BC Business
Understanding SEO, search engine optimization, & choosing an SEO companySearch engine optimization specialists can help get your SEO motor running
In the crowded maze of cyberspace, it’s easy to get lost – and even harder to get found. One of the tools helping companies stand out in the digital jumble is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Done right, the technique is a bullhorn that gets you heard over the din. How do you know you’re being heard? People make it to your site. Good SEO increases the number of clicks to your website or blog by placing it near the top of a search engine’s results. Top rank equals visibility equals more traffic.
[edin]One of the most effective ways to make that happen is optimization of site content and HTML coding to increase relevance based on specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines. Confused? Don’t worry. We’ve entered online jargonland, and there are eggheads who do SEO optimization for a living. They measure preferred search terms and modify website elements including menus, images, videos and shopping carts to gain maximum search-engine exposure. It’s like digitally saying, “Yoo-hoo, we’re over here, and we’ve got what you want!”
An entire industry of savvy SEO specialists, analysts and consultants has sprung up to help businesses be more visible to search engines. The leading search engines – Google, Bing, Yahoo! – use web crawlers to find pages for their search results. They do not divulge the algorithms they use to rank pages.
Those algorithms are a sort of Internet Rubik’s cube that everyone is trying to solve. SEO specialists study patents held by the various search engines to figure out how the algorithms work, and adapt their practices so their customers get more clicks or page hits. Outsourcing SEO services can be beneficial in cutting through this time-consuming and confusing part of internet marketing.
Successful Internet marketing drives what the industry calls “organic search results.” Those are results generated by their relevance to the search terms, and not paid advertisements. Search engines typically combine advertising and search results on their pages, and the paid ads are designed to look like the search results.
Remember that because search engines often change their algorithms, there are no guarantees of continued referrals. Content that which is more useful, topical and linked by powerful sites is more likely to rank higher on search engines.
An SEO method is considered “white hat” if it meets the guidelines of the search engine, and takes the browser to the exact content indexed. “Black hat” practices are those that use deception to raise a site’s profile, and include creating spam pages linking back to sites and placing invisible keywords on a web page. When Google finds spam sites being used to improve rankings, it has been known to remove offending manufacturers from its searches.
Once you have developed an attractive and user-friendly website, investing in an SEO company can help your marketing reach a broader audience by pushing traffic to your site. SEO specialists have the expertise and tools to do the job efficiently. Hiring the best SEO company for your needs also frees up time to concentrate on other aspects of running your business.
Ask yourself: What are my company’s goals? What do we want accomplished by working with an SEO company? Are we seeking a stand-alone service, or one part of a broader marketing campaign?
Invest the time to understand SEO basics. Hire an SEO consultant for in-house training and SEO tips, take online training programs, read books and join SEO learning communities. As SEO strategist Jessica Bowman observes: “When you outsource SEO, you don’t outsource responsibility and accountability for getting the job done and driving more traffic.”