Search Engine Optimization Strategy
Friday, February 09, 2007
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) looks for and finds new ways of making web sites more prominent in search engine queries. There are 2 main methods of search engine optimization which include 'on-page' organic search engine optimization which focuses on modifying web
page structure and strategic keyword placement to rank high in natural or organic searches on top search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN. There is also 'off-page' optimization which focuses on the incoming and outgoing links of a web site.
Organic Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Organic Search Engine Optimization ('on-page' optimization) is a set of coding principals aimed at improving the ranking of a web
page or web site in search engine listings by focusing on strategically placing keywords in HTML tags, optimizing page names and directories,
and most importantly - building real relevant content to get your web page or site ranked highly by the top search engines.
Unlike paid keyword advertising, which directly adds an ongoing cost per acquisition to a company's marketing budget, organic search
engine optimization can bring a company the biggest bang for their online marketing buck with minimal ongoing costs. Done correctly,
organic search engine optimization can literally promote increased traffic and Google PageRank for years, provided your site is continually
updated and provides customers quality content that will make them return. According to an article in Wired Magazine 97 percent of Google users do not search past the first 30 listings. Therefore, it is very important that your web site be shown in the top 30 listings for the keyword you want users to find you by in order for your search engine marketing initiatives to succeed.
Search Engine Optimization Strategy
Having a solid search engine optimization strategy will help your web site continue to rank highly over the long haul. Some SEO's find "loopholes" in search engine algorithms and achieve high rankings by exploiting them. Google and Yahoo learn about these relatively quickly as well. Once they fix the loophole, your site will plummet down the rankings. By following the search engine's rules, you can attain high ranks for an extended period with just minor tweaks, updated content, and increasing inbound link count.
- SEO Step 1 - Page / Folder / URL Names - one of the easiest search
engine optimization techniques you can do is placing keyword(s) domain name, and
page names. Note that this page is named (search-engine-optimization-strategy.html).
That is the exact keyword phrase I want to rank highly. Next time you do a search,
look at the referring URL of the sites listed. You will see the keyword phrase
you searched for in "bold" in their URL string.
- SEO Step 2 - Title / Meta Tags - Unless you want to rank highly for
searches on "welcome to my web site" don't put that as your title. Using
your keyword phrase as your page title is the easiest way to boost your search
engine rankings. Meta tags are another story. Most search engines simply ignore
your other tags because they have been "misused" by webmasters for years.
Try this: put some weird work like "bsytoghroughcial" in your keyword
meta tag. Then do a search on that in a month. If your site ranks for it, then
use meta tags. If not, don't bother.
- SEO Step 3 - Keyword Density - If you want to rank highly for "search
engine optimization" make sure and put that keyword phrase throughout your
web page copy. You want to have a keyword density of between 3%-5%. You can also
"bold" or "italicize" your keywords too. This doesn't have
too much of an effect and makes your page look sloppy. The choice is yours.
- SEO Step 4 - Incoming Links / Anchor Text - The best way to a top ranking
is through incoming links. Search engines use a "voting" system to determine
relevance. The more pages that link to you, the more votes, and higher relevance.
One important thing to remember here is to put your keywords in your anchor text.
If you have a link that says (Click
Here) it won't do you much good. However if your link says (Read More - Search
Engine Optimization Strategy) you will be ranked by that keyword phrase which
factors into your relevancy for that keyword phrase.
Search Engine Optimization Benefits
There are many benefits to having your web site optimized for search engines. The most important is helping search engines read your
pages and index them correctly, which allows potential customers to be able to find your web site when they perform relevant search
queries. The two other huge benefits which drive most companies to optimize their web sites are increased traffic and increased
sales rates!
- Get More Web Site Traffic - the number of unique visitors tripled when a company moved up from page two to page one, and in the second month doubled again to more than six times the traffic it received before it broke the top 10, according to Wired Magazine.
- Increased Sales - Search Engine Marketing (SEM) revenues are growing at a faster rate than any other marketing strategy.
In May 2006, Forrester reported that SEM grew by 33 percent in 2005, reaching $11.6 billion by 2010. Is your company poised to take
advantage of this surge?
- Higher Search Engine Rankings - a recent study done of national retailers, Oneupweb found only 12 out of 100 sites were
well optimized. This made a marked difference in their respective search engine rankings. Well-optimized sites got top listings
that yielded extraordinary increases in traffic and conversions. However, the non-optimized sites were not found in the first three
search engine results pages SERPs.
Search Engine Optimization Strategy - Get Help
There are more in-depth ways to maximize your Search Engine Optimization Strategy
that range from looking at what your competitors are doing, to evaluating and
building your web site links. If you are looking to find an optimization company
to do this for you, please give us the opportunity to talk to you about your needs.
Preferred Position offers a very affordable Search Engine Optimization Service.
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