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SEO is More Important Than Ever
By Ross Dunn (c) 2007

I do my fair share of web marketing reading on a daily basis and
lately I have noticed more and more writers stating that search
engine optimization (SEO) is no longer as important for online
success. This spin may make sense to those writers (and their
financial goals) as they try to push industry cash flow away
from SEO, but I disagree wholeheartedly and throughout this
posting I will explain why. And I assure you that despite my own
inherent bias it will all be very logical and undeniable.

Not As Important? No, SEO is FAR More Important than Ever Before!

Search engine optimization (SEO) "is the process of improving
the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search
engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search
results" (src. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Search_engine_optimization) ). By this definition alone SEO is a
requirement for any website that wishes to be successful within
organic search results. This is especially true since the
competition for online visibility is fiercer today; because
previously uncompetitive terms have become over saturated with
late-comers to the perceived 'gold rush' of Internet commerce.
As a result, websites need the best optimization possible to
have any hope of standing up to the competition.

Successful SEO has Evolved

As with any growing technology industry competent SEO companies
have had to evolve their search engine optimization practices to
include the latest tools that improve SEO results. For example,
when a SEO campaign is conducted today StepForth Web Marketing
Inc. (http://www.stepforth.com/) has far more information to
access and evaluate the success of a campaign with analytics
sources like ClickTracks or Google Analytics. In addition,
keyword research tools such as Keyword Discovery and WordTracker
have revolutionized our capability to find qualified keyword
targets and ultimately increase the effectiveness of campaigns.
As a result, SEO campaigns can now be far more targeted and
effective.

These invaluable new SEO tools (http://news.stepforth.com/tools/)
aside, the search landscape has played a major role in the
evolution of SEO as well. Nowadays SEO companies have been
forced to adapt to new forms (formats) of search results and,
as a result, less space now is made available in the traditional
search engine result pages (SERPs). This is due to the inclusion
of other forms of media (i.e. video, images) and personalization
but the goal is still the same; targeted visibility leading to
higher traffic volume.

The Revised Guide to SEO

With the addition of new tools and the search landscape
constantly changing and evolving so much over the past 10 years
the techniques of applying quality SEO has also followed suit,
but the fundamentals remain the same. The addition of a SEO
manual at this stage of my posting is not an option; however, I
have provided a couple examples below. For a more diverse
explanation please see The 10 Minute Search Engine Optimization
(http://news.stepforth.com/2006-news/10-Minute-Optimization-Redux.shtml)
which I updated a few months back with many of the best
practices.

>> Example: Local Results

Over the past couple years Google has started showing differing
search results to its users depending upon their locality; all a
part of their bid to personalize search results to create a more
effective search result. If the website to be optimized (i.e.
www.victoriastuff.ca) would benefit from being found more
readily by people searching from its locale, then it is
important to consider this when optimizing the website.

SEO Tip #1 for Local Rankings:

Make certain that each page specifically includes in textual
format, not as part of an image, the complete address to the
company's physical offices. This information can be added to
the footer; there is no need to make it front and center which
could take away from other, (perhaps) more important content.

SEO Tip #2 for Local Rankings:

It is as easy as pie and totally free to add your business to
Google's Local directory which will often provide you with a
free top ranking if you do it right. Here is more information
on getting your free Google Local listing
(http://news.stepforth.com/2006-news/google-maps.shtml).

>> Example: Blog Optimization

Over the past few years blogs have virtually become required for
any business that needs to build online credibility and free
incoming links (from those who reference posts). With this great
new marketing tool, however, comes a set of best practices for
optimizing a blog so that each post has a high chance of
obtaining visibility. Indeed optimizing a blog is, in its
nature, an evolution of SEO because optimizers have to consider
how the content will perform on site as well as on other sites
that may syndicate the content. Okay, optimizing content for
syndication is not anything new, but it definitely is far more
common than ever before. Furthermore, SEOs now sit in an
educational role more often than before because they have to
teach the blog writers (who may be writing posts multiple times
daily) how to optimize their content on the fly.

Again a complete tutorial on blog optimization and promotion is
not practical at this point but here is a comprehensive three
part tutorial on blogs (http://news.stepforth.com/blog/2007/05/
stepforth-tutorial-blogs-101-part-1.php); including setup,
optimization and promotion suggestions.

Conclusion: Do You Have Doubts About the Importance of SEO?

So after all of that do you have any doubt that search engine
optimization (SEO) is any less important than it was? Indeed,
would you agree that SEO is more important than ever before due
to the need to secure every advantage possible in a competitive
marketplace? Either way I would love to hear your considerations
in this regard.
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Ross Dunn is the founder and CEO of StepForth Web Marketing Inc.
(http://www.stepforth.com/). Based in Victoria, BC, Canada,
StepForth has provided professional search engine placement and
management services since 1997. Ross is a search engine
optimization and placement expert with over 9 years of marketing
experience and is a Certified Internet Marketing and Business
Strategist (CIMBS). Blending his experience in the art of web
design and search engine optimization, Ross offers a unique and
informed perspective on obtaining top search engine placements.
Ross can be reached at ross@stepforth.com
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