subject: SEO - Your Key to Online Business Success [print this page] SEO - Your Key to Online Business Success
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a process aimed at improving the chances of your website ranking among the top results on a search engine. Most people use leading search engines such as Google, Yahoo or Bing to find services and products on the internet. Most internet users will not look beyond the first or second search result when looking for information. So it is crucial that your website appears at the top in order to generate traffic, improve visibility and ultimately increase profits. SEO companies use certain effective techniques to get high ranking for your website on popular search engines.
The algorithms that search engines like Google and Yahoo use to establish ranking of results keep changing. Implementing a comprehensive SEO plan is vital to improve your website's ranking, but you also need to keep adjusting it depending on the results that you achieve. This will certainly take quite a bit of work and time to take effect.
Search engine algorithms have become much more complex and advanced. Today effective SEO needs meaningful content on your web pages, backed by a focused link building campaign.
How to go about it
The basic foundation of SEO is a well structured website design. If you do not have in-house staff with the requisite skills, you can use the services of companies which offer customized website design services as well as website maintenance. Take a look at their past work and insist on having a talk with their existing clients before you hire such a company.
The second step is to do some market research. It is vital to learn the 'keywords' that most consumers would use to find services or products you sell. The volume generated in relation to each search is a prime factor in deciding on keywords to use. There is no point in focusing on phrases that no one uses during their searches. Find a few phrases that describe your firm's service best and are also popular with the customers. Use these keywords as a 'niche' and focus aggressively on them.
The final step is to optimize both your site (onsite optimization) as well as your presence on other sites (offsite optimization) with these keywords. Offsite optimization involves placing your website links on reputed sites to enable users to click on them and get directed to your site. These links also allow search engines to create an association of your website with the relevant keywords. For this type of optimization, SEO companies use directories, blogs and forums, advertising partners, and viral marketing. Make sure that you select the right websites to build a link on - just buying links randomly will end up being a waste of money and time. A good balance of on-site and off-site optimization will yield successful results.
Evaluate a few SEO companies and choose one that looks like a reliable partner. Your next question should be - how long will it take for you to see results? Realistically speaking, it would take at least a few months before you start seeing significant changes. Consider SEO as a long term investment that you need to remain committed to if you want to be successful online.
