SEO Specialist Blog

Businesses understand that reputation is everything within an industry. Word of mouth counts for a significant portion of advertising; without good word of mouth a business is vulnerable to suffering a fate they may not deserve. But the point is, if a company has a good, consistent reputation, they are likely to be able to surf that wave into future success.

What can damage reputation? Well we know for sure that poor service and low quality products can damage reputation; as can an inability to offer competitive prices. In such instances a company may actually earn negative attention – as a business can easily become noted for gouging their customers on price and coming up short on delivering on service.

A web site, which is essentially a business of a different type, can suffer from reputation issues as well. It is just as important for a web site owner to consistently build a strong reputation in their industry, especially since customer reviews are so readily available online – a resource that many potential customers use when making a decision about companies with which to work.

Many web site owners that are looking to increase their search engine optimization efforts and increase web traffic do so in a way that could actually damage their reputation. While it may be tempting to simply pay for increased page rankings, this could serve to damage a web site’s reputation in the long run. Search engine users are typically more drawn to organic search results and so search engine efforts should be put forth to raise ranking naturally through the use of targeted linking and keyword rich content.

Don’t sacrifice your hard earned reputation with sloppy SEO efforts that chase web traffic.

Those things that are worth having are generally those things to which we need to make a commitment of time and resources. Operating a web site is not something that should be taken likely – especially if you are in the market to sell particular goods and services. In fact, aside from making a commitment to deliver high quality products and services to customers at an affordable price, business owners need to make a commitment to their web site; that they will do what needs to be done in order to continually increase web site traffic.

To increase web traffic, a web site requires a commitment from its owner to comprehensive search engine optimization efforts and continually “working” the site to ensure it delivers what visitors and potential customers want. To this end, many web site owners choose to work with a search engine optimization firm to stack the odds in their favor in terms of achieving success.

A web site optimization firm will work closely with a web site’s owner to make sure that several goals are being achieved:

* That the site itself is attractive, highly functional, easy for visitors to navigate and find what they want, and delivers in terms of product offerings. Also, it’s imperative that any payment processing be secure and easy to navigate for users.

* That the site is optimized to include those keywords or keyword phrases that have been identified as those that would maybe be used by potential customers in search of the site on the search engines. This content is paramount to a site’s success.

* That third party elements are being employed for optimization including linking with other sites, and the use of social networking sites and other methods of self-promotion.

The Internet has sometimes given us the false impression that we can logon at a moment’s notice and gain access to any and all information free of charge. And in many cases this is absolutely true. Of course, however, there are those sites that only offer information, products, and services for a charge – a fact that we may not be clear about until we are well into the process. And then there are those things that, in light of the universal offerings of the Internet, should in fact be free and web marketing is one of them.

Web sites owners have a right to market their web site – i.e. business – as they see fit and there are many methods available to them online. There are of course the pay-per-click advertisements that allow web sites to be listed in the higher page rankings of the search engines but there are a great many Internet users that are wary of these advertisements and prefer to find web sites through organic measures.

To this end, search engine optimization is the most effective way of generating free web traffic.

A SEO specialist can work with a web site to ensure that they are doing all that they can to increase their page rankings on the search engines – that it is coming in on the first, or at least the second, page of the search engine’s results in response to the search criteria entered by a search engine user.

The search engine optimization methods by which a web site will ultimately be successful is the inclusion of content containing the keywords that potential visitors may use on the search engines as well the inclusion of links to other relevant sites.

I started my own web site around this time last year as a way to make available some of the products that I had begun selling. With the Internet growing in popularity and becoming the most visited portal in the pursuit of goods and services it quickly became clear that any business owner that was interested in achieving success long term had to embrace the virtual component of their business. And so my site was launched.

I did it all the right way, hiring a web designer that would give me the attractive layout and functionality that I needed; by the time the site launched I was already receiving web traffic based upon the word of mouth I was receiving from friends and customers of my existing bricks and mortar business.

But after awhile, the web traffic that I had been experiencing began to decrease significantly and I was at a loss about what I could do to increase free web traffic. I had obviously heard the term search engine optimization before and knew that it required steady work to ensure that the site was legitimately found by the search engines and offered as an option for those that were seeking particular goods and services.

I had to be honest with myself; it was more than enough to run my business both traditional and virtual. I had enough on my plate to deal with without having to put search engine optimization methods into place and then consistently work these methods to maintain a steady flow of web site traffic.

In the next post I’ll explain the course of action I took when I realized that I needed help.

Word of mouth is a term that is used to describe a business building its reputation – and ultimately its ability to succeed and make money – on the positive recommendations of customers who introduce their family, friends, and acquaintances to the products and services with which they have been so pleased. Advertisers know that word of mouth is essentially the most positive marketing that a company can have; better than all print, television, and radio spots a company can afford. Ultimately nothing promotes a company better than the buzz that surrounds it and propels its forward towards success.

Web sites understand that their success is very much reliant upon word of mouth as well. Initially Internet users will generally find the web sites with the products and services that they need through the use of the search engines. Those sites that have engaged in comprehensive search engine optimization efforts will have high enough page rankings on the search engines to be found by prospective visitors. This is a site’s initial wave of free web traffic; found through the search engines.

What a web site clearly wants next is the first wave of visitors to bring other people along for the ride – spurred on by positive recommendations. At its core, the Internet was built on this; some of the most popular web sites were launched to popularity through their loyal following (just ask the bloggers that were once obscured in anonymity and now have millions of dollars worth of advertising on their site).

Web sites that are smart about the copy they put on their site can achieve their search engine optimization goals and still give their audience what they want in terms of interesting, informative, entertaining, and high quality content.

