Search Engine Optimization, Keywords, Meta Tags & the quick fix.

Inevitably one of the first things that comes up in discussion when talking to a prospect regarding their website, their website traffic (or lack of) and search engine optimization is Meta Tags. Unfortunately, if that is all there was to this daunting task of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) then my guess is that they would not be talking to me.

With major search engines such as Google, their database basically houses every page on the Internet that they know about. Furthermore, considering the fact that every website owner has their own agenda the major search engines like Google can’t simply trust that the Meta Tags of any give site are a objective representation of the content of that site. In short search engines like Google are primarily interested in having pages that are most relevant to any given keyword show up in their search results regardless of who may own that site.

Secondly Search Engine Optimization is not something that ever stops – Never! That is correct if you expect that your site will dive any substantial amount of traffic on a continual basis, then the task of Search Engine Optimization will never cease.  While it is often approached as a quick fix you should approach your search engine optimization as a long-term investment for your site.

Here are some things to consider:

* Make sure your Title tags, Meta Tags, Link anchor text and Alt tags all match with the visible content of the page.

* Ensure that your site is overly graphics based, as graphics cannot be read by the search engines. A common mistake that I see is a website that has been created with graphics that are nothing more than a graphical representation of text.

*Pay close attention to the keyword density of your website and be certain that you use clearly understood language and phrases that will get your website ranked well with the search engines.

* Thoroughly researched keywords and keyword phrases are worth their weight in gold and the key to Search Engine Optimization.

*Monitor your Analytics on an ongoing basis to understand what is working, what’s not working, where your traffic is coming from, how they found your website, your bounce rate, conversion rates and all that tells you if what you are doing is paying off.

* Be patient! More often than not it is going to be a good 9 months before you start seeing substantial traffic from Google’s organic search results.

Think about the simple fact that there are literally thousands upon thousands of new sites added to the internet on a daily basis. On the flip side of that coin there are literally thousands of websites that cease to exist on a daily basis. Then we have to contend with the fact that there is countless amounts of new information added to the internet each day. As a direct result of this activity the search engines like Google are constantly updating their databases and you guessed it: They are ordering that data in searches according to relevance.

The Importance of Keywords
Take a moment to think about the importance of keywords for example. There will always be new keywords and niches for you to find, optimize for and or monetize. Your SEO strategy should focus on and prioritize for the most lucrative target keywords for your website, products and services. However, with an active SEO strategy you will be continually making adjustments in your priorities based on factors such as: response rates, marketing material, prices, product ranges, stock levels and industry changes. With each shift in priority you will need to complete additional keyword research to find appropriate target keywords.

How about those all important Back Links?
First and foremost if you are hung up on link popularity – STOP. Let’s take a novel approach to this subject and think about your target audience and what it is going to take to get them to your site. What we are talking about here is really nothing more than good old fashion marketing – plain and simple. You have a business that you happen to be marketing via the internet and your website. Additionally, we are going to assume that you are better than your competition, but it needs to be marketed and yes that may cost money.

If you have been sold on the idea of simply obtaining back links to your website for the explicit purpose of SEO, then you are approaching the task from the wrong angle. While an effective Search Engine Strategy is going to take some time to work there are a number of things that can be done to drive traffic while your SEO has time to take effect. Today more and more Social Media (blogging, Twitter, Facebook, Forums, etc) websites are playing a more prominent role in driving traffic. However, don’t forget the tried and true methods of newspaper, magazine, TV ads and other forms of advertising that mention your website.

End the end, the more visibility that can be created for your website, the more traffic your site will receive. With the correct planning and traffic being driven from sources where your target market can be found the better the quality of traffic, the lower your bounce rate will be and the higher your conversion rate.

Don’t forget that even PPC ads such as those offered by Google can help, because they put your site in front of people looking for what you offer. The primary objective is to get your website in front of your target market as often as you can, but regardless of how you market your site, don’t expect your website to become an overnight sensation.

A Quick Note on Social Media
There is little doubt that Social media marketing (SMM) on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Stumbleupon and Digg has exploded in the past year. But what exactly is it? And what’s in it for you? How does it work?

Here is an example of what can happen:
Someone making use of a social media discovers your story, likes it and then decide to share with their friends.  This simple act can cause your story and your site to ‘go viral’ and be shared with even more people. This is how sites will quickly receive hundreds of thousands of visitors, countless inbound links and launch a website or new product overnight.  Those inbound links will directly bring your site visits and indirectly help your SEO.

If you are planning to use social media marketing the overall quality of your content is critical, the better your content the more likely the chances of it being passed along.  However, please keep in mind that even the most brilliant content will need a push to get going, the bigger your network on these social media sites the better. You really need your network to help you give your content that initial push, thereby increasing the odds of your content going viral. Please, Please, Please remember that people do not want to be sold to, and that your initial social media marketing should be more of a conversation than the sale.

What has been your experience with Search Engine Optimization?
Having success with Social Media Marketing, take time to share with us what is working for you.

To Your Success!

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Tagged as: Add new tag, back links, Digg, email marketing, facebook, Google, keyword phrases, keyword research, keywords, lead generation, Meta Tags, Organic search, Pay per click, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, social media, social media marketing, twitter, Web search engine