What is Search Engine Optimization?
Definition:
According to the marketingterms.com dictionary Search Engine Optimization or SEO is
“The process of choosing targeted keyword phrases related to a site, and ensuring that the site places well when those keyword phrases are part of a Web search.”
I’m not one to go round arguing with dictionaries and one definition is pretty much as good as another. What I will say is that you should always see SEO as a part of a much wider picture that encompasses all of your goals in relation to your site. You should never practice SEO divorced from the the general marketing of your site. You should never practice SEO divorced from considerations of visitor experience of your site. If your aim is to sell more widgets there will be many issues that feed into achieving this goal.
If you could create a page designed purely for the search engines that got to the top of the rankings in Google for your main keyword, would you? What if it looked like junk when visitors arrived? Would it be likely to sell more widgets? Would it be good for your brand? Would visitors have a positive view of your company? Would it be good SEO?
Why Optimize for Search Engine Rankings?
Well. SEO is one subset of the marketing activites that you will engage in to build visitors to your site. Marketing is about being where your customers are and putting your message in front of them. I don’t want to get too heavily into numbers but essentially search engines are the primary method that people use to find what they are looking for on the web.
Search Engine Marketing, whether paid ads or organic results, is powerful because it is keyword targeted. Assuming that what you offer is relevant, the searcher is finding you precisely because they’re looking for what you offer. Promoting via the search engines not only puts you where your customers (potential visitors) are. It puts you where they are right at the moment they’re looking for you. Right now people are using search engines to find the products or services you sell or the information you provide. If they’re not finding your site, they’re finding one of your competitors.
Couldn’t I Just Pay to Rank?
You can pay to appear in keyword linked search advertising through the various Pay Per Click programs offered by the search engines. You should definitely consider this as part of the marketing strategy for your site. You should consider other forms of marketing too. I find it hard to imagine a site though that shouldn’t have SEO as part of it’s marketing strategy. There are all kinds of studies and opinions on conversion of paid ads verses organic placement and there are different circumstances and situations where one may be superior to the other. There are also many other marketing avenues which will overlap into a well meshed Internet marketing strategy for your site. What it comes down to, for me, is do I want to pay $x per visitor or get them for free? Usually, the answer is both. At the end of the day if I’m not in the results then my competitors are.
Is SEO Spamming the Search Engines?
No. Or rather, not necessarily. There are different approaches to Search Engine Optimization. Spammers attempt to manipulate the relevance of their pages to deceive the search engine and achieve rankings by gaming search engine algorithms. They act in breach of Search Engine Guidelines using techniques that, if discovered, will often lead to penalties and bans. White Hat SEO involves making pages relevant and ensuring that this relevance is clear to the search engines. It is basic good practice.
Where do I Start?
Start by considering what the visitors you want to attract are searching for. Once you know that you’ll know what searches you want to rank in. There’ll be more on this subject in later articles.