Those who write for SEO purposes understand the many different goals that the writing must meet. Not only must it accomplish its primary purpose – incorporating keywords into copy that are meant to trigger the search engines and send targeted web site traffic to the web site in question, but it must also do so in a way that will entertain and inform those who are reading it.

But let’s consider the audience for a moment. The fact of the matter is that we, as a society, are bombarded with so many messages on a daily basis that we can hardly decipher one from the next. Those that are marketing products and services must be able to deliver their message quickly – in an interesting enough way that they can capture the attention of an overwhelmed audience.

Those that write for search engine optimization must be able to wear the hats of copywriter and marketer; working to infuse keywords into interesting and relevant content and getting the message across in as concise a way as possible.

Making this balancing act work as well as possible, SEO writers need to take their client’s goals into consideration as far as how they want to promote their own company in writing – as well as balancing the needs of the search engines that will ultimately send free web traffic the way of the web site if the writing is done correctly. Crucial to these goals: know your audience, know your company, and know how best to naturally infuse keywords or keyword phrases into your content.

The Internet has given us many, many gifts; in fact, without it most of us would not have the opportunity to earn a living. It would have been unimaginable even twenty years ago for most of us to believe that our livelihood would be attached to something we could not see or touch. But today, millions of people earn their living online where they have access to information from around the world and the opportunity to sell products and services to a global audience.

It has all happened so quickly that many of us are quite frankly shell shocked by all that we have access to; suddenly we are inundated with information and options and sometimes it can all be too much – especially for those that are trying to run a business online. These businesses – in the form of web sites – are really only as successful as the amount of web site traffic they are able to produce as well as how well they are able to increase web traffic. Even though we operate online on a daily basis most of us still have only a limited understanding of the resources available to us through the Internet.

To help us along, many web sites turn to a SEO specialist to help us navigate the complexities of doing business online. A search engine optimization specialist can walk web sites through the process of creating a highly functional and aesthetically pleasing site that will deliver the products, information, and services it has promised in a way that will continue to increase web traffic.

In the world of search engine optimization there are some black and white truths but just as many gray areas. It can be enormously difficult for many web sites to set a course for search engine optimization that will ultimately deliver them the results they desire. The reason for this is that most people do not fully understand how search engine optimization works and, worse yet they don’t fully recognize their target audience. In order to reach targeted web site traffic it is necessary for a web site owner to first understand who they are speaking to before they craft the message that they will deliver.

Just as with any business plan, search engine optimization must be put into place with a comprehensive plan – a method that site owners – and perhaps their search engine optimization specialist - will work through until they reach their goals.

1. Identify the target audience. This is advertising 101. You need to know your audience in order to craft an appropriate message. Targeted web site traffic is just the same as the audience we target in traditional advertising. We need to identify them before we can reach them.

2. Craft the message. In the case of increasing web site traffic the message is online content. This content is keyword rich – utilizing those keywords that will help to elevate the site’s page rankings with the search engines. Additionally, this content must serve to inform, entertain, and reach out the audience that is reading it. By understanding that content must serve several purposes, web site owners have a better chance for crafting an effective message.

3. Be consistent. Search engine optimization only works as long as a web site works it consistently. By continually updating the site with fresh content, search engine optimization goals can be met.

Search engine optimization is the new buzzword of the virtual world; a term that applies to a web site’s process of optimizing their site to be found by the search engines. As the search engines are the portal through which most Internet users travel it is important to “make nice” with them; the search engines are, after all, the bouncer at the Internet’s door and we need to make sure we have them at least somewhat in our back pocket in order to get the visitors we need and deserve.

Many site owners, in their search for increased web traffic, choose to pay for their search engine placement; this has become a popular search engine optimization method – a way for sites to guarantee that they are seen and that web site traffic comes their way. The problem, however, is that while it is true that web sites will be seen when search engine users enter particular keywords or keyword phrases during their search, these same users may not be so inclined to click on a link that they know to have paid for their position. In fact, there is a certain amount of distrust on the part of search engine users when they encounter such paid links.

Rather, web sites can just as easily achieve free web traffic by engaging in comprehensive search engine optimization efforts on their own or with the assistance of a search engine optimization specialist. In order to gain free web traffic, naturally increase their page rankings on the search engines, and reach their targeted web site traffic audience, web sites will often work with a SEO specialist to incorporate keywords into their online content; keywords that are likely to be used by those searching for the site’s particular goods and services. Additionally, a SEO specialist will also work with a site to build reciprocal links to increase their page rankings.

Website owners are engaged in what has to be one of the most delicate balancing acts in the virtual arena; the pursuit of engaging the search engines through comprehensive search engine optimization in a way that does not offend the ever-vigilant and always savvy Internet reader. The mission – should the website owner choose to accept it – is this: amuse, entertain, inform, and provide service to their visitors through artfully created, unyieldingly interesting content AND make such content equally delicious – and therefore desired – by the search engines. It is equal measure dance and tightrope act; and when it’s does correctly no one is the wiser; its success measured in increased web traffic.

SEO services offer this highly specialized brand of marketing to websites that are challenged by the requirement to keep on dancing. You can give the visitors to the site all the juicy morsels of content they want but if they can’t find you to begin with then what’s the point? You can craft staid and stunted keyword copy that may make the ears perk on the search engines and they may send a few visitors your way but what’s to capture their attention once they are there? It’s the classic love triangle between a website, their audience, and the search engine that is the gatekeeper to their ability to connect.

But by taking the time to determine the precious keywords that will engage targeted web site traffic, and create the copy that will interest targeted web site traffic enough to return, website owners will have found their sweet spot and success will be realized by increased web traffic.

If you find that you are unable to craft such content alone, then turn to the SEO services that are available to help websites determine their message and impart that message most appropriately – so that targeted web site traffic can be reached and their arrival to your website will leave them happy they made the trip.