"It's odd how people waiting for you stand out far less clearly than people you are waiting for."
French Novelist - Jean Giraudoux
Search Engine Optimization ... Beyond the Buzzword.
Let's first consider a few facts*.
- Search engines are used hundreds of millions of times per day. The top 4 search engines account for 95% of all internet traffic. That's a big watering hole!
- Much of those searches are done in evaluating purchase decisions.
- Not many of those purchasing decisions are driven by the 2,567th listing on page 256. Actually, not many people look past page 2.
Location, location, location!
What bigger key to successful marketing is there than putting your business where people can find you? The answer is putting your business where people, who are looking for you, can find you. That is the essence of inbound marketing. No longer are you bound to the traditional "dartboard" or "needle in the haystack" approach to getting sales leads.
Search engine optiminzations or "SEO" is part science, part art form and a good deal of insght and experience.. To be effective, it is recommended you prioritize your efforts with a well rounded approach in the following areas:
- Sound planning and research. It starts with knowing where your unique strengths are, what your competition is doing online, examine what terms people would use to find you andidentifying those key words and phrases that strike the right balance withing those areas.
- Content is king. Search engines determine what keywords your website represents by examining well written content. Simply repeating terms won't fool them and can actually cause an opposite effect.
- Keep it fresh. Search engines crawling your site will ignore content that hardly changes and respond positively to new content that supports your existing framework of terms.
- Be ubiquitous. The more places your content is found and links back to your website domain, the better chance of search engines paying higher attention to you. Just make sure those other places are relevant and reputable sites. Use social media, and encourage sharing.
- Be persistent. Just as following sound marketing principals, good SEO strategy evolves with your business and never sleeps. Make it an important piece of your marketing strategy and great results will abound.
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