Establishing a Web presence is not simply a matter of creating a site.
The World Wide Web is just that--a wide, wide world of sites competing for the
attention
of the public. Without an online marketing strategy, a business gets lost in
the mix. Search engine
optimization can take your business out of the wilds and
put it on the Internets version of Main Street.
The classic three criteria for a successful business are location, location,
and location. On the web, the optimal location for a business is within the
top three positions on a Google search result page. Getting there is not as
simple as signing a lease, however--search engines use a complex algorithm
to determine which results are most relevant to the users search terms, and
by extension, which site is most worthy of the coveted top-ranked spots.
Search Engine Marketing Strategies
The good news: your business Web presence is not entirely at the mercy of
the Google algorithm. Search
engine marketing experts have developed a set
of best practices for ensuring a sites visibility to the search engine.
Optimizing a site for search entails strategizing the content and the site
design to achieve greater relevance to a users search term, as defined by
the algorithms ranking system. Some of the factors that search engines use
to define a Web sites rank include:
- Keyword frequency
- Meta tags
- Headings
- Links
- Site structure
SEO Services for Online Marketing
In order to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated algorithms, search
engine optimization has evolved into a complex art form. SEO and SEM services help
companies optimize their Web presence by targeting the most relevant search
terms and optimizing the site to capture traffic on those terms. Specifically,
optimizing a site for search involves:
- Keyword Research. Its not always clear which keywords and phrases are
most likely to lead customers to a particular site. Search
engine marketing experts
have the technical tools and the experience to identify the optimal keywords
on which to base a clients online marketing strategy.
- Content Optimization.
An SEO service can retool the content on a clients website to leverage
the targeted keywords and phrases.
- Link Building. Recruiting other websites
to link to a client site boosts search engine rankings. In addition, SEO services produce content such
as press releases
and articles, and place this linked content on other sites.
- Monitor and
Adjust Keywords. Like a paid online
marketing campaign, site optimization
is an ongoing process. SEO consultants track results and
adjust content and
keywords accordingly.
Search engine optimization is
a crucial component of online marketing. Research consistently demonstrates
that users pay more attention to organic search
results--the sites deemed most relevant by the search engine--than to paid,
or sponsored, results. Jupiter Research found that organic algorithmic results
account for six out of seven commercial search referrals. If your business
online marketing strategy is dominated by paid listings, an SEO consultant
can help you reach out to the eighty-five percent of potential customers youve
been missing.
Sources
The New York Times
Search Engine Watch
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