Search Engine Optimization
Having a website is the bare necessity in the new market. But can it be found? Or is it like an island in a sea of other websites, with no lines of communication? This is where search engines come in. Search engines are massive filters that distill sites down based on the keywords chosen by the browser. Search Engine Optimization (SEO), therefore, is how to optimize your site so that it appears near the top of the list on Google, Yahoo!, MSN, or some such other search engine; and it appears so for all of the different keywords that people might search for that relates to your business. Appearing number one when you enter the name of your business is not enough – you need to be there when the potential client searches for any aspect of your field.Many internet companies, from hosting services to design firms, try to sell “get-SEO-quick” packages, promising that you’ll be at the top of the page. This is largely nonsense, due to just how Google and other search engines work. There is no quick fix in SEO – it depends on two main factors: content and links.
Content
Your website is only as good as the message it conveys, and that message should be conveyed in plain, easy-to-understand English. This is not the Yellow Pages – browsers don’t have to conform to the maddening phraseology concocted by the phone company, like ‘Physicians’ when they want a doctor. Does your content resonate with what your customers are looking for? Can Google index it? Is your site designed to accentuate your content, or hide it from the search engines?
A closely related subject is that of keywords – those words and phrases which best describe your products, services, location, and any other pertinent information. Keywords are the building blocks on which search engines are built. You should identify the main keywords for both your business, and the keywords which your competitors use to varying degrees of online success. There are many ways of tracking both, and such practice is essential in crafting successful content.
Links
The way Google determines which site is first depends largely on a site’s Page Rank. Page Rank in turn is determined by links – that is, how many other websites have links that point to your site. This is why promises of high search engine rankings are usually bogus – only a good number of backlinks from other sites to yours is going to improve your website’s status.
Some of the best ways to establish links are to create bonds with local businesses with which you are friendly – people you work with, long-time friends, or the boutique across the street. Everyone who has a website is a potential reciprocal link – you link to them, they link to you, and everyone benefits. Creating links not only strengthens your online presence, it strengthens community.