Small Business Solutions

SEO 101

Why am I concerned about Search Engine Optimization?

“The Internet is the 2^nd Most
Commonly Used Medium” – television still holds the top spot.

“Nearly 95% of users worldwide use Search
Engines to find websites.” (Forrester Research)

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) are two top key methods to driving website traffic to your business. Search engine optimization (from here on, referred to as SEO) is using strict elements and syntax with your website setup to create a “search friendly” site. Search Engine marketing on the other hand includes paying for traffic sent to your business via purchased “keywords”.

A search friendly site is viewed by Google, Yahoo and MSN (Bing) as a credible resource relevant to the web visitor’s search terms. Basically, your business’ website is most accurately the solution to their search query. While SEM (more specifically, PPC or Pay Per Click) is the fastest method, it can also be the most expensive. (You can read more on PPC in another section.) SEO is by far the long-term approach that, when implemented correctly, can bring you clients for years to come.

What is the difference between SEO and SEM?

When you (or anyone,) perform a search in one of the major search engines, there are three major components of the screen that is returned. The first few lines returned are “sponsored results”. These, of course, are highly paid for advertising placements (SEM). Immediately below the two, three or four sponsored ads are the actual “natural” search results. Additionally, down the right-hand column are another “skyscraper” set of SEM sponsored ads.

Natural search engine results are returned by the search engine algorithm as a list of the most relevant websites according to the search terms provided by the user.

Most web visitors have become blind to the sponsored advertisements contained within search results. The upper ads are usually accompanied by with a slightly darker background, tan or blue, while the natural search results are in the beginning of the white – actual page background. Also, this first natural position is known as the “sweet spot.”

Why should I optimize my website for natural search engine traffic?

Studies have shown that 89% of web visitors click on the first natural search result. (Microsoft Eye Tracking Study) Only 40% even see the first or second paid listing! Natural search engine results get eight times More clicks than paid results. If you are thinking ahead and with the future of your business in mind, you should be thinking in terms of long-term website success via natural search engine results.

What is SEO, technically?

Web search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN have huge databases located on web servers around the world that basically store specific information about different websites. This information is taken from the HTML coding within the pages of the website by programs known as “robots” or “spiders”. The information is indexed within the databases to be quickly retrieved when certain keyword terms are entered on their respective search pages.

Additionally, the then indexed pages (keeping in mind, that a website can have several pages and differing associated links to find them) are ranked by importance using over 200 deciding factors. If there are several other websites also pointing to these indexed pages, this can be a huge factor in helping your rank above your competition. Also, the age of your website and the consistency to provide quality useful information over time is a major criterion.

What is SEO, basically?

As aforementioned, SEO is Search Engine Optimization – the art of creating a website that works well with the major search engines and returns precisely what searchers are seeking. The first website in the natural listing is “ranked” as number one and will undoubtedly receive the most clicks from natural traffic. There are several facets to professional website optimization. These facets can be divided into two major categories, on-page SEO and off-page SEO.

On-Page SEO:

At the tip of the iceberg, SEO involves excellent structure within your site, relevant and concise article titles, hidden meta-tags, and solid article and image descriptions. All aspects of on-page SEO occur within the pages and coding of your business website. This strict structure not only allows your site to be search engine friendly, but also human friendly in terms of menu navigation and layout.

Additionally, if you are familiar with the Internet and web marketing, I’m sure you’re familiar with the phrase “content is king.” Your site should be informative and seen as a resource or authority within your target business niche. Articles should be written in a manner that is easily scanned by the human element as well as the search engines. Tools and interactive discussion areas are a fantastic approach to create return visitors or have your website’s link passed on from visitor to friends.

Off-Page SEO:

As the term indicates, off-page SEO techniques include tasks that are performed elsewhere to promote your site within search results and create for your site a professional image that is popular (rank) and informative (resources and knowledge.)

Off-page SEO involves building links from other high ranking sites, article marketing, blog reviews, professional press releases, social networking and more. While on-page SEO is generally done from the initial setup of your website (some maintenance is required,) off-page SEO is an ongoing (and many times tedious) task that should be factored into your business plan within your web marketing section.

How long before I see SEO results?

We live in a fast-paced society, so it never surprises us how often we are asked how long the results will take. Each of the major search engines have their own mathematical search engine algorithms and “bots” or “spiders” that must come and visit your website. While they do a fairly good job, this takes time. The spiders and bots may come and “crawl” your site weekly, but they don’t always hit every page on every visit. It could easily take a few months before you will see your page rank begin to even exist within the returned search pages, depending on your chosen niche in the web market.

The above being said, please don’t be swayed from creating the best website on the planet. If planned correctly, you can easily gain 100-1000 new visitors per month within a relatively short amount of time. Then, once you do begin to rank well within the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) you will continue to reap the rewards of putting together a quality site. With continued systematic on-page and off-page SEO, in less than 24 months, many websites have routinely experienced a gain of 20,000 or more visitors per month.

Call Small Business Solutions Today

And Outrank Your Competition!

Learn More about Marketing:

Introduction | Branding | Social Networking | SEM | Marketing Terms | SEO Terms