ABOUT SEO
Introduction to SEO
Search Engine Optimization is the most cost-effective way to get your site in front of more qualified buyers.
How SEO Works
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) increases a website’s visibility on the search engines.
The process involves minor alterations to your website: selecting keywords that will generate targeted traffic, continually researching search engine algorithms and policies, and most importantly understanding the customer's goals. There are a wide range of companies offering SEO services, each employing strategies that may be significantly different from one another, hence producing varying results. Understanding these different approaches is the most important factor in choosing your SEO company.
Need for search engine optimization
It is critical for any company to take into consideration how well its website will rank in the most important search engines and directories. There are many steps that a company must take in order to maximize a web site's success in search engines and directories. Many companies underestimate the importance of search engines and fail to understand the ranking process. They end up ignore the most crucial ingredient of Internet marketing strategy.
Classification of Search Engines
One of the first things to understand is the difference between search engines and directories.
Crawler based search engines rely on automated software agents called spiders. These spiders read information like page titles, meta data, and textual content to be included in the search engines index. Search engines determine relevancy by applying a set of rules known as an algorithm. The algorithm determines whether to include a specific page in the search results based on the items read by the spider. Google is an example of this type of search engine.
The other types of search engines are those with a directory component. The distinguishing factor here is the human element. Directories are organized by human editors who visit the submitted website. They play a large role in the categorization of the web site and the wording of the titles and descriptions that will be the basis by which searchers find the web site.
Yahoo and MSN, present both crawler based and human powered results. These are known as hybrid search engines.
How does SEO work?
While the algorithm of each search engine may be different, they all look for the similar things:
Location of keywords:
Search engines first check title tags, headlines, and the first two paragraphs for keyword matches. Keywords are the cornerstone of every SEO campaign and we at WebMarketing123 in the San Francisco Bay Area do a thorough job of identifying the best keywords for you.
Frequency of keywords:
In order for the search engine to see your website as relevant to a particular keyword, the frequency of the keyword must be adequate. The appropriate frequency varies for different sites depending on various factors. At Webmarketing123 we do an indepth study of your website so as to determine the ideal keyword frequency.
Link popularity:
Increase in the relevant, qualified inbound links from other websites
An SEO campaign can be broken down into 7 basic functions as shown in the table below:
| 1. |
Keyword Identification |
The right keywords must be identified. These are phrases related to the site and ‘used' by surfers in finding your product or service. |
| 2. |
Competitive Analysis |
The websites that currently rank well on your keywords are reviewed for their link structure optimization method and incoming links. |
| 3. |
Page optimization |
In this stage the website is thoroughly optimized with meta tags, body text and internal links. |
| 4. |
Link building |
Qualified incoming links are generated in this step. |
| 5. |
Submissions |
The website's pages are systematically submitted to appropriate search engines and directories. |
| 6. |
Analysis & Re-Optimization |
The results are observed over a period of time depending on the rankings and traffic analysis. The website is further tuned. |
| 7. |
Reporting |
Throughout the course of the optimization, web stats are observed and tactics are altered based on traffic analysis. |
Benefits of SEO:
Long term visibility
Other online advertising methods, such as banner ads or paid search engine placement work for a while but once your budget is depleted, the advertisements stop. Also, consumers are often more likely to purchase from a site ranked high in the search engine results rather than from a paid advertisement.
Familiarity with the company
A highly ranked website means more people see the name of the company and become familiar with its products, even if they haven't made a purchase. A survey by NPD shows that consumers are twice as likely to recognize businesses ranked in the top three search engine results than those appearing in banner ads.
Affordability
In comparison to pay per click or banner ads, which cost between $2,500 to $50,000 per month, an SEO plan costs much less.
SEO provides a higher ROI for most companies than any other advertising medium.
Web site maintenance:
A web site is always a work in progress. Optimization work continues long after the optimized site is launched. This is because search engines frequently change their algorithms and the competitive landscape changes. The most effective strategy is to change and adapt the site in response to changes in search engine ranking criteria. The activities carried out in an SEO maintenance program are:
- Continuous monitoring of ranking and traffic trends
- Altering and Tuning Webpages to maintain and improve rankings
- Comprehensive ranking reports provided to clients
Webmarketing123 is a search engine optimization firm in California providing SEO & PPC services. Contact us for a free quote.
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