I miss the old days....life was simple. Your TV had just a
few channels, your phone was attached to a wall, and the
computer was a cool thing to have for the few who could
afford one. But times change, our world changes and
technology grows. TV has 200 plus channels (and still
nothing on), your phone is attached to your hip and you
could not live without a computer and the Internet is
filled with billions of pages.
SEO was an easy job then. It was a no brainer. It was fast,
it worked and the stress was little. Well, those days are
long gone and the facts of SEO are no longer as easy as it
used to be. It is not a quick fix and it is an ongoing
process.
Sure, there are hundreds of SEO companies available for you
to choose from. Cheap ones that say they submit your site
to 1000's of engines (big deal), ones that add 100's of
doorway pages (look out for spam), those that promise fast
top rankings (they lie). Let's face it, for SEO there is
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. But lets not focus on the
bad and ugly....they may be cheap, but you get what you pay
for...nothing!
SEO is not instant, not any more. You need to look at many
factors, you need to be prepared to make changes, you need
to be willing to work closely with your SEO expert and be
willing to be in it for the long haul. SEO changes and you
need to be ready to meet those changes.
You should be serious about your web site. This is your
business and you need to treat it as such. Canned web sites,
website templates that offer everything from stores to
products to hosting and say you have no worries on updating
the site and still can achieve rankings may be a bit
misleading. SEO is ongoing work and one you need to be
prepared to handle.
Your SEO Expert serves two purposes...to guide you in
changes that you need to make to a web site and to help you
optimize your web site by actually working within the site
so that you can be found for relevant keyword phrases.
Your Web Site Design
It used to be that design aspects really did not matter.
Well, now they do and it is a big deal. If your site is
poorly designed, poorly coded and developed using complex
databases or heavily graphic, you face issues. You may need
to make changes, you may want to develop a new
site...whatever the need, your SEO will inform you what
issues may be causing the site from being read correctly.
Your Keywords
Please...generic words may seem like the best, but with
billions of pages, is it really feasible? Keyword phrases
are extremely important, phrases that target your audience
are imperative. Your SEO expert should work with you on
helping you to make the most important choices on good,
targeted and precise phrases that will target your consumer
or product line.
Your Content
Using your keywords in content is important for the
engines. Having good content is important to your consumer
as well. Lack of content is not going to help you gain on
the engines and lack of content is not going to help your
consumer understand your product line. Your SEO expert can
provide you writing assistance for those do it yourself
folks or provide you with their expert content writers. Do
not be fooled...if you are not using keywords with content,
how can you expect to achieve rankings for those phrases?
Your Site Link Popularity
If no one else thinks your web site is important, then why
would a consumer. You web site needs to be found on
relevant web sites. You need to get your site out
there....it needs to be seen on other web sites. Not doing
so means that even you do not think your site is important
enough to share with others. Your SEO can help you achieve
a successful link campaign or even consult with you on the
process. This is a time consuming task, and it needs to be
done right. I mean, you want your site to be seen on the
best of sites, so take the time to consider getting a link
to those sites that can help you be seen as an expert in
your product field.
Your Blog
Funny word...Blog. I mean, what does it really mean? Who
came up with it...well who cares. What is important is that
they are fabulous for helping with your SEO campaign. They
are informative, they are easy to navigate, they contain
content and so much more. Bogs are the way to go to help
enhance your site. Again, your SEO can help you by
developing a blog. You can easily learn to maintain it,
keep it fresh, and keep it current.
Conclusion
Sure, SEO is just part of your marketing game plan. But it
is a vital one when used with your other online and offline
marketing. Gone are the days of easy rankings. Just because
you built it, doesn't mean they'll come. A website is a
business and as such deserves your time and your
professional SEO to help you achieve your goals and bottom
line success.
About The Author
Jennifer Horowitz is the Director of Marketing for EcomBuffet.com. Over the past 10 years Jennifer's expertise in
marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has helped clients increase revenue. Jennifer is the editor of the
popular Spotlight on Success: SEO and Marketing newsletter. Follow Jennifer and stay current on SEO, marketing,
social media and more: http://twitter.com/EcomBuffet
