The real truth about SEO is no one knows for sure what works because search engines won't reveal their algorithms. Google alone uses more than 118 different calculations that effect a Web site’s position in the search engine’s rankings. And on top of that, the algorithm formulas continually change. Our SEO professional keeps abreast of this ever-changing landscape and trackable results to achieve good positioning for our clients.
With that said, SEO is the first part of your Web site development. Next are quality content and a commitment to a Web marketing strategy. It's the Search Engine Marketing techniques that bring the traffic. Good SEO alone may get you initial placement, but that won't last long. A comprehensive SEM program places you higher and keeps you there.
SEM techniques fall into four main categories:
1) Organic SEO/Traffic
These are results that are produced by the Google algorithm. It is the application of traditional SEO that prepares your site for keyword searches. The SEO consultant makes your written content more readable by spiders and the consultant knows how to tell search engines more precisely what each page of your Web site is about.
2) Referral
This is having other sites linked to yours. A link-building strategy should be at the top of any Web marketing program. Incoming links greatly impact the page position of your site. A robust link-building program administered by a pro would cost about $7,000 in submission fees and service fees.
However, this is one area anyone can tackle with results in proportion to the personal effort. These include:
• Publishing articles
At least one article should be written that mirrors your site and contains the key phrases you used to optimize it. This should be written by a professional to ensure the SEO standards for your site are followed. You can use a paid resource to disseminate your articles to many Web outlets or you can post articles on a site like LinkedIn or other sites related to your industry.
• Blog
Google offers a free Blog creation tool or you can just add content to other blogs –– preferably ones that relate to your business.
• Social networking
Also referred to as Social media marketing is marketing your business (including your Web site) by using social media channels like Facebook or Twitter. Social networking includes anywhere your customers or potential customers are conversing online. Social networking done right positively affects your search engine’s ranking.
3) Pay-Per-Click
This strategy involves bidding for use of keywords to achieve placement on search-results pages. As described, you pay for the click through. You choose a daily budget and once that is reached with click through's, the ads stop appearing. Google AdWords is one of the more reasonable PPCs. The ads also appear across their network of search partners (including AOL and Ask.com).
Google AdWords allow you to schedule your campaigns to appear only during certain hours or days of each week. With ad scheduling, a campaign can run all day, every day, or for as little as 15 minutes per week. Tracking performance of each keyword and ad is part of the service. This avenue allows for a lot of testing and refining at a fairly reasonable cost.
4) E-mail
Building an e-mail subscription list is often overlooked, but should be part of a complete SEM plan. It's important to know whom your viewers are and, if appropriate, to capture their e-mails so you can present them with information that might draw them back to your site via e-mail marketing.
The great thing about technology is the results of all these efforts are measurable. Our SEO expert puts metrics in place to measure both the increase in Web site traffic and the conversions on your site. Keeping track of what works and what doesn't guides you in fine tuning your efforts and maximizing your budget dollars.