Search
Engine Optimization. Big words. Sounds Important.
What is it? If you do a search in google for the
web definition of search engine optimization, you
get a lot of different results.
Some
simply say that search engine optimization is the
generic term for making sure your site is optimized
to appear as one of the top ranking web sites on
a search.
Others
get more detailed with their definition and say
search engine optimization is the term used to describe
the marketing technique of preparing a web site
to enhance its chances of being ranked in the top
results of a search engine once a relevant search
is undertaken.
A
number of factors are important when optimizing
a web site, including the content and structure
of the web site's copy and page layout, the HTML
meta-tags and the submission process.
Is
it important? That also depends on which definition
you believe and who you ask that question to. If
you ask someone who runs a business and charges
for search engine optimization, they will tell you
it is the most important thing you will ever do
for your website.
At
each SEO website, they will tell you they are the
number 1 SEO company on the web, even though each
of them has a completely different method of optimizing
your website.
If
you ask many self-appointed webmaster gurus in some
of the webmaster forums, they will tell you the
same thing, then each one will tell you a different
way to do it and they will all disagree on the most
important aspects of search engine optimization.
So
the confusion continues for the average user and
the SEO companies love it that way. If the consumer
doesn’t understand what you are doing, you don’t
really have to do very much and just say you are
doing a lot. Most of them would never work on your
website on a contingency payment plan, one based
on actual results and performance. Some say money
back guaranteed, but read the fine print.
A
lot of these businesses are based on the fact that
people who are new to the web and even some of those
who have been online for awhile do not know what
search engine optimization is. They know that with
more and more people coming onto the web for the
first time, their business is secure. They can continue
to tell people that without their service the website
will fail.
I’m
not saying all search engine optimization companies
are rip-offs. Some of them really do their best
to get good rankings for their clients and know
what they are doing. A lot of them still really
believe that search engine optimization is the key
to success on the web.
It
isn’t. How’s that for a statement? I know a lot
of web designers will disagree. I know a lot of
SEO companies will disagree. But simply put, search
engine optimization of your WebPages is not the
most important thing you need to do to succeed on
the web.
Let’s
break down some of the things that are included
in the phrase search engine optimization.
Metatags
are one of the things these gurus tell you is important.
Metatags are all but dead. Search engines, especially
google, ignore metatags for the most part.
Having
them in does not hurt you, but go do a search on
any topic besides web design or search engine optimization,
etc. and you’ll find that IF the websites at the
top of the search results have metatags at all,
they usually only have the description and keywords
metatags.
Well
they also have the title tag, which is sometimes
referred to as a metatag, but it is actually the
only metatag you need to have.
Keyword
Optimization is something the gurus will tell you
is very important. Some will tell you they know
the exact percentage of text that should be your
keywords. Yes, keywords are very important. Do they
know what percentage the search engines will want
to read for the best results? No.
When
writing copy for your website, you must be conscious
of the keywords you wish to promote. Don’t pick
too many keywords and try to optimize each page
of your website for twenty different things. If
you do, it will not be relevant for any of them.
That isn’t guru talk, that’s just plain old fashioned
common sense.
Remember
that search engines crawl web pages, not web sites.
If you choose just one or two keywords per webpage
that you wish that page to be optimized for, then
you can optimize the page easily and write text
the user will want to actually read.
Write
your sales text the way you would with only the
user in mind and with making sales in mind. Then
go back and reread the page.
Find
places where you can add in your keyword without
destroying the flow you created when you wrote the
text in the first place.
Now,
do you need to hire an SEO company to do that? Do
you know your product? Do you know how to sell your
product? Then you need to write the text. If you
do not wish to write the text, then hire a writer.
You still don’t need a search engine optimization
guru.
Some
search engine optimization experts will tell you
they can increase your link popularity. They use
a variety of methods. They create websites where
they put all of their clients website links so you
will have links to your website. The search engines
call these link farms and discount any value they
may have had in the past.
Those
methods, along with many others, are simply tricks
that temporarily work. A lot of search engine optimization
companies all keep up with the latest tricks and
shortcuts. They may even get you some good results
in the short-term. But what happens when the search
engines catch onto the trick?
I’m
glad you asked. They stop letting that trick or
shortcut work. They may even penalize the websites
that used it. They penalize you, the customer, not
the search engine optimization guru who used the
trick and charged you for it.
Whenever
one of these companies tells you it has “inside
information”, “ex-search engine company employees”,
“guaranteed search engine placement”, guaranteed
top 10 placement”, or “secret methods”, a red flag
should go up in your mind right away.
If
you start a business offline, like a restaurant
or a store, you know that besides the money you
will have to put up, you will also have to work
to make it a success. It is no different when you
start a business online. You have to work at it,
if you want to be successful.
If
search engine optimization is not the most important
thing you can do to become successful, what is?
Again, I’m glad you asked.
Promotion.
Do not depend solely on being found by the search
engines. Search engines are fickle creatures and
what is today’s #1 can be tomorrow’s #100 just because
they decided to change the way they give relevance
to websites. Continually chasing this dream is a
total waste of time.
There
are other sources of traffic out there. Would you
rather have 1000 hits from a search engine for one
of your minor keywords or have 100 hits from someone
who read an article you wrote and came to your website
because they liked what you had to say?
If
you chose the thousand hits, you don’t get it yet.
Out of that 1000 hits you might convert 2 of them
into sales. Out of the 100, you may get as many
as 20-25 people who want to buy from you. Conversion
rate is more important than how many hits you get
to your website.
Write
articles about your website, about your products,
about relevant topics to your products or services
you wish to sell. Distribute or submit those articles
to article submission websites that provide free
content to webmasters.
You
may write one article like the one I am writing
now and have 100 webmasters want to use it as content
for their website. That would mean there is suddenly
100 other websites on topics related to your product
that now contain a link to your website. (See the footer below contains links to my website and is
to be included when this article is reprinted.)
That
increases your link popularity without the need
for a company to optimize you. Just by submitting
your article to several article submission websites,
you increase your link popularity, but when those
webmasters start to republish your articles, you
will see a huge increase in your page rank and the
quality of your traffic.
Some
people write one article per month and others write
one or more per day. It depends on you. How fast
do you want your website to grow?
How
much time do you have to invest? If you are not
good at writing articles or do not have the time,
hire a writer to ghost-write them for you with your
byline and your links in
the footer.
So
that we are clear. Search engine optimization is
necessary, but by no means the most important thing
you can do for your website to make it successful.
I would not pay a lot of money for this service.
Promoting your website IS the most important thing
you can do. Articles are just one of the methods
you can use to promote your website.
Advertising,
buying links on relevant websites, posting in forums
and blogs with related topics, putting your link
in your signature line, are some of the other ways
you can promote your website.
My
Checklist:
