SEO Specialist Blog

We are looking down the barrel of the holiday season; the time of the year in which retailers and businesses of all kinds – restaurants, hotels, photo development labs, and the like – look to maximize their visibility and increase their business. For web sites that make their money through commerce, the holidays represent an opportunity as well; and the way that increased business is related online is through increased web site traffic.

In order to make the best use of these upcoming weeks, web sites that want to reach targeted web site traffic and increase their business may consider working with an SEO specialist to best market their site. A search engine optimization specialist will work with a web site to make sure that all the critical elements are in place to maximize the site’s visibility with the online search engines. Keyword infused content, inbound linking, video blogging, and other marketing elements can work wonders in elevating a site on the search engine rankings and getting them the targeted web site traffic they need to make this upcoming holiday season a success.

It’s not too late to make sure that everything is in place to not only sustain but increase web site traffic this holiday season. After all, you can have the greatest site in the world – with the products that consumers are looking for as gifts for their family and friends – but unless a web site is marketed appropriately so that it can be found by the appropriate consumers, then the beauty, functionality, and extensive product line will undoubtedly fall short.

Nothing worth having comes easily. We’ve all more than likely heard this expression; reminding us that all the hard work is worth it in the end. It should also be a reminder – on a different level – that those things that come too easily may not be what they seem. Consider Laura, who had a very particular idea of what running a web site would be; something that ultimately had nothing whatsoever to do with reality. Granted, she had a great idea for a product – geared towards children; her target audience the mothers of the world that were looking for high quality, educational products that could be found from the comfort of their home – but Laura was very naïve with regard to how the process would ultimately play out.

She thought that having a great product was enough. And, like many web site owners, she thought that by simply putting her product out there – against the backdrop of a fantastic looking web site that the product would sell itself. Ultimately she missed a whole big piece of the puzzle.

Initially Laura saw pretty steady web traffic which she could attribute to the pre-launch marketing that she did by emailing moms’ groups and the word of mouth she generated on her own. She also attributed it to the fact that her site looked great – and it did! – and the product was superior – which it was. But after about the first month she noticed that not only was she unable to increase web site traffic, but the traffic that she had been seeing had declined sharply. Being proactive, Laura called in the troops immediately; in this case a search engine optimization firm which, through her subsequent research, she determined would help her fill in the gaping hole of her marketing plan. More in the next post…

We are a society at large – and a business community as a result – that is very accustomed to wearing many hats. This is most especially true right now as we all have to pitch in significantly in order to make ends meet in this trying economy. But there are some things for which businesses will always turn to the professionals. Marketing, for instance, is something that must be continued regardless of what is happening on a fiscal level; as it is important for continuing to keep the name of the company in question on the lips of potential customers.

For web sites, this process translates into web site traffic. The point of marketing a web site is to steadily increase web site traffic, maintain an even flow of potential customers, and grow the business. The need for this marketing does not change because the economy slows; it is still incumbent upon a web site owner to market their business just as traditional companies market theirs.

The way that web sites have been marketing their business from the beginning is through proper search engine optimization; which essentially means that all has been set up in order to attract the attention of the search engines which will ultimately funnel visitors and potential customers the way of the web sites. By keeping search engine optimization efforts strong, web sites can rest assured that they are doing all they can to stimulate their business and increase web site traffic.

But this is not a road that is best traveled alone. It has been shown time and time again, that web sites receive the most traction in their SEO efforts when they have experts on their side; something we’ll discuss in the next post.

What is the difference between a mediocre advertisement and a great advertisement? There are many factors that identify a great ad but the foundation of all of it is the knowledge of who you are ultimately addressing. Knowing your audience – what they respond to, what their purchasing trends are, what they will go out of their way to find – all help those in the advertising business in crafting an ad that will not just simply hang in the wind but will have impact in addressing a particular demographic.

The very same method can work for web sites that want to increase web site traffic. Sure, you can put in place all the search engine optimization methods that have been recommended – working to include such things as content that includes specially chosen keywords, including links to other highly ranked web sites – but if you are not speaking to your audience in all that you do, your advertising – in this case, your search engine optimization efforts – fall on deaf ears.

SEO should address a multitude of issues. Sure, it should ensure that prospective visitors are able to find your site and do so because your web site is in the top tier of the search engine results. But anything that you do toward SEO should also ensure that those who find your site are interested in what you have to offer. Good search engine optimization, in other words, should ultimately bring you customers – not just visitors.

In the next post, we’ll explore some of the ways in which good search engine optimization can bring you targeted web site traffic.

In the last post we talked about the effort that web sites put in to their search engine optimization programs; which are, of course, dedicated to moving them up the ranks of the search engine’s search results. There is no way to adequately impress upon web site owners the importance of comprehensive SEO. A web site is the online marketing vehicle for a company and its power is profound. Ignore the marketing of this site and you are missing the opportunity to grow your business, plain and simple.

Realizing that the search engines are the key to increase web site traffic, web site owners may be led to believe that somehow tricking the search engines will bring them the results they desire. Spamming, shadow domains, and the like are always ways that web sites try to fool the search engines in an effort to increase their page rankings.

But ultimately such tricks do not work for the long term. In fact, the search engines are much smarter than they are often given credit for; they can easily identify those web sites that are trying to beat the system. So while such methods may, for a very short time, allow a site a higher search engine ranking, they will just as soon be weeded out. And if they are, the company in question will be completely dropped from the search engines; a high price to pay to increase web traffic in the short term without any real long term success.

In the last post we began to talk about how consistent search engine optimization is crucial to propelling a site to the top of the search engines’ ranking results. And how – as a part of this search engine optimization – web sites will (rightly) work with professionals SEO services in order to properly optimize their site; something that a startlingly low percentage of web sites can currently claim.

