Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Overview/FAQ

 Why do I need this?

The search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing (MSN) , and others are competing for the same traffic.  It is in their best interest to provide the best consistent results for search queries.  Every day more potential buyers are turning to internet search to locate new sources for products and services. Will your company website be found ?

 

Why is Google so important?

Google still accounts for the majority of all web searches.  The Google rank determination algorithms are the most complex and respected in the industry.  A site that ranks well on Google generally will also perform well on all other major search engines. 

 

Why does my site need to be on the first page?

Statistictly most users do not review past the first five results and many are unlikeley to goto the second page. Any rank on the first page is still quite good provided there is a decent amount of traffic.  Less visitors click to the second page of results 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 word in itself  is very specific, the visitor will typically end up adding additional words to the search to get a more specific search result. 

 

How do the search engines view my web site and it’s 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 work to some degree, but very few provide 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.  See http://linkmgr.soundst.com/

 

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 does it cost?

It is important to realize that SEO expenditures are actually an investment in a website and not an ongoing expense.  Once a high rank is achieved, very little effort is needed to maintain it since it was based on elements that remain in place including content and inbound partner links.  The costs associated with a typical project are as follows (but can vary significantly based on level of aggressiveness and the breadth of the website content):

-       Keyword analysis $1200 and up depending upon the breadth of the website content

-       Website content changes depend upon the size of the website and current content.

-       Site content recommendations, aggressive partner linking, keyword rank and traffic monitoring, and strategy alterations $900 and up per month for at least three months based on level of aggressiveness.

-       Additional content recommendations and partner linking, keyword rank and traffic monitoring, along with strategy alterations $300 and up per month for at least three months.

-       Partner link, rank and traffic monitoring, along with strategy alterations $100 and up per month for at least six months.

 

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.  There is only one professional SEO rank monitoring tool available to the general public at this time.  It can be found at http://www.rankmgr.com/.   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.