09 May Making Sense of SEO

 

It’s true. Having a top-notch website doesn’t automatically mean you’ll get traffic.

Let’s go back a few years (ok a little bit longer than a few!) and talk about the home telephone.  The telephone company assigned a number that was unique to you. But just because you had a phone number, didn’t mean people were going to call. I mean come on, we all know how cool you are and what great stories you tell, but unless people call you, there’ll never hear it. The only way your phone is going to ring is if people have your number.

There’s a lot more to getting “out there” on the world wide web than just owning a dot com.  They way it works is through SEO.  You’ve probably heard SEO before and wondered what it really meant.  Those 3 little letters is the ticket to get “out there” on the web.

 

Let’s Make Some Sense Out Of SEO

What does SEO stand for?

Search Engine Optimization

Do I need Search Engine Optimization?

Probably, but you need to find out. The fact is that there is no ‘One Size Fits All’ answer to this question – some businesses stay visible with very little SEO work, but most lose out by choosing to not implement SEO.  SEO equalizes the market-place so small firms can compete in the same space with much larger ones.

How do search engines find my site?

It’s found by the web-crawler robots and spiders that the search engines send out. They notice the number of links that other websites have to your site and determine that the more links there are, the more important your business site must be.

How is page rank determined?

As well as links, robots look for other elements too, and the more of these they find the higher the ranking. The higher the ranking, the higher the display-position in a search.

How can I increase my page ranking?

That’s simple- fill your website with the links and elements the robots are looking for.

What are the Benefits of Using an SEO Firm?

By hiring an SEO firm you’ll have the best chances of being found at the top of searches, and the best chances of staying there.

How Do I Choose a Reputable Firm?

First, listen to their answers – you want to hear specifics and more specifics! Have them spell out their strategy for visibility today, as opposed to 6 months ago – this will show they have working knowledge from current clients, rather than using you as the guinea pig! And ask for client referrals – from those who have gone from page 7 to page 1 on Google, etc.

Secondly, have them spell out exactly how the money will be used, eg. how many hours a week, what they will do monthly, and what they will do every 6 months. Lastly, beware of two things. One, firms that guarantee rankings – something no one can do and, two, anyone offering you overnight success.

 

Either this article has helped clear up your questions about SEO or caused you to ask even more. If you want to know more about SEO for your site or want to see what an SEO package would look like for your business, contact us at 918-289-6359 or by email.