Perhaps more than any other topic I am asked about Search Engine Optimization.
What is Search Engine Optimization?
To understand what search engine optimization is, you must first understand what a search is. You do know what a search is don’t you? As a user of the Internet you are probably familiar with a search engine. Maybe you’re doing research for your local business competition, maybe you’re looking for the best price on a pair of crocs. Whatever the case may be you have probably used a search engine to find what you are looking for. The major search engines are (in this order):
You visit these sites and are greeted with a long rectangular box, prompting you to type something in, hit “search” and suddenly, magically, results appear. Sometimes they are exactly what you need, sometimes you have to refine the words or order of words you typed in. This list of results, particularly along the left hand side are websites and pages that the search engines think you are looking for. You search for “Dry Cleaners Estero” and bam, a list of results pops up, sites or pages that the search engines think match your desire of “Dry Cleaners Estero.” Without going into any technical detail of how this happens, or how Google, Yahoo, MSN Live, and the other guys find, store, and sort all of this data…
Search Engine Optimization is the manipulation of these results.
For example, you provide custom stair construction to clients throughout southwest florida. So, knowing that a lot of people no longer use the yellow pages, and are now turning to search engines to find the local businesses and services they need, you try to do everything you can to appear at the top of the list for relevant terms: “fort myers custom stair cases,” “naples stair installation,” etc.
And that’s it for now. Search engine optimization is simply involves planning, crafting, and developing your site over time in order for your site to appear when your target market is searching for exactly what you have to offer. It is an incredibly effective form of marketing (cost effective, leading to phenomenal results), but it comes at a VERY high cost – albeit not always a monetary cost.
In subsequent posts I will reveal more technical details on Search Engine Optimization as well as how any small business owner can use this to bring in mountains of traffic to their website, get contacts, get leads, close sales, or sell products.
In the meantime if you just can’t wait I highly recommend checking out the information available on this search engine optimization blog and book. As always, if you have any questions or comments, just scroll down and post to the comments section. We’ll respond immediatley!
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[...] Part 1 – Why search engines? – Who cares about search engines anyway?! Well your small, medium, or large business should – NO MATTER WHAT YOUR INDUSTRY (sorry about the yelling) – because it is the way people find everything (on or offline). [...]
[...] Part 1 – Why search engines? – Who cares about search engines anyway?! Well your small, medium, or large business should – NO MATTER WHAT YOUR INDUSTRY (sorry about the yelling) – because it is the way people find everything (on or offline). [...]