printable version of SEO basics

[what are search engines all about?]

The growth rate of the internet search industry is apparent as we coin new terms like “just Google it” to refer to finding out information about a particular company or subject.

On most all search engines, there are 10 top spots that appear when someone types in a search phrase like “used motor home”.  When a new website enters the top 10 list, another one must drop off.  The competition is in getting your website to appear in one of those top 10 spots for your particular search phrases.   This becomes increasingly difficult when new websites are added to the world wide web daily, adding to the millions of results returned for any given search term.

The key to ranking well on search engines is to fully understand how they make their profits.  When their customers (the individuals performing the search) come to their search engine, they have questions they need answered.  They want to know who can help them speed up their manufacturing production, find a new office location, transport their staff of 24 to a corporate meeting two towns away.  They're looking for Father's Day gifts, the perfect diet and the scoop on the latest Hollywood scandal.

The better the search engines answer those questions, the more frequently those customers will return, the larger a user base the search engine will have and the more money they can make on their paid advertising.  So, search engines are interested in placing in the top of the results pages sites which will immediately answer the needs of the individual searcher.  That's what your website needs to be intentionally designed to do.


[so, how do you rise from the ranks of millions
to appear in the top ten?]

You'll earn the privilege of being placed in the first 10 results of a search engine once you prove to them that you can quickly provide answers to the searchers' questions.

SEO focuses on preparing your website for the search engines.  But beyond SEO, Search Engine Marketing assures that once a visitor comes to a website, they STAY on the website.  You want them to find the website interesting and decide to move further into a website before eventually take a chosen action like placing an order, picking up the phone to call the company or filling out an online form to request a white paper.

Now, here’s the important thing to know:  Improving how visitors interact with your website  ultimately improves your rankings in the search engines (SEO).  The two work hand in hand.  Focusing on SEO and ignoring the website usability portion of online marketing is a waste of money.  Simply stated, a website that ranks well and draws a lot of traffic from the search engines but fails to convert a visitor into a buyer is completely useless.



[how specifically are these things done?]

If a business wants to gain exposure online, thereby increasing “traffic” to their website which will then convert into sales, they need to be aware of what is happening in the search engines.  However, while watching the search engines is a big part of the picture, there are literally hundreds of sources to keep up with if a website is to rise to and stay on top of the search engines results.  There is no easy formula for improving rankings, and what is needed for one website will be irrelevant to another.

That being said, there are several general areas of importance when optimizing a website.  So, keeping an eye on the SEO perspectives, you will want to concentrate your internet marketing efforts on the following:

  • Studying all the reasons why a potential customer would want to visit your website
  • Assuring that visitors get their individual answers as quickly as possible upon entering the website.
  • Researching a website’s specific industry to ascertain how potential customers search for related websites (i.e. demographics, search terms, search habits…)
  • Analyzing your potential customers to make sure your website is attractive enough to entice them further into your website beyond your home page.
  • Reworking or expanding on the wording and code behind each page of a website
  • Increasing inbound links to the website
  • Continually monitoring rankings to assess what is working and what still needs work


[why should i hire someone to do seo for me?]

Learning and Staying Updated - While search engine optimization is far from rocket science, it still takes a massive investment of time to learn and stay updated with.  Search technology is one of the fastest changing industries with new algorithmic releases occurring 4-5 times a year with Google alone.

Knowing What to Avoid - Additionally, there are many “tricks” that a company can try that will get them into big trouble with the search engines.  It’s not at all unlikely for a search engine to completely ban a website from their results page for trying to deceive them.  Not knowing the ropes can sink your online marketing efforts.

Recognizing Quality - While getting other websites to links to your website is generally advantageous, getting the wrong kind of inbound link can have an adverse effect.  An SEO professional knows which links will improve your website and which will cause problems.

Related Software Knowledge – While there are tons of tools out there to assist an optimizer in improving a website and its ranking, many of them even free to use, there is usually quite a learning curve to overcome in order to pull the most possible from each particular software.

Analytics - There is an incredible amount of data that can be pulled from the various analytics available regarding a website, but knowing how to interpret those results and translate them into action is an acquired skill.

Time, Energy and Talent – Keeping up to date with search engine news, regular algorithm updates and user search patterns, checking in on the competition, learning to use emerging industry tools, link building, interacting in search engine forums to learn from the industry leaders, copywriting a website for better conversions and learning how to write html code takes a lot of time, energy and talent. 

Why not hire it done by a professional? Consider Page One Rankings for your SEO needs.  With reasonable rates and impressive results you’ll be glad you decided to go with an expert.  Call Page One Rankings today and see what a leader of Michigan SEO consultants can do for your website.

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