In the 21st century, businesses simply must have a web presence, and the stronger, more nimble that presence is, the better for business. Effective SEO practices will keep things hopping.
Search engine optimization, commonly called SEO, includes a long list of activities and strategies ? then just when you think you finally have it nailed, along comes a Google algorithm change.
Like all technology, search engine optimization morphs and evolves all the time. So effective SEO management, as it turns out, is not just a list of actions and some analysis, it?s a learning activity that requires constant attention.
Needless to say, keeping up with SEO management and best practices is a full time job. But if you own a business, you already have plenty on your plate. Chances are, sooner or later, you will need to tap into some SEO consulting services.
Website Design
Before you can post content, you need a website that looks great. This is where website design comes in. But it?s not enough for it to look snazzy. Solid SEO demands a site that is also search-engine friendly and user friendly.
Color and color combination choices, layout, headlines, images, font and white space ? the space without text or images ? all play a role in design. The best website designers employ color research, symbolism and solid design principles that subtly work on the end user, or consumer.
For example, in the world of web design, ?the fold? is the bottom of the web page as it appears on the screen. So if the middle of your web page is at the bottom of the screen, that is the fold. Design research based on real user activity shows that if you have a large empty space there, or a horizontal element, such as a line or bar of color, the likelihood that the reader will scroll down is greatly diminished. Not good!
But if you place an image that straddles the fold or an interrupted block of text there, the likelihood that the reader will scroll down is very good because they serve as visual cues to keep reading. So effective website design is not only aesthetically pleasing, it reflects the designer?s knowledge of consumer psychology as well as SEO knowledge.
Website Architecture
Website architecture concerns the back end of the website. The consumer never sees it, but any search engine will, including its site crawlers and robots. The frames, tables and flash elements that some designers use will hinder your SEO efforts, because those invisible robots and spiders that are crawling the Internet won?t recognize them. They can also slow the speed of your site ? one of the elements that Google probably takes into account, and like it or not, pleasing Google has to be part of an SEO plan.
Website Usability
Good SEO consulting services examine and analyze a web site?s usability. Among other methods, both real-time observation and virtual observation can teach a search engine optimization specialist how well a web page works for the consumer ? the person you most want to please. These are your buyers.
If they don?t scroll down, if they ?bounce? because they didn?t find what your advertising led them to believe they would find, and worst of all, if they don?t ?convert,? meaning hit the buy button or the subscribe button, you will lose them and all your search engine optimization and online marketing efforts are for naught.
All-Important Keywords
Keywords and the phrases that contain them are basic to search engine optimization. They drive consumers. Someone types one in a search engine, clicks, and voila ? a list of search engine results pops up. As a business owner, you want your business to land in the top of the results. Almost no one ever rolls over to page two of the search engine results, and most people only click through on the top three results.
In the tricky business of keyword analysis, good SEO experts think beyond the terms that they would personally use to search for something, and they know that they absolutely must think beyond single, generic keywords. Both bidding on keywords for a solid results-driven SEO ad campaign and the amount of traffic a site attracts depend upon pinpointing competitive, relevant keywords and keyword phrases.
The way an SEO expert finesses keywords is another issue ? their frequency and location on your website make a difference, and thinking about those issues is part of SEO.
Online Marketing
After your website is up, tested and performing well, it?s time for search engine marketing (SEM), or in plain language, online marketing. Online marketing is intimately connected to search engine optimization ? the goal of both is to send traffic to your website, and then to turn traffic into conversions: buyers. Online marketing is not about the back end. It?s about the front end and everything your prospective buyers see elsewhere that prompts them to visit your site. This includes advertising, links on other sites ? also called backlinks, which are extremely important to SEO ? and your social media campaign.
Social Media
Social media is a virtual river of human interaction. Twitter, Facebook, Squidoo, Hubpages, LinkedIn and Google+ are all social media sites and can be used in your SEO plan. They allow users to post opinions, photos, entire essays, and little quips. They help us to connect, reconnect, and share, and we love it all. So do your buyers. So if you want to catch fish, go where the fish are: the big social media river, filled with rich SEO opportunities.
If you?re serious about doing business, you must seriously consider developing a social media campaign, another key component of online marketing and SEO. Your business?s presence in the social media world will drive traffic to your site in a way that regular SEO and advertising does not because social media puts a human face on your business, thus helping you to establish consumer trust before the buyer ever arrives at your site.
A comprehensive SEO media campaign will also include blogging, blog commenting, forum participation and generosity. Businesses use blogs to develop and strengthen their web presence, allow consumers to get to know them, and to create priceless goodwill. They do this by offering free ? yes, free ? helpful information to consumers. If you want to use search engine optimization to get people to engage with your business, you have to engage them first.
For example, a hair salon might offer blog entries on hair care, how to keep color from fading, the newest hair styles, which curling iron works best and much more. In the case of a hair salon, product reviews are a natural, given that most savvy salon owners increase bottom line profits by selling hair care products. The same SEO approach to blogging can be used by almost any business, whether it be a car repair shop, a retail chain of men?s clothing shops, or a nation chain of superstores. People who use a search engine, then, look for how-to-care-for-hair help will find your articles if you have used SEO keyword techniques to target your audience.
When a business blog works well, consumers return again and again. They want to see what?s on special, whether you?re offering any new online coupons and to find out what bit of handy information you?re offering this week. Every time they visit, your business name becomes more and more memorable. And blogs are always great SEO tools, because handled with SEO in mind, they drive traffic to your landing pages.
When people comment on your business blog, say hi to them and interact here and there. This is the human face that is so valuable. But don?t stop there ? visit other people?s blogs and forums that are relevant to your product and make remarks. Don?t make a sales pitch, though. Though this activity is part of SEO and online marketing, people on blogs and in forums, expect friendly, sincere comments, not a sales pitch. However, many sites will let you add a signature with a link to your web site, and that?s good SEO. It leads to page visits.
Social media engagement is a huge, important chunk of SEO. If you don?t have time to do it yourself, as part of the SEO services you buy, consider hiring a social media SEO expert to take care of your social media efforts.
The World is Mobile ? Business on the Go
Part of any good SEO plan now includes mobile applications, or apps. Apps make life easy for consumers. They do work such as allowing a consumer to view new merchandise, find your business?s bricks and mortar storefront, and receive automated tips from you all from their iphones or other mobile devices. The possibilities end only with your imagination. Search engine optimization and online marketing experts help you develop apps that will work for your business.
Got Great Ideas?
I pride myself on working collaboratively with clients to help them implement their ideas and meet their SEO, online marketing and business goals.
For more SEO, Online Marketing and Social Media tips, follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/Jason_Cuevas
Author: Jason Cuevas
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