remaining steps of the search
engine optimization effort.
- Adjust the Code and Beef Up Content .
There are a number of tactics involved in modifying
a web site so that its rankings are enhanced. Though
some of these methods have changed over the last
decade, the baseline processes remain the same. First
and foremost, a web site should have ample content
related to the keywords being targeted. Search engine
web crawlers (automated programs designed to scan
a site) have one basic goal, to sift through each
web site and ascertain what it is trying to convey.
The crawlers read through the textual content as
well as the underlying code, such as meta tags. Subsequently,
the search engine indexes the site based on that
information. Each search engine uses their own algorithms
to determine how web sites rank on their results
pages. If a web site does not have an adequate amount
of text available for the crawler to read, it becomes
more difficult for it to comprehend what the site
is about. Though not as critical as in prior years,
the HTML Title tag as well as the meta Keywords tag
and meta Description tag should all be carefully
sculpted using the words and phrases from keyword
analysis. Using these same phrases within the links
between web site pages can also offer a positive
impact. Other enhancement methods include creating
a site map, providing custom 404 error pages, optimizing
URL strings, and implementing social networking.
- Increase Those Inbound Links .
In recent years, it has become increasingly important
to have a substantial amount of inbound links to
boost search engine rankings. Though this is one
of the more challenging aspects of SEO, it is vitally
important since the big search engines add weight
to a web site's rankings if it has multiple relevant
links from outside sites pointing to it. Links from
nonrelevant web sites will provide little benefit
since they are not in the same general category.
A search on the word "books," for example, brings
up Barnes and Noble on the first page of results
confirming this inbound linking effect since countless
web sites contain book links back to the retainer.
Organic SEO vs. Paid Placement (Pay-Per-Click)
Whereas organic SEO techniques focus on the web site
itself and links pointing towards it, paid placement
(or pay-per-click) is focused on attaining high rankings
within the sponsored listings section of search engine
results pages (SERPs). Primarily built on a bidding
model, that is, the more you bid, the higher you appear
in the list (Google has a more complex model that takes
into consideration site relevance as well ), paid placement
provides an avenue for companies to attain high rankings
if they have the marketing dollars to support it. It
is a very popular approach for those sites that are
newly posted on the Internet as well as those that
need a quick boost to their search engine exposure
or want to round out their organic SEO efforts. Paid
placement can be a costly endeavor since you are paying
for every click that brings a user to your web site.
It is vital therefore to track visits as well as how
many people complete desired transactions to ascertain
whether paid placement is delivering a positive return
on investment.
A company can leverage organic SEO, paid placement, or a combination of both.
It all depends on what the marketing goals of the company are as well as their
budget and timeline. Though organic efforts may be more costly up front (as
a web site is adjusted and optimized) over time it may be more cost-effective
than a paid placement campaign especially if the targeted phrases are highly
competitive (i.e. expensive to bid on). Both organic SEO and paid placement
require regular maintenance and adjustments based on rankings and competition.
So Why Should I Care about SEO?
If a company does not need high search engine rankings
to reach its target market or to disseminate information,
then SEO is probably not a high priority. For the vast
majority of companies however, search engine optimization
is a key component of their ongoing success. Given
the overwhelming benefit of the Internet, companies
who do not work for higher visibility in key market
phrases run the risk of being overshadowed by more
forward-thinking competition. The search engines continue
to grow as a resource for people in pursuit of products
and services and as such should be leveraged as a tool
to reach customers around the globe.
Many search engine optimization companies are adept at convincing potential
clients that they are the key to search engine success. With promises of top
rankings in little or no time, these providers many times take advantage of
their customers lack of SEO knowledge. It is vitally important when considering
a service provider that they provide numerous references, specifically clients
they have successfully helped with their online visibility and profitability.
The underlying truth is that no search engine marketing company can truthfully
guarantee any concrete enhancements to search engine rankings since the algorithms
being used by the search engines is completely out of their control. However,
as discussed in this white paper, there are numerous effective ways that have
historically been successful in helping companies improve their search engine
visibility.
Staying for the Long Haul
Search engine optimization cannot be undertaken once
and then tossed aside. It must be an ongoing endeavor
that is continually revised and revisited to maintain
high rankings. In almost every case, a company that
jumps into the SEO pool and promptly jumps out will
over time be steadily overtaken in rankings by their
competition. This competition better understands the
core tenant that search engine rankings are fleeting
if they are not nurtured over the long haul. The amount
of ongoing maintenance and revision of a web site and
its paid placement campaigns will vary depending on
the size of the site as well as the amount of competition.
The Future of SEO
With the ever-expanding role that search engines play
in helping people find information, the need for effective
search engine optimization will continue to grow. For
both business and pleasure, people turn to search engines
to guide them towards the information they seek. Though
the search engines themselves may come and go, their
intrinsic need will remain. Only with a dedicated and
ongoing optimization effort can a company expects to
attain those coveted top search engine positions.
Paul Kaufman
President
Pitch Perfect Marketing
