[FastCompany]
Organic SEO Marketing or search marketing, in short, is the function of driving sales through a marketing effort online, and the only real, true competition to driving online traffic versus paid-advertising or pay-per-click campaigns. The most important part to the organic SEO marketing effort is to optimize a company Web site and to drive traffic (preferably customers) to a Web site where they make a purchase or request services.
Organic SEO Marketing is a specialty marketing service that delivers traffic and customers to a company Web site by improving the placement of a company’s Web site in the search results lists from popular search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo, however it can also be thought of as driving traffic from social sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Regardless of where the original search originates from, the effort behind organic SEO marketing is to generate good high-ranking placement of a company in the search result lists.
Search Engine Optimization
The process of utilizing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is fairly simple. When developing a Web site for your business or organization, it is important to follow basic strategies that encourage search engines to find you easily in order to increase visibility and the frequency of hits. In order to accomplish this it helps to understanding a few things about how search engines function.
A search engine uses a number of strategies to plow through the billions of sites available world wide. It isn’t possible for a single search engine to view all the sites on the Web, so your goal is to make sure it hits yours. Search engines send out “bots” or “spiders” to “craw” through the nearly endless selection of sites. Sites that have been visited are indexed for later use. When a user types in keywords for a search the engine checks its index for matching pages. The pages are further sorted based on the keywords, their frequency and relevance. The best matches are presented to the searcher all within a matter of nanoseconds.
The search engine ranks the pages it finds based on popularity and relevance. Popularity relates to the number of citations referring to your site on other pages and the frequency of visits from known, respected sites. Relevance correlates to the number of keywords and phrases found when evaluating the page. It is best to place those keywords in headlines and subtitles for improved visibility. By following a few simple rules you will design a Web page that attracts search engines frequently.
Don’t skimp on content. Aside from the obvious concept that your content introduces you to potential clients, content is how you attract search engines. Content needs to be well written, grammatically correct, spell checked and interesting. Spending time on your content will allow you to insert your keywords and phrases smoothly and frequently. Don’t fall victim to the temptation of filling up your page with graphics, flash and glitter.
Web sites designed for looks don’t attract search engines. Pictures are harder for search engines to sort through for relevance. Remember that your goal is to produce a page that has a high saturation of keywords, pictures and graphics will take up room better used.
Keywords will bring customers to your site. Remember to use variations on a theme. Alternate wording, phrases incorporating your keywords and closely related topics will increase your odds of success.
Search Engine Optimization brings you new clients and customers. People who are already familiar with your business or organization will go directly to your Web site. The purpose behind creating a SEO-friendly Web site is to draw in people who have never heard of your business or organization.
Meta Tag Tune Up
Meta tags are the most core component of SEO and can quickly change your positioning in web search results (for the better or worse).
We will adjust your meta tags to best match your Web site content and the search terms (keywords and key phrases) that will get you the most pre-qualified traffic. Pricing for this service ranges from $25 per Web page.
Remember…
Search Engine Optimization is not part of Web site design but it is connected to your Web site’s overall success. Depending on your needs and the needs of your business or organization, it can be a quick process or a very involved undertaking. Search Engine Optimization is a series of steps and rules for making your Web site and content search engine friendly. If the search engines find your Web site and like your conten,t then you will rank well in your niche.
It sounds simple and it can be. Keep in mind, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not the same as Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and submitting your Web site to search engines and Web directories have nothing to do with SEO.
Success comes from creative and effective use of both offline and online marketing. SEO done correctly will help you get in front of your audience and stay ahead of your competition.