You've probably heard people talking about Search Engine
Optimization, or SEO, and wondered if it would help your
business. The answer, in short, is absolutely!
Search Engine Optimization is the process of fine-tuning
your website code and content to rank well in search
engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN.
The basics of the SEO
process are to:
Choose keywords and keyword phrases that describe what
you do and that your target market will use to search for
your services.
Use those keywords throughout the code and text for your
website.
Place links back to your site, containing those keyword
phrases, on other websites. The search engines look at
incoming links from other sites-not at outgoing links from
your site-to improve your rankings
There's a whole field of consulting built up around Search
Engine Optimization, mainly because the search engines are
constantly changing how they work, to discourage unethical
or unfair Search Engine Optimization processes, such as
loading a page with invisible keywords or using code in the
page that specifies words that have nothing to do with your
business.
Given the rate of search engine changes, you might wonder
if SEO is cost-effective for your small business, or if
your limited marketing budget would be better spent
elsewhere.
The benefits of SEO are:
You'll get more visitors to your website: It naturally
follows that if more people visit your site and learn about
your fabulous products and services, then more people will
buy from you.
You'll get more inquiries: You get the thrill of getting
calls and emails from clients you otherwise might never
have met. Imagine, the phone rings, and it's a new
potential client on the other end! You ask them how they
found out about your services, and they say "Oh, I found
you on Google." High search engine rankings will make
finding new prospects easier.
Your leads will pre-qualify themselves: Before the phone
call or email even comes through to you, it's likely that
the new prospect will read through your site and determine
whether your services or products are a good match for
their needs. This saves you time and effort in the sales
cycle.
SEO opens the doors to doing business internationally:
There is no "Global Edition" of the Yellow Pages, but the
Internet makes your business information available to
everyone around the world... if they can find you. Being
ranked well in your business category in the search engines
is the first step towards a building a global business.
Higher rankings give you more credibility: Google is a
particularly respected search engine. Many buyers have
consumer confidence in the companies that Google returns at
the top of its results.
Ranking well increases your visibility: Coming up in the
search engine rankings is one more way to get noticed by
your target market.
A caution on getting your site optimized for the Search
Engines
Beware of SEO companies that offer optimization that sounds
too good to be true-it probably is. If they offer to get
you top-ranked search engine positioning in a short amount
of time or for a small sum of money, then they are probably
not going to use effective or ethical methods, and you
won't get the positioning you want. Some of these companies
even use methods that will result in your site being banner
from Google, which will take you out of its index entirely,
and it's very difficult to be allowed back in.
But don't let this scare you; using a little discretion,
you will be able to find the perfect SEO company for your
small business. And with its help-increasing your website's
traffic and credibility-you just might take your small
business to the level of big business!
Erin Ferree: Is a brand identity designer who creates big
visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf
design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand
out in front of their competition and attract more clients.
One of the best ways to do that is with Search Engine
Optimization, which you can learn about in her eLearning
product, Raise Your Ranking, which is available at http://www.howtoraiseyourranking.com
