| Search
Engine Optimization (SEO) is a strategy to understand and leverage
how search engines like Google and Yahoo! rank results. The goal is
for your website to be listed at the top of relevant search results
so prospects investigate your offerings before those of your competitors.
There are two types of search engine optimization strategies: organic
and paid. Organic SEO involves building your website in such a way
that search engine spiders find key words and links so that your
site comes up at the top of search requests. Paid SEO involves placing
pay-per-click (PPC) ads on Google AdWords, Yahoo Overture, or other
search engines. PPC advertising is a fast and effective way to generate
leads and boost website traffic. Unlike organic SEO, which may take
weeks to generate results, you can have a PPC ad up and running
within a matter of minutes. Together, organic and PPC advertising
can result in immediate leads and a significant return on marketing
investment.
Here are the typical steps involved in an SEO project:
Step 1: Analyze and Select Keywords
Keyword analysis is the process of determining which key words
or phrases your prospects are most likely to type into search engines
to find the solutions you offer. Use your internal staff, competitor’s
web site, web analytics tools and PPC ads to help you select the
optimal words and phrases.
SEO vendors analyze log files and use web analytics technology
to identify the words and phrases prospects are using to find your
site and that of your competitors. A free utility such as the Overture
Search Term Suggestion Tool suggests search terms and tells you
how many times they are entered into the search engines in a given
month.
Step 2: Enhance Content
Once you have a targeted list of keywords and phrases, you should
begin the process of incorporating them into all parts of your website,
including URLs, meta keywords and descriptions, titles, text and
links. Not long ago, it was sufficient to only incorporate the keywords
into your site’s meta index. This is no longer the case. Search
engines rank sites based on content and links, not just meta descriptions.
Step 3: Add Content
In addition to adding keywords to existing content, you should
continually create new content. The more the content relates to
your targeted keywords, the higher your ranking. One way to boost
the amount of relevant content on your site is to publish white
papers and articles in multiple formats such as HTML and PDFs and
include separate executive summaries.
Step 4: Modify Site Design
Some design tips to improve the visibility of your site to search
engines include:
- Use clean HTML code
- Avoid incorporating key words or links in graphical images or
Flash since they will not be identified or indexed by the search
engines
- Eliminate frames since they also make it difficult for search
engines to index your site
Step 5: Build Link Popularity
Search engines rank web pages based on the number and quality of
links pointing to a site. To increase your link popularity, incorporate
links to and from partners and affinity sites. Make sure that these
sites relate directly to the products or services you sell. Frequently
publish press releases and articles that point to your site.
Step 6: Submit the Site
When your site is optimized, you will want to submit your site
to directories to improve your link popularity. Pick high quality
general directories, such as dmoz.org and specialized vertical directories
within your industry. Often submissions carry a minor price tag,
but if the directory has good traffic (use www.alexa.com to check)
it will be worth it. As long as your site has good inbound links,
search engines will find it.
Step 7: Monitor Results & Make Adjustments
SEO vendors such as Bloofusion (see Sidebar) have tools to monitor
your search engine traffic and rankings. They can analyze downloads
or purchases and determine how your customer came to your site and
what pages they viewed prior to purchase. With this knowledge, you
can then add additional content or make other changes to your site
to maximize results.
Summary
Organic SEO is a business strategy that all companies should consider.
Most SEO projects produce desired results within three to six months.
It is advisable to hire an SEO expert who has the analytical tools,
industry knowledge and web development skills to quickly and effectively
optimize your site. Your competitors are doing this today.
Mary Gospe (maryg@kickstartall.com)
is one of the founding members of the KickStart Alliance. The KickStart
Alliance (www.kickstartall.com)
is a team of senior marketing and sales leaders who assist startups
and emerging companies develop and execute a variety of marketing
and sales goals and objectives.
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