What good does it do to have a great looking website if no one sees it?
This is a challenged faced by any new online website. Sure, you can always pay for traffic via Google Adwords, paid links, banner ads, etc. Bringing traffic to your site though these means is certainly an option and in general can be a solid method of augmenting your website traffic, but it is better from a strategic perspective to also focus on acquiring website visitors organically. Organic website traffic means that visitors found your website though a search engine such as Google, Yahoo, or MSN. These visitors are typically much "targeted" as well, meaning that they have come seeking the products or services offered on your website.
Search Engine Optimization
Many people (including firms offering SEO services) still believe that SEO is all about tuning your pages with the right meta tags and keywords. Although this still plays a role in your website’s ability to be properly indexed by search engines, back links (links from other website that point back to your website) is really what you need to focus on to improve your search engine rankings. I can take you though the SEO process, enabling you to ensure your website ranks well for relevant keywords or we can also manage your SEO and ad campaigns on an ongoing basis.
Content Creation
I outsource SEO Content Creation to professional content writers. The writers I work with have a Bachelors or Masters degree, solid SEO high keyword density experience and speak English as their first language. In other words, I don’t outsource the work outside of the US.
Writing captivating web content is essential for the search engines to determine what your site is all about. The greater amount of web content you have the greater number of words and phrase you can potentially rank for. Great content also naturally attracts back links. Natural back linking is a very effective way to increase your search engine rankings.
Search Engine Optimization Process
- SEO - Keyword Research - determine appropriate keyword phrases to pursue based on relevance, search popularity and competition. These words then need to be strategically incorporated into the web site content.
- SEO - Link Popularity Analysis - determine client’s current back links. Having many other web sites connected to your web site improves your search engine positioning.
- SEO - Competitive Analysis - Will include high level ranking analysis for top 5 web (most relevant/successful) competitors. Analyzing your search engine competitors will enable you to determine the amount of work required for your website to exceed your competitors search engine ranking for your primary SEO keywords.
- SEO - Directory submissions - (i.e. Yahoo business directory). Although internet directories are far less popular than in previous years, there continues to be evidence that Google still utilizes a websites inclusion in certain authority directories to determine your sites overall ranking.
- SEO - Link Building Plan –Determine the appropriate methodology to connect other web sites to yours. Example would be: Press Releases, Whitepapers, and Industry related articles. Part of the linking strategy is to purchase text links on high traffic authority web sites that reside in the same industry as your website.
- SEO - Google Sitemap - create automated sitemap and submit to Google. This enables Google to more effectively index your website.
- SEO - Summary Report - Analysis of data including embedded links to raw data (Excel). This report provides details and summary of the Keyword Research, competitive analysis, SEP Analysis, Current Ranking Analysis, and Link Popularity Analysis.
- SEO - Community Strategy -Evaluate and determine use of community sites to drive targeted traffic. Community sites such as youtube.com and dig.com can generate large volumes of traffic with no reliance on search engines. Weblogs, social bookmarking, wikis, podcasts, RSS feeds (aka Web 2.0 technologies) also provide targeted traffic, help increase return visitors and increase visitor loyalty if executed correctly.
- SEO - Marketing Strategy Plan for SEO - This is written a plan for all of the above services using the data and analysis collected as a foundation. It includes both tactical and strategic initiatives aimed at increases rankings, targeted traffic, brand awareness, and customer loyalty.
- SEO - Metrics/Reporting - measure activities frequently, such as ranking reports, and site visitor volumes.
- SEO - Maintenance - review metrics and adjust program on a monthly basis.
So how can SEO boost your site visitors?
If you would like to get an idea of what SEO can do for your website, please contact me here. I enjoy consulting with clients, even it is only information that they are seeking.