MassNet Marketing Blog

Internet business owners realize the importance of proper search engine optimization (SEO.) They know that the best way to make sales from their website is to correctly optimize the website so that it can easily be found via the search engines.

Unfortunately, many small business owners fail to realize the importance of proper search engine optimization. If you fall into this category, you are painfully neglecting your most effective advertising resource  – which is of course; your website!

Money that is currently being delegated to expensive newspaper ads, radio ads, and/or television commercials could drastically be reduced simply by implementing an effective website marketing strategy that includes proper search engine optimization, solid design principles, and a well implemented marketing system.

Sound complicated?

It is!

Think about it;  if it was easy, everyone would be doing it – right?

The important thing to realize is that it is never too late to start doing things the right way!

If you are not seeing the kinds of results you expected from your website, or if you simply don’t have time to implement SEO, eye catching graphic designs, and results oriented marketing strategies, then by all means find someone to do it for you! Afterall, the web is not going to wait for your business to start doing things the right way…but, it will reward those who do.

I’ve posted on this topic previously, but this dilemma is one that absolutely deserves more attention as it continues to be one of the most frequently asked questions that we receive from clients who currently have websites created by others.

It is an unfortunate reality that many small business owners do have websites that simply have not pulled in leads as expected. And, it’s even worse that many of those websites were never optimized correctly to begin with – which will automatically eliminate the possibility of search engines being able to give your site the rankings that you want.

However, with that being said; it’s also important to realize that your website is not a “magic bullet” - it is only one part of many tools that you should be using within your marketing arsenal.

But, let’s get back on topic and discuss some things that need to be realized when it comes to search engine optimization:

Have you ever heard the old saying “a watch pot never boils?” It basically means the more you hover over the pot waiting for it to boil; the longer it seems to take to boil. How does the ‘watch pot’ compare with search engine optimization?

The basic point is, that your website is probably not going to shoot to the top of the search engines over night. Each search engine has its own methods of listing and ranking websites – which can vary drastically from one search engine to the next. If you have a ‘new’ website it is imperative that you give your site time to be indexed by the search engines, but beyond that, it is even more important that you continue to update and feed your site new content. A dull, outdated and static website is not going to be rewarded with high search engine rankings.

Today’s search engines tend to give higher rankings to sites that have the most new, as well as unique, content. You may have heard the web saying that ‘content is king’ and it’s absolutely true!

A few things you can do to help your search engine rankings:

1. Don’t let your website become an outdated ‘bulletin board.’  Update your website regularly or pay someone to do it for you.

2. Optimize your website with the correct meta tags and keywords for your industry.

3. Consider integrating social media into your marketing mix.

4. Advertise your website everywhere – the importance of well placed ‘back links’ to your website cannot be overstated.

5. Ask for help from experienced online marketers. (Kentucky small business owners can contact us for a free no obligation website blueprint.)

It’s important to learn as much as you can about search engine optimization, but you don’t have to become an expert on it yourself (and you probably don’t want to!) As my father always said; “smart people put smart people around them” and it still holds true – even in today’s techie world!

We are asked this question often, so it seems appropriate to provide a quick overview to what “SEO” actually is…

Contrary to popular belief, search engine optimization is not all that complicated…as long as you know what you’re doing! (When I once responded with this answer to a colleague – his response was; “well, neither is brain surgery…if you know what you’re doing!”)

In simplest terms, Search Engine Optimization is a process of choosing the most appropriate targeted keyword phrases and fine-tuning the content on your website. Along with the correct HTML and Meta tags, an appropriate link building process should also be implemented to ensure that your site ranks highly in the search engines. The goal, of course, is so that when someone searches for specific phrases it returns your site at a favorable position.

Search engines keep their methods and ranking algorithms secret in order to get credit for finding the most valuable search-results, and to deter s*pa_m pages from clogging those results. A search engine may use hundreds of factors while ranking the listings. However, to complicate things even more – the factors themselves, and the weight each carries, often change continually. Algorithms can differ so widely that a webpage that ranks #1 in a particular search engine could rank #200 in another search engine.  It can take a few days to even weeks for all the main search engine spiders to commence visiting and indexing a new website.

Search engine marketing should begin with the initial planning of your website. Keyword research, proper coding, meta tags, and back link strategies all need to be incorporated into your website design from the beginning in order to reap the highest benefits of proper SEO.

An important note for those who are in the beginning stages of website design: Search engine optimization is generally NOT included in website design quotes provided by ‘website designers.’ This is an entirely separate process, and requires a completely different skill set. Not all web designers are knowledgeable of SEO techniques, and the same is true of many SEO companies – they are generally not web designers.

When considering a new website, or a website re-design, be sure to ask about ‘Search Engine Optimization’ and whether it is included within the design quote.

*NOTE: Basic SEO is included in all
MassNet Marketing design quotes. ;->