SEO Specialist Blog

In the last post we talked about the upcoming holiday season and how for most businesses – those especially that offer products for sale – this is the time of the year when their marketing efforts really get into full swing. After all, businesses must do what they can to distinguish themselves from the competition and inspire people to do business with them.

Web sites face a unique challenge when it comes to marketing in that they must first essentially appeal to the search engines in order to procure the business they need. That’s why it’s about more than marketing for the holidays, it’s about setting up the web site so that it is ideally optimized and will gain traction on the search engines. The more “noticed” by the search engines a web site is, the more visitors will be funneled its way.

A search engine optimization firm is one of the best methods for marketing a web site during the holidays and beyond. Such a firm will act as a guide through the process of search engine optimization – making sure that the site utilizes specially chosen keywords that will get them noticed on the search engines, that they are enjoying links from other highly ranked sites, and that the functionality of the site is not working against their SEO efforts.

By working hand in hand with a search engine optimization firm, a web site can find great success this holiday season but even better – they can begin to build their customer base for the upcoming year and beyond.

The actual start of the holiday season is almost always reflected by the start of holiday marketing. For traditional businesses, this pre-holiday marketing is about getting into the minds and hearts of soon-to-be holiday shoppers so that they are on the list of places to visit. Depending on the budget at hand, marketing for some companies may encompass television and radio spots; for others, print ads and coupon deals. But no matter what a company has to do to inspire a customer base during the holiday season they will most assuredly do just that.

Web sites that offer products that people may shop for during the holiday seasons are called upon to complete their own brand of marketing. After all, they are responsible for inspiring potential customers to visit their site so that they can ultimately find the products they seek, and ideally come back for more throughout the year.

This is why now – before the start of the holiday season – may be a great time for web sites to really get moving on their search engine optimization efforts. They may put off working with a search engine optimization specialist in the past, but the truth is that this kind of professional and expert guidance can translate to real traction for a web site during the holiday season – and beyond.

Starting now to find a search engine optimization firm that has achieved success – and a stellar reputation in the marketplace – can pay off dividends throughout the year. Look for those companies that have achieved solid results for their other clients and you will know that you have found a match. More on what a search engine optimization firm can offer in preparation for the holidays in the next post.

As we discussed in the last post, the launch of Laura’s web site was initially met with consistent web traffic that she seemed to be able to generate solely through her own minimal efforts. In presenting her superior children’s product to the marketplace – through this beautiful and user-friendly site that she had created – Laura assumed that the site would be visited frequently and at least a good portion of those visitors would become customers.

But after no more than a month, with web site traffic declining steadily, Laura knew that there was something else at work; something that she was missing. There was not an incredible amount of research needed on her part to determine that what she was missing was any kind of comprehensive plan for search engine optimization; it was simply not something that she had considered and this oversight was evident in her declining web site traffic.

She immediately got in touch with a search engine optimization firm that would help her redefine her goals as far as garnering targeted web site traffic. Immediately, very particular elements were put in place including the identification of keywords that were relevant to her business and a plan for infusing those keywords into content that would be generated for on and off the site. Additionally, a search engine optimization firm brought to the table a plan for strategic linking so that her site would be aligned with those sites that had already achieved a particular level a high ranking on the search engines.

Working with a web site optimization firm made a big difference as Laura’s site now reaches its intended targeted web site traffic and has climbed the rankings of the online search engines.

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…

In the last post we talked about the difference between great advertising and advertising that does what it needs to do – technically speaking – but falls flat because of the inability of those producing such ads to identify their audience beforehand. It’s like creating an ad in French when your audience speaks Spanish; it may look pretty but it’s not really speaking to them.

With web sites, owners have been so caught up in going after comprehensive search engine optimization that they go through the motions without first identifying their audience. This means that a web site working with SEO services may choose keywords that may plug into their content in an effort to raise their page rankings on the search engines without identifying if these keywords speak to those who they would want to be their customers or clients.

As discussed, good search engine optimization is about putting methods into place that simultaneously raise a site’s page rankings and speak to those who could possibly seek out the products or services offered through the site. This comes down to choosing more specific keywords and keyword phrases; those that are targeted to a specific audience and not just general visitors.

Those web sites that are able to walk the line between good SEO and good marketing will find that they not only increase their page rankings but find new business to boot – new customers and clients culled from the site’s ability to market itself so comprehensively online, perhaps with the assistance of a search engine optimization firm.

In terms of SEO, there are a whole cast of characters out there that are less than auspicious; downright shady companies that will promise their potential clients the world in terms of SEO goals and charge them an arm and a leg for the privilege. The fact of the matter is that every business has its less than desirable components. Buyer must always beware which in this case means it is incumbent upon the consumer to explore the reputation and track record of the vendor in question.

