SEO Specialist Blog

In the last post we talked about the difference between a marketing plan that is meant to garner attention and a comprehensive marketing plan that is meant to reach a targeted audience. There is a difference between the two and web sites have come to understand the resolute importance of them crafting targeted messages and taking carefully choreographed steps rather than just casting a wide marketing net and hoping something comes of it.

Search engine optimization is a web site’s most valuable tool in achieving online success; not just because it helps a site increase web site traffic, but because it helps them attract the traffic that will really matter in the long run.

Think of it this way; homeowners that are looking to sell their property typically work with real estate agents who, generally speaking, will plan at least one open house during the sale process. The desire is, of course, to simply open the home so that those who are interested can get a peek without having to commit the time and energy to a private showing. Most real estate agents – although they will plan and host an open house as a matter of course – tend not to like the process and most do not find that it is very successful. Why? Because more often than not, an open house attracts people who are browsing - just looking around to see what’s what – instead of hard core interested buyers who may be attracted to the property on its own merit.

Simply launching a site without good search engine optimization behind it is tantamount to hosting a never-ending open house. You are inviting anyone and everyone to come on in and take a peek rather than opening the door for those are truly interested and are in the market for what you have to offer.

A search engine optimization firm will work with a web site to infuse specific content into the site that will not only set about garnering the attention of the search engines and effectively raising the site’s search engine rankings, but will draw the attention of targeted web site traffic resulting in long term branding for the web site and a strong customer base.

Marketing means different things to different people and companies; those that set out to market their products and services have different goals to reach and, therefore, different avenues through which to attain their goals. And what works for one company in one industry may not necessarily work for the next.

What are ultimately the most successful companies have figured out that good marketing – no matter what the medium you use – is not about just capturing someone’s attention (although a buzz is never a bad thing), it’s about capturing the right people’s attention because ultimately you have something that they specifically want. This is targeted marketing and it is what separates a great campaign that is nonetheless a shot in the dark in reaching its intended audience from a truly comprehensive marketing plan that encompasses very linear steps.

Web sites are in the unique position of having access to an audience that is millions strong on a daily basis – some estimates showing in upward of forty-million people on any given day. But this certainly does not mean that all of these people will have an interest in or need for what you have to offer; and just simply being online does not guarantee that anyone will be able to find your site.

In terms of developing that comprehensive marketing plan that is so essential for traditional businesses, web sites have come to understand the importance of search engine optimization as it relates to reaching not just an audience but a targeted audience – the very people that can have a direct impact on the livelihood of the site going forward. More in the next post…

In the last post we talked about the necessity of businesses of all kinds – including web sites – to strip down to the fundamentals when they find that their business has hit a plateau and that they are no longer thriving as they perhaps could be with a little bit of attention. We are so apt to throw bells and whistles at a business – dazzling customers with brilliant marketing plans – when the core of the business may be broken. What good is offering a discount when the product we are offering is subpar? What good is giving people incentives to visit when our customer service is not effective?

In this same line of thinking….what good is it to put a web site out there that simply cannot be found? Web site owners spend the time and the money on the core of their structure and still completely forget to build the DOOR. How will customers enter your site and find your products and services – no matter how great – if they can’t find you?

Search engine optimization, therefore, is among the core elements that must be addressed for any newly launching site. Save yourself the time and the money of having to strip down to basics and do it again by doing it right the first time. Do not believe that initial wave of web site traffic and interest; do not mistake it for long term success. With a proper search engine optimization professional by your side, however, you can launch your site with the knowledge that every nail has been hammered, every screw as been tightened, the inside is decorated to perfection, and you have opened the door and laid out the red carpet for visitors.

We’ve all heard the expression ‘getting back to the basics;’ referring to the ability to strip away the unnecessary or the “extras” and concentrate on the fundamentals – that which may represent the core of our success or failure. This is often common practice in the business community and companies explore the many options they have available in taking control of their ability to grow their business through the growth of their customer base and their ability to provide excellent service and outstanding products at great prices. When something doesn’t work – and continues not to work – as much as they try to fix it, it may be time to strip it all down to the bare bones and start from scratch; to get back to basics in terms of building a business that is built for success from the ground up.

Web sites are especially representative of this manner of growing a business. Oftentimes web site owners – armed with what is unmistakably a great idea and some sort of a handle on how to design and launch a great site – will see great results in the beginning including an influx of web site traffic and some solid buzz about the company that feels as though it will last forever. But in the scheme of things that’s all it is – buzz that comes and then is gone just as quickly. What a web site is then left with – after all the initial visitors have gone home – is its fundamentals; the core on which the site was built and the offerings they can provide their customers. And very often a search engine optimization plan that was addressed but never orchestrated the right way.

In the next post, more on stripping down to basics of good SEO.

The Internet has penetrated nearly every aspect of our lives. As such, countless businesses have web sites promoting their goods and services in addition to their actual building locations. Some are even based solely online. The Internet opens the door to a more global economy for even small businesses. Attracting potential customers to the web site is the trick to creating a successful company. Utilizing search engine optimization is a very powerful and effective tool to make this happen.

Search engine optimization drives more web traffic to a web site by adding meaningful content on a frequent and regular basis. This includes short articles about relevant topics, adding news reports about the company, and so forth. This requires a time commitment from a business that may or may not have the time and the knowledge of the sophisticated processes that drive a web site higher on the search results pages of various Internet search engines. Leaving this to the professionals can enable businesses to reap grand rewards.

Search engine optimization companies consult with client web site businesses to gather a depth of information about the business. This allows them to produce numerous important documents that are added to the web site. These search engine optimization companies use their specialized knowledge and professional staff to create high quality content that is added several times each week to the web site to drive their company towards the front pages of many search engines, thereby facilitating more targeted web site traffic to their web site. With more web traffic comes more exposure and more revenues, which is the desired end result for all parties.

