Posts Tagged ‘Search Engine Optimization’
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
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Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a number of measures that you can take that will hopefully increase the ranking of a page when a specific keyword or keyword phrase is used in a search engine search. Search engine ranking is the position of a web page on the search results of a specified keyword or keyword phrase.
It is important to note that the search engines rank individual web pages, not a web site. However, there are web site attributes that can affect the ranking of individual pages.
Why is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Important?
The goal of every web page is to be viewed by people. The most common method used by individuals to find information on the internet is some type of search engine. Currently, Google is the most popular search engine. Other search engines include Yahoo and Bing.
Statistics show that the vast majority of searchers do not get past the first page of their search results. In fact, the first two positions in the search results usually gets more clicks than all the other listings combined.
It is painfully obvious that taking measures to get your web page to rank high in the search engine results will increase the number of visitors.
I will be discussing specific techniques of search engine optimization in future posts. If you have any specific questions you would like addressed, feel free to leave a comment.
What is Search Engine Marketing (SEM)?
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) refers to marketing efforts aimed at increasing the number of visitors to your website through the search engines. It can also include conversion analysis or what percentage of visitors perform your desired action.
The position of your website in the search engine results for particular keywords is search engine visibility. There are two main methods for carrying out (SEM): Search Engine Optimization (SEO); and pay per click (PPC) advertising.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is aimed at producing free organic rankings. Pay per click (PPC) advertising such as Google Adwords require payment, but the level of your bid is not the only determining factor.
Organic rankings are affected by a number of factors. These can be broken into two categories; on site factors and off site factors. An example of on site factors would be the written content on the web page. An off site factor would be links coming to your website.
With pay per click advertising there are important factors that affect you listing. One important factor of course is you bid price. However, your click through rate and landing page relevancy also play key roles.
Learning both methods and their proper combination can provide the best search engine visibility.
The goal of SEM is to achieve maximum conversion of visitors into customers. It is not just the quantity of traffic that matters, but how targeted and convertible it is.
Is Your Website Wasted Money?
Your website is an asset that should be creating value for your business. Is it working for you?
Search Engines
The most popular way for customers to find businesses is to perform a search on a web search engine. As a result, search engines play a vital role in helping customers find you.
Searches are done by using a word or a phrase. The terms that are used by web searches are referred to as keywords or keyphrases. These terms can describe information, products, or problems. There are about 400,000,000 searches per day on the Web.
The search engines take the search phrase and review its database of Web pages and then display a list of web pages that are considered most relevant to the phrase entered in the search.
The list that the search engine displays may be very long, including several million web pages. They are listed in order of their relevancy and broken into pages (usually 10 results per page).
Most searchers do not go farther than the third page of the results.
This is why a position among the top 30 listings or top 3 pages is a important goal.
There are search terms or keywords that are more popular than others. For example the term “making money” is searched more frequently than a term like “potassium citrate”. Search engines make money by offering higher positions on the pay per click areas of the search results. The more popular terms require a higher payment.
If you are able to get a high ranking in the generic (free) search result you will get traffic to your website without the expense of a pay per click campaign. This can be of significant value to your business.
Do you know where your website ranks on the search engines for keyword terms important to your business?
If you could generate hundreds of prospects to your website without added expense, would this be a value to you?
Do you know how to improve your website ranking on the search engines?
Are you leaving money on the table in the search engines?
Is Your Business Taking Advantage of the Unique Benefits of Internet Marketing?
Is your website attracting customers or generating leads? Do you know how much traffic your website has?
Wikipedia states that, “The internet has brought many unique benefits to marketing, one of which being lower costs and greater capabilities for the distribution of information and media to a global audience.”
While this is very much true, the internet is also a tool that can be used by local business to make sales and create leads in the local market. This true in both the pay per click world and in search engine optimization.
The main problem that a local business faces is the lack of time and knowledge to take advantage of what the internet has to offer. The services offered by an internet marketing consulting firm are services that make sense to outsource. Your business may have a website, but is the website working for you?
Your website is an asset. It should be working for you generating sales or leads. If it is not, you need to determine why! Because you are missing a great opportunity. With a little more effort and a little help from someone who is knowledgeable about internet marketing, your website and turn into your cash cow.
However, there are dangers to be aware of. If you start a pay per click campaign without knowing what you are doing, you could find that you have wasted hundreds of dollars with no financial return. Done right, a pay per click campaign can generate significant income or leads.
While search engine optimization technics usually take more time, the return on investment can be significant because there is no charge for generic traffic.
Every business can find some unique benefits to internet marketing.