SEO services is not an exact science. The search engine optimization firm that is in the best position to help a web site achieve ongoing success is one that offers the following:

* Flexibility. No single component is more essential in search engine optimization than flexibility. No one way of achieving SEO is going to work for each and every company; and no way of achieving SEO is going to work continuously for long periods of time. Evolution is the name of the game when it comes to successful SEO; this may mean changing up content or redefining a keyword universe. A solid SEO company understands this is in no way a cookie cutter business; tailoring practices to fit each company and adjusting these practices as they go along to best optimize the chances for success is one of the hallmarks of reputable SEO services.

* Quality. Quantity and quality is not the same thing. Many web site owners think that by inundating their site with keywords they are going to climb quickly to the top of the search engine rankings. Further, they think that the more links that they have the better off they are in their search engine optimization efforts. The truth, however, is that quality always wins out with the search engines; this means informative content that includes the keywords, not poorly written content that is only a vehicle for keywords. And this means quality links – shown to be far more effective with the search engines than a multitude of useless links.

* Reputation. The Internet may open up a large world but it is a small community at heart. If a search engine optimization firm provides great service and achieves success you are likely to be able to find evidence to that effect (not to mention the fact that reputable companies will easily be able to provide references – which you should always check!); conversely, if the company in question has a poor reputation you are likely to be able to find evidence of this online. Choose wisely!

In the last post we discussed the importance of a successful web site staying on the cutting edge of what is current online. By navigating the trends and adapting to what Internet users want, web sites are able to attract targeted web site traffic. Further, adaptation allows a web site to maintain consistent search engine optimization efforts so that they can enjoy high enough page rankings to increase web traffic.

To this end, savvy web sites look for a search engine optimization firm that is likeminded in their commitment to staying on the cutting edge. A high quality SEO specialist should have a business philosophy in which they stay current on trends in the industry and offer their knowledge to their clients in helping them meet their goals.

More than anything, a SEO specialist should know how best to navigate a client’s search engine optimization efforts in a way that is customized rather than cookie cutter. Each web site has its own strengths and weaknesses – as well as its own information that they wish to impart to visitors.

The role of the SEO specialist is to look at a web site for what it is – working closely with the client to create a specialized plan for search engine optimization, inclusive but not limited to high quality content that is relevant and meaningful to visitors as well as effective in SEO, linking strategies, and other marketing efforts that are tailored to the site’s specific needs.

With a cutting edge SEO specialist at the helm, a web site will have the tools and resources to stay viable in the online arena – no matter what the trend.

In the last post we discussed Susan’s fledgling web site on which she offered her handmade jewelry for sale and which Susan hoped would take off enough for her to quit her full time corporate job in which she was so unhappy. Upon the initial launch of the site web site, traffic was steady and Susan thought that her site design would continually increase web site traffic. But after a few weeks – with word of mouth and excitement about the site dying down – Susan saw a decline, rather than an elevation, in web site traffic. She was advised to consider search engine optimization efforts to help stimulate traffic and grow her customer base.

With the help of a search engine optimization specialist that she sought out, Susan was able to determine what elements she could infuse into her site that would work towards raising her search engine page rankings and growing her site through fee web traffic.

Susan, along with the SEO services she engaged, determined that the inclusion of keyword rich content on her site would help to increase web traffic, along with the inclusion of reciprocal links that would help to stimulate her customer base. Going forward, Susan worked with her search engine optimization specialist to create unique content on a week to week basis that helped to inform her customers about her products as well as including particular keywords that would help to elevate the site’s ranking on the search engines.

Susan learned what other new web site owners have learned; it is not enough to launch a great site. Without solid search engine optimization efforts behind it, a web site is at risk of losing ground.

For web sites a pinnacle of success is achieving the highest page rankings they can through the online search engines. This page ranking allows search engine users to find a web site as quickly as possible; and studies have shown that users rarely go beyond the first two pages of the search engine results that are delivered. The strategy, therefore, for successful sites is to ensure that they are within those first two pages of results and there are several methods they employ to make sure that this happens.

Of course the most notable and successful method is the use of keyword rich content on a site. The content should be reader driver and should appeal – at its core – to those who may logon to be informed, entertained, or both. But beyond that the content should include specific keywords chosen for the likelihood that search engine users will use those keywords in a search for something the site in question offers. To balance these needs, many sites turn to a search engine optimization firm to help.

A SEO specialist through a search engine optimization firm will help a web site first and foremost determine which keywords are most appropriate. Beyond that they will help develop content and post that content on the site in a continual effort towards increasing web traffic.

Aside from helping with content, a search engine optimization firm will also help find reciprocal links for those web sites that need to raise their page rankings. Reciprocal links with other reputable and relevant sites will count as a “vote” for the site and will help raise their page rankings accordingly.