Every business with an Internet web site knows the key to increased revenues from online customers is driven by increased web site traffic. Directing more visitors to a web site creates the opportunity for more sales. There are several means to driving more web site traffic that are available for exploration. Increased web traffic can be accomplished through a variety of means that range in price and effectiveness.

Purchasing advertising and marketing spots highlighting the web site can certainly increase web traffic. These advertisements can be based in radio, print, billboard, or online. Pay per click advertisements are a popular way to allow potential customers the ability to easily link to the web site without paying a blanket fee for the advertisement. Rather, businesses only pay for how many people actually click to access their web site. However, the concern associated with these spots is the expense and lack of attracting specifically targeted web site traffic.

A less costly means to achieving a greater volume of more targeted web site traffic is through search engine optimization. Businesses realize increased web site traffic when individuals searching the Internet specifically for content related to the business find them. By frequently creating meaningful online content to add to a web site, the business’s web site link will naturally move higher on the search engine results pages. By maintaining this commitment to consistently updating the web site, businesses will physically watch their link rise on various search engines while simultaneously watching their web traffic increase, and subsequently their revenues increase.

The key element to the growth of any Internet based business is increasing targeted web site traffic. Simply increasing web site traffic in general can lead to more visitors that happen across a web site while looking for something completely different. Attracting individuals searching for the particular content on a web site is what truly leads to effectively marketing and increasing revenues.

There are many ways to increase web traffic to a particular web site. Some of these means prove more effective than others. Simply spreading the word about a web site through marketing and advertising may potentially drive more clicks out of curiosity, but these “curiosity clickers” do not always result in more sales. Driving specific targeted web site traffic provides a much greater ratio of clicks to revenue.

Search engine optimization is an extremely effective means to increasing targeted web site traffic. This process drives a web site towards the very top of the search engine results where most browsers begin clicking in their search for particular products or information. This is done through the process of adding quality content frequently to the web site. Over a relatively short period of time, these web sites bounce to the first page of search results based upon the match of the phrase entered to the search bar.

Increased web traffic certainly provides the potential for businesses to increase their revenues as a result of more potential customers entering the virtual doors. However, increasing the targeted web site traffic is instrumental in ensuring growth.

It has been said that nothing in this world is free. However, driving increased web traffic can certainly be close to free. Through search engine optimization (SEO), free web traffic can become a reality to the web sites using this process.

Web traffic is what drives the success of every web site on the Internet. Increasing web traffic for free is most definitely a worthwhile proposition to any web site owner. A web site can realize free web traffic by increasing its rank in the search engine results. It is proven that individuals searching the web for specific content will most frequently click web sites on the first pages of the results. The web sites on the first page of any search result are therefore poised to grasp the free web traffic available from the Internet search engines.

Utilizing the skills of SEO services enables web sites to earn the higher ranking that moves them towards that coveted first page of the results page. This is typically accomplished by frequently adding content to the web site which is directly related to the common search phrases used for their specialty. Utilizing skilled SEO services can help web businesses achieve dramatic increases in revenues exponential to the investment made to increase their standing on search engines. The free web traffic derived from Internet searches stands to add significant revenues to optimized web sites.

In the last post we talked about the upcoming holidays followed by the beginning of the New Year; something that businesses take very seriously in terms of setting forth their fiscal plans. As we discussed, part of this planning includes the accommodation for marketing objectives. After all, without marketing plans, a company has nothing put in place to reach their target audience and grow their business.

Web sites are not immune from this planning and, in fact, are just as responsible for putting marketing plans in place if they are to continue to be successful in the online marketplace. Some of the marketing plans that web sites may consider this coming New Year may include:

* Working with a SEO specialist in creating search engine optimization goals. The crux of the online business is making sure that all of the great stuff that has been put in place is worth the effort. Because if no one is finding the site then they are not able to enjoy – and utilize – those great things that have been put in place. While a traditional business may put an ad in a community newspaper, a web site must appeal to their community through search engine optimization. These efforts are meant to garner more targeted web site traffic, increase the influx of visitors to the site, and grow the business.

* An increase in advertising. The opportunities for advertising online are seemingly endless. Now may be the time to explore all the options available in terms of pricing and make a decision.

* Double PR efforts through social and business networking, as well as the dissemination of press releases. Getting the word out about a web site – through a multitude of avenues – can only stand to improve its exposure and increase web site traffic.

The holidays are fast approaching, and, of course, right behind them the end of the year. This is typically the season when so many of us begin to look to the New Year ahead in terms of setting our goals and making our plans both personal and business-oriented. Those personal plans – those New Year’s resolutions – tend to go right out the window within a matter of weeks. That diet plan or that workout regime sure looked good after indulging in all of those holiday treats but now, with the full brunt of the winter upon us we are less motivated to comply with even our own directives.

For businesses, it’s not that easy to get out of the goals that have been set forth for the year ahead. In fact, this type of planning is absolutely essential for companies if they want to make progress in growing their business and staying within their budgetary guidelines. Of course, part of planning for the year – for any business – includes a comprehensive marketing plan that will look to expand upon the ways in which a business reaches their target audience but do so in a way that is within their budget. Marketing is crucial for businesses and it must be addressed in all plans for the year ahead. And for web sites this is equally necessary.

Web sites market their business differently – through a combination of search engine optimization and online advertising – and to meet a different goal than the traditional business; to increase web site traffic and grow the business through online patronage. But this doesn’t make the marketing plans of a web site any less important – as we’ll discuss in the next post.