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The best thing about Search Engine Optimization is that it’s largely free. I wouldn’t profess that the cost is zero simply because it takes a lot of time to do correctly and time is money. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the development of website rankings for online search engines and keyword search terms. To properly implement a SEO strategy, there are four stages to help manipulate search engine result listings for specific keyword phrases.
Before undergoing any changes to a website, you must determine what keywords people are using to search for your programs. You want keyword terms that are frequently used but have little or no competition from other websites. This improves the chances of increasing web page ranking significantly. Marketing professionals can research possible keywords by talking to current students and using free online tools such as Google’s Adwords External Tool which provides estimates of search volume and advertising competitiveness.
Before choosing a keyword for search engine optimization purposes, size up your competition. Look at the number one ranked website and learn more about them. Consider the website’s age, Google PR (Page Ranking), and number of in-bound links. This can give you a good understanding of how strong a competitor that site is.
You can also learn more about a topped ranked website by researching it via Alexa.com for additional ranking information. Shoot for keyword phrases that have less than 2 million competing pages, less than PR 6, and less than 500 in-bound links. If the top competing websites are too large, you should pick a different keyword to focus on.
After choosing the most effective keyword phrases for your niche, design web pages to optimize readability for web site browsers and search engines. Basic areas of on-page optimization you should consider include having the appropriate headers for landing pages, a clear call to action and clean navigation. Your keyword phrase should also be used in meta tags and throughout your web page. Don’t overdue it though, keyword stuffing can result in significant penalties from search engines.
The most heavily weighed factor for Google is the PR of those sites linking to your website. The best links are those from highly ranked pages, particularly in relation to your chosen. A hundred links from strong webpages are worth more than 1,000 weak ones. So focus you link building efforts on sites that are in your niche and have a high Google PR. Links should also use your keyword phrases as the link text instead of your URL.
Succeeding online with Search Engine Optimization is your ticket to success. This is especially true if you can’t afford the large pay-per-click budgets that advertisers are spending to get their web site promoted. Consider on page optimization techniques and off page optimization techniques like linking building to improve rankings and enhance your search engine presence.
Friday, November 16, 2007
As a marketing strategy
Eye tracking studies have shown that searchers scan a search results page from top to bottom and left to right (for left to right languages), looking for a relevant result. Placement at or near the top of the rankings therefore increases the number of searchers who will visit a site. However, more search engine referrals does not guarantee more sales. SEO is not necessarily an appropriate strategy for every website, and other Internet marketing strategies can be much more effective, depending on the site operator's goals. A successful Internet marketing campaign may drive organic search results to pages, but it also may involve the use of paid advertising on search engines and other pages, building high quality web pages to engage and persuade, addressing technical issues that may keep search engines from crawling and indexing those sites, setting up analytics programs to enable site owners to measure their successes, and improving a site's conversion rate.
SEO may generate a return on investment. However, search engines are not paid for organic search traffic, their algorithms change, and there are no guarantees of continued referrals. Due to this lack of guarantees and certainty, a business that relies heavily on search engine traffic can suffer major losses if the search engines stop sending visitors. It is considered wise business practice for website operators to liberate themselves from dependence on search engine traffic. A top ranked SEO blog Seomoz.org has reported, "Search marketers, in a twist of irony, receive a very small share of their traffic from search engines." Instead, their main sources of traffic are links from other websites.
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