There are serveral methods of Search Engine Optimization. For this post I am going to focus on website content and how to optimize your content to help move up the search engine ladder.
The first thing you need to understand is that search engine optimization takes time and dedication. Most of the grass roots methods of optimizing content take time to see the true results, sometimes up to two to three months. And once you get to the top, you must work to maintain your position. Since there are hundreds and even thousands of new businesses going onlin every day, you must always be aware of competition and new search trends.
Once you have decided to take your search engine optimization campaign by the horns, you must choose a few key words or phrases to target. This will give you a clear focus on tracking return for your efforts…. it is much more effecient to work on one or two key phrases and hit them hard rather than spreading your efforts over 10 or more.
The goal to optimizing your content is to build as much content containing the keyword that you have chosen, but not over saturate with too many keywords… sounds confusing huh? Well a rule of thumb is about 3 – 9% of the content should have a keyword, so one out of every 12 – 15 words should be a keyword. Other helpful tricks are to bolden keywords and be sure to use them within header tags ( <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, etc.).
You also need to include links that contain your keyword, so that search engines see that your content is relative to the targeted keyword or phrase. If you are targeting the key phrase “best widgets online”, you want to place a link like this, <a href=”http://www.widgetco.com”>Read more about the best widgets online</a>.
This will help you get started in optimizing your website for search engines. It only scratches the very surface of website content optimization, but is a starting point. The key is take your time, be patient and have fun. I will post a more in depth article as time permits and also cover other search engine optimization techniques such as backlinking, blog posting and social network marketing.
Search Engine Opitimization
(SEO) is the single most important factor in getting your website in front of potential customers. If you want viewers to find your website, it is crucial to get listed at the top of the major search engines.
When choosing a firm to handle your SEO needs, there are several factors to condsider:
You should also learn as much as possible about SEO and Search Engine Optimization
techniques. This way you are well informed and can talk intelligently with the firm you decide to hire to take on your SEO campaign.
The use of Cascading Style Sheets or CSS is becoming more and more popular in the web design and development
industry. It is probably more correct to say that it is becoming more and more mandatory as an industry standard in relationship to standards conformance and search engine optimization. The most basic use of CSS is to have control over things such as fonts (including font colors, font type, sizes and styles), background colors and images.
The more complex and in-depth use is to use CSS to make a lighter, faster loading website. With CSS you can create a tableless page that has less code and is compliant in more browsers. It can be trickier to use style sheets over tables, since you have to use the right properties for the right browsers and you must learn how to control positioning. You will find a great tutorial at .
Once you do learn CSS, you will definitely see the benefits.
Websites are no different than anything else, you get what you pay for. Recently I have had several clients come to me after going elsewhere for “cheaper” website development. The sites where incomplete, non-functional, and in general did not project the level of professionalism needed to impress upon visitors to use their service or purchase their products.
In the current economy, there is more reason now than ever to cut corners. This makes it all too easy to try and save money on a businesses website. With somethings, this is a very reasonable approach… but not when you are trying to encourage sales or potential clients to use you versus your competition. As I have stated before, website development is the most under appreciated form of marketing today. When someone comes to your website, this is the first impression you have to make, and you know what they say about first impressions…. you only get one chance. Studies show that with a website, you have a fraction of a second to capture a visitors attention.
Many people starting a business will go with the cheapest website development possible, using a company that has just started or using a free service creating their own website. It is easy to see why you may take this approach, but there are several reasons you may want to rethink this approach:
- Experience – Companies just starting out will not know all the ins and outs of website development. It takes years of experience to accumulate the knowledge of creating an attractive, professional and effective website.
- Support – when using a free service, cheap developer or someone just getting into website design, you will not receive the support needed to help you and your business succeed.
There are several ways to insure your website is both professional and affordable. Before undertaking the actual development, begin by doing research on what it is you want to accomplish from your website, what goals you want to meet and what functionality you want your website to have. After doing your research, follow these steps:
- Set yourself a reasonable budget, depending on the type of website you are looking for and the functionality, you can use the guidelines below:
- Brochure site: This is a static site that is just for informational type purposes, much like a brochure. The main objective is to inform viewers of your service/product. These type of sites generally cost $500 – $1000 depending on the amount of content.
- Content Management System: This is a site that allows you to update content and may allow you to catalog products such as real estate or automotive listing, but nothing is sold from the site. These sites require a database and generally take more time to setup. expect to pay $1200 – $3000 for a site in this category, depending on the amount of content and number of listings
- Ecommerce / Shopping Cart: This is a site where viewers can purchase products online. This type of site requires a database, SSL certificate, dedicated IP and a merchant account. This involves more work and cost to the developer, expect to pay $2000 – $5000 depending on level of work, number of products, etc.
- Look around the internet for websites that have designs that appeal to you and your industry. This will save time and give the development company a better idea of what type of layout you are looking for.
- Be able to give the development company as much detail as possible. Have your content ready, along with any photos or images.
- Look for a company that offers a . Some development companies will offer to let you pay the fees of development over a certain amount of time.
Once you have done your research and fins a suitable web site development company, the next step is to contact them. Be prepared to answer a few questions, and ask some based on your research. If you have done your homework this shouldn’t be an issue and the process will go much smoother.
A great website is not neccessarily the one with the most cutting edge technology or the most bells and whistles.
Yes, a great website should be eye-catching and have good… no, GREAT visual appeal. But above all, it should be easy to navigate and be user friendly. By user friendly, I mean it should not be so complex or animated, that the user cannot find what they are looking for. Any “bells and whistles” should only play a part in this goal, not detract from it
Secondly, the website should project a level of professionalism that embodies the company for which it represents. Clean and simple is a rule of tumb I generally live by.
