Web Site Best Practices

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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
By: Deirdre Cavener

“In the future there will be two kinds of businesses. Those that are on the Internet…and those that are out of business.” Bill Gates

If your Web site is selling great products or services, you need to be found in the four major search engines: Google, Yahoo, MSN, and Ask. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is what gets your business Web site in front of potential customers and improves the quality and volume of your Internet traffic.

Today, the majority of Web sites don’t have a chance in getting top search engine placement. Millions of Web sites are all competing for the first page making it one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. Search Engines are in a constant stat of flux and you must monitor your position constantly. You can be on the first page one day and be gone the next day if you aren’t proactive.

Beware of the Snake Oil Salesman!

I am sure that each and every one of you has received the famed email stating “get to the top of the search engines in 24 hours guaranteed”. Logical thinking should immediately cause you to question such a claim. The only way to get top placement on the free search results is to have a solid SEO strategy and a Web site built to be read by the search engines.

Everyone’s an Expert

Recently I heard a speaker take the stage, step up to the microphone, and make the claim that no one needed SEO. She raved about getting her company Web site to the top of the search engines for her “company name”. How many new customers are going to search for your company name? Considering new customers don’t know about you they won’t search for you … and that is why SEO is so important to the growth of your business.

Search Engines are the SINGLE most important source of
new visitors to a Web site!

The Important Players

• Google.com 46.2%

• Yahoo.com 22.5%

• MSN.com 12.6%

• Ask.com 1.6%

The remaining search engines are either fed by Google or are too small to worry about. Google currently has the largest market share, but the gap has been closing over the last few years. The Search Engine wars are in full throttle and it will be interesting to watch what happens in the future … will Google prevail or will a new Star be born?

The Facts

• SEO is a sub-set of Search Engine Marketing.

• SEO is part of your “Pull” advertising campaign and has replaced the Yellow Pages.

• SEO is an important factor in the success of a Web site regardless of its size.

• SEO delivers quality traffic for a maximum return on investment.

• SEO without targeting the right keywords & keyphrases is a waste of keystrokes.

• In the past SEO and submission was easy.

• SEO is such a technical and ever-changing field that it demands specialization.

• 85% of high income and highly educated adults use search engines as their major source to find new Web sites and search for information.

• SEO is often very labor intensive and it can take months for results to show up.

• SEO is a combination of marketing and science. The majority of Web site developers DO NOT understand SEO; they understand design and development, which are both important to the overall success of your Web site once people find it.

Important SEO Ingredients

• Title Tag

• Description Tag

• Keyword Density

• Incoming Links

• Web Site Layout – KISS (keep it simple, stupid)

• Highly Targeted Keyword Phrases

• Alt Image Tags

• Page Content – Yes, content is still key!

• Readable Pages – for the search engines & your customers

Should you hire someone or Do-It-Yourself? With regard to all types of business decisions, I believe in hiring professionals and letting them do what they do best. When implementing an SEO campaign you must decide how to make your site work for your customers and the search engines. The knowledge and experience required to keep Web sites in the forefront of the search engines don’t come in a box and there isn’t a magic wand or computer program that can build a successful SEO campaign … it requires the human touch!

Even if you won’t be the one implementing the SEO campaign, understanding the basics will allow you to “Talk the Talk” with your SEO firm. Your business knowledge, coupled with the skills of a professional SEO company, assist in creating a successful SEO campaign.

Search Engine Optimization and superior Search Engine Ranking, although great, are not always enough. You should implement a traditional marketing campaign to advertise and promote your Web site to your target market.

Deirdre Cavener, MCP is president and CEO of K.I.S.S. Marketing, Inc. and founder of www.PinellasLife.com. She has lived in the Tampa Bay area for 23 years. Deirdre is a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) in Analyzing Requirements and Defining Solutions Architecture and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of South Florida in 1996 with a degree in Management Information Systems from the College of Business.

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