Search Engine Optimization | SEO Overview

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Why do I need this?
The search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, and others are all competing for the same traffic. It is in their best interest to provide the best consistent results for search queries. More and more potential buyers are turning to the web to locate new sources for products and services.

Why is Google so important?
Google still accounts for the bulk of traffic. The Google rank determination algorithms are the most complex and respected in the industry. A site that performs well on the Google will also perform well on all other search engines.

Why does my site need to be on the first page?
Statistics show that the amount of traffic drops off very rapidly after even the first five results of a search. However, any rank on the first page is still quite good provided there is a decent amount of traffic. Fewer visitors go to the second page and some will refine their search before doing so.

What is a keyword phrase?
A keyword phrase is a combination of 2 or more words that are specified by the visitor when performing the search. Single word searches are also used, but unless the words very specific, the visitor typically ends up adding additional words to the search to get a better result.

How do the search engines view my web content?
The search engines first convert everything on a web page into text. You can view this converted text on Google by clicking on the word “Cached” that appears after a listing. Once on the cached page, click on “cached text” that appears in the header of the page. All images and hyperlinks are converted to text. The search engine stores all this information as sets of keyword phrases.

What are sponsored links?
Sponsored links appear at the top and on the left side of the Google results page and are frequently referred to as SEM or “pay-per-click”. These links are purchased based by the web site owners. Unfortunately, most visitors realize that these may not be the best results and simply ignore them. Visitors have learned that the organic (non-purchased) left side rankings are the most valuable. SEO specifically addresses a websites position within the organic rankings. However, in many cases a comprehensive internet marketing campaign will include both SEO and SEM (especially for phrases with strong competition).

How do the search engines determine the rank for a website?
The search engines use algorithms to determine the rank for a website for a specific keyword phrase. The actual algorithms are well guarded secrets and are changed often to keep unscrupulous web developers off-balance. However, good content and numerous high quality inbound partner links will consistently provide the best organic (left side) rankings. A professional rank monitoring tool can divulge many of the inner workings of the algorithms

Does website traffic affect rankings?
The amount of traffic a site receives has absolutely NO impact on rankings.

How do I select the right keyword phrases?
Web developers traditionally used a variety of methods to determine what keyword phrases were desirable. Most methods worked to some degree, but very few provided a comprehensive analysis. The best method is to obtain a detailed keyword analysis.

What is a keyword analysis?
A good SEO specialist has access to the databases that store all the search requests from visitors. The content of your site and competing sites are analyzed. The search data for the phrases found in these sites is retrieved and analyzed based on relevancy, traffic, and strength of competition. The SEO specialist uses a variety of tools, and along with your input, to determine a strategy for the website. A good keyword analysis is very technical and not at all subjective!

If I target specific keyword phrases, are those the only phrases my site will rank well for?
A website can have high rankings for many phrases that were not intentionally targeted. This is especially true when a site ranks well for a distinct phrase and visitors search using a different phrase with the same words. Any phrase found in the site can potentially be used as a search phrase to find the site. One of the most important tasks of the SEO specialist is to monitor the source of the traffic to the site to determine exactly what searches were used and then modify the SEO strategy accordingly.

How do I get on the first page for a specific keyword phrase?
There are three major elements that determine the rank of a website for a specific keyword phrase:

• Page content including the titles and descriptions used to display the listing on the search engine, visible page headings, body text, and page footers, and rollover text associated with hyperlinks and images.
• Website and page URLs preferably named using keyword phrases
• Inbound partner links preferably from high quality sites targeted similar keyword phrases.

All these elements are critical, but inbound partner links can have the most profound effect on rank.

Why are partner links so important?
Search engines treat every inbound partner link as a weighted vote for your website. The better the site ranks for a specific keyword phrase, the more weight is given to the vote. The SEO specialist relies on many sources for partner links including free directories and guides, relationships with other SEO specialists, and the sites currently being managed by the SEO specialist.

Why should I use partner linking software?
A good partner link management application allows external webmasters to request link exchanges and also allows you to send partner link invitations to other webmasters. Once a website has created even modest keyword phrase rank, other webmasters will want to exchange links. Each additional link strengthens the site. Good link management applications provide the website owner with email notifications when a link exchange is requested. Click here to learn about our Link Management tool

How long does it take?
A typical project lasts 12 months and needs a declining amount of effort through time. After three months, the SEO specialist can approximate the final rank for a specific keyword phrase. The next three months are needed to ensure that rankings are achieved, build a foundation to sustain the rank through time, and target additional keyword phrases. The final six months involves monitoring the rankings and the inbound partner links. Nearly all clients achieve their goals and most elect to maintain a higher level of expenditure to target additional keyword phrases. Some clients continue with the project using in-house resources and the monitoring tools provided by the SEO specialist.

How much will my traffic increase?
One of the keys to effective SEO is having a baseline traffic measurement. A site that currently has little or no traffic from the search engines will benefit most dramatically. The SEO specialist can typically provide a conservative estimate of traffic even before completing the keyword analysis. This is done by examining the traffic and current level of competition for a set of keyword phrases. When the right terms have been target, traffic increases proportionally to keyword rank.

How can I monitor my progress?
Every website owner must monitor the current rank for their critical keyword phrases. Even an established rank can be hurt be changes in the search engine algorithms, additional competitive forces, modifications to the website, and a variety of other factors. Rankmgr is the only professional SEO rank monitoring tool available to the general public at this time.  This tool displays current rank, 7 and 30 day change, detailed history, and graphs for the Google, MSN, and Yahoo search engines. It also allows for spreadsheet import/export and sends customized period reports.

Will this work for every website?
SEO is NOT for every website. Some websites have products and or services that are rarely searched for. Other websites have products or services whose traffic relies on keyword phrases that have strong competition. However, even in these cases a good SEO specialist can recommend alternative phrases that have significant traffic and weak competition. The specialists can also come up with alternative strategies including mini-sites, blogging, SEM, etc.

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