As a part of their search engine optimization efforts, web sites – with the assistance of their professional SEO specialist – will utilize keyword rich content in order to engage the interest of the search engines, raise their page rankings, and increase web site traffic. Such content – in order to be effective – should be relevant to the site itself and include keywords that have been specially chosen for this particular web site.

This is a critical step and something that far too few professional SEO services will give the attention that it deserves. Keywords should be chosen with great care and after detailed analysis. Only then can particular keywords and keyword phrases be chosen that will yield equally specific results. Effective keywords are those words and phrases that are targeted, will inspire consistent, quality web site traffic, and will not only bring in traffic but will create an environment for sales and subsequent growth of the business.

Those professional SEO services with which a web site works should demonstrate a proven commitment to performing detailed analysis of potential keywords and of working hand in hand with clients in order to choose those keywords that will ultimately be most effective.

In the last post we talked about how some companies feel the need to go it alone when it comes to different specialties of business. There are some companies that may think that they can they can run their business and do their own advertising, marketing, public relations, and all the other things that go into making a business successful.

With web sites this is parallel to a web site owner tackling search engine optimization without professional guidance. There is a misconception that SEO is something that is a one and done kind of thing; you make your site search engine friendly and then you go on your merry way forever in a good position to increase web site traffic.

But the truth is something very different and much more time consuming than its given credit for; SEO efforts are a day to day thing –a web site must be constantly worked to stay engaged in SEO.

In order to give it the time that it is due, a SEO specialist can help a web site lay the groundwork for success by implementing the necessary elements for good SEO including:

* Good content that is also infused with carefully selected keywords. A SEO specialist will help a web site choose the keywords that are most likely to be used in a search for their particular products, services, and information. And they will help craft content that includes these keywords and continually update that content to renew interest.

* Good linking strategy. It’s important to have inbound and outbound links with highly ranked sites. These links count as “votes” for your site with the search engines. A SEO specialist can help cull these links.

It’s amazing in this day and age how many people think that no matter what the task on hand, they can handle it themselves. Especially now, as so many businesses are trying to save as much money as possible, they are tackling tasks and projects that are really above and beyond their particular set of skills; and in the end, this often only serves to make things worse.

Consider web sites – our modern day business. Web sites count on the traffic they receive to grow their business and so they work steadily (if they are smart) to increase web site traffic – knowing that the more visitors they draw, the higher their percentage of conversion into customers.

There are many, many web site owners, however, that have taken on search engine optimization in addition to the many other things for which they are responsible on a daily basis. Many web site owners believe that SEO is something they can do once and be done with; but the truth is that effective search engine optimization is an ongoing process.

Because search engine optimization must be attended to on a weekly basis, many web site owners very quickly find themselves overwhelmed by all that they have on their plate. In this scenario it becomes very clear what a SEO specialist can bring to the table.

A SEO specialist works a site’s search engine optimization each and every day – making sure it that it is as search engine friendly as possible and that all elements are put into place to help it raise its page rankings on the engines.

We’ll outline these elements in the next post.

Small companies often fear that they cannot compete with their larger counterparts – and with good reason; after all, larger corporations can outspend small competitors and therefore can be much more aggressive in their marketing. Really, in the world of everyday, traditional business, this is like comparing apples and oranges. Businesses – large and small – have something to bring to the table and in all likelihood they are going after a different target audience. Smaller companies need really only be concerned with their competition with companies of similar size and scope.

But the world of online business has really changed everything in that it has leveled the playing field in a lot of respects. Smaller companies are able to present a much larger image online and because there is no physical space per se they are able to offer much of the same bells and whistles as the bigger guys.

You would think the complex of the smaller company would be vastly improved. But it’s not. Insecurity still reigns supreme.

This is because many smaller businesses still that think that they are getting beat out by bigger companies in terms of their ability to increase web site traffic and gain a foothold on the search engines through search engine optimization.

But here’s the truth: small or large, companies are equally able to increase web site traffic through comprehensive search engine optimization efforts. There is no measure of a company (aka web site’s) size through the search engines; the search engines only care that the right elements are in place.

In the next post, we’ll continue to talk about how web sites large and small can get big results in SEO.

Businesses in any category, of any size, and at different ranges of profitability will all surely attest to the fact that nothing can be accomplished in any industry without a fair amount of planning. In order for a business to be its most productive it must set out specific objectives and the methods by which they will go about achieving those objectives. When shared with the company staff as a whole, the business is then united as a team in the pursuit of this goal. Parts of the team having a piece of the objective will ultimately lead to a fracture in efforts and less chance of success. In order to be most effective, savvy business owners know that they must lay out a plan and make the entire staff accountable for achieving it.

This has always been a way of achieving success for traditional businesses and it continues to be the way that online businesses are finding success. A web site, while a different type of business is still a business and the rules still apply. Those who are engaged in helping a web site achieve success must be a part of the goal setting and striving to reach those goals. Without the entire team involved – just like in traditional businesses – the chances of success are reduced.

To start, let’s look at some of the goals that web sites traditional set for themselves:

• Increase web site traffic. This is certainly a big one for any web site that wants to enjoy long term validity. In order to have customers you must first have visitors. Working to increase web site traffic is a great goal that can be achieved through teamwork. Perhaps a search engine optimization firm can be brought in to help create a SEO plan and team members on staff can work alongside them in crafting content that is relevant to the site and also includes keywords that work towards elevating the site’s page rankings with the search engines.

In the next post, we’ll continue to list some of the goals set by web site and how a company as a whole can work together to achieve them.