by Matt McGee
One World Telecommunications
posted: May 3, 2006
(continued from SEO
in 2006, Part 2: Search Engines Fight Back)
Search engine visibility is a bloodsport. Search
engines are fighting to keep their SERPs clear
of all the "web spam" being created.
And an unfortunate side effect is that many innocent
web sites -- often owned by small businesses --
are getting hurt in the crossfire. It's a new
game now, and so the obvious question is:
What is a web site owner to do in
2006 to get search engine visibility?
First, the basics. Your
web site still needs to be optimized to give search
engine spiders what they want:
- intelligent and comprehensive identification
of keywords / key phrases to target
- accurate and relevant page titles and "description"
meta tags
- great content that's updated regularly
- copywriting that appeals mainly to site visitors,
but also accounts for the needs of search
engine crawlers
- wise use of text links (if nothing else, at
least in the form of a site map)
- no hidden text, hidden links, etc.
Those aspects of hands-on SEO are just as important
today as they've ever been. But as we said earlier,
it's not enough in today's ultra-competitive business
world.
Second, you must have
a great web site. Ask yourself: Is my web site
really one of the 10 best sites on the
web about my line of business? Search engine algorithms
are complicated, scientific formulas that generally
do a pretty good job of knowing the difference
between an average web site and a great one. If
it's not, then your first priority is building
a better web site -- one with great information
and content for users and search engine crawlers.
Third, your online marketing
has to include many of the elements of a successful
offline marketing campaign: advertising; creating
buzz; press releases; reaching out and connecting
with your customers where they are, etc.
Fourth, you have to realize
it's not just about search engine rankings. Your
ultimate goal isn't high rankings in Google or
Yahoo, it's web site traffic and customer acquisition.
And textbook SEO won't cut it anymore; you have
to work harder and be more creative than ever.
1. Advertising
You wouldn't expect a lot of shoppers to visit
your brand new widget store without doing some
advertising, and you shouldn't expect web visitors
to find your site without advertising, either.
The major search engines all offer the opportunity
to advertise on their SERPs, and the best part
is the flexibility: You can set your own budget,
choose the search words you want to sponsor, turn
your ads on or off at your convenience, etc.
Given the current challenges many web site owners
will have in getting high search engine rankings,
we believe it's imperative that you take advantage
of the advertising opportunities offered by Google,
Yahoo, etc. -- especially if you're looking for
quick exposure after launching or re-launching
your web site.
2. Creating Buzz / Viral Marketing
It all starts with a great product. If you're selling
the same green widgets that 500 other web sites
are selling, why should your site show up in the
Top 10 of any search engine? And why should Joe
Shopper buy from you instead of the next store?
You need a product or a selling point that gets
people talking. Do something different - make
yourself stand out. There are all kinds of conversations
going on around the web -- on blogs, message boards,
chat rooms, newsgroups, etc. People are talking.
You want them talking about you.
Write articles for your web site that will get
your users talking - the kind of articles that
they'll want to tell a friend about, or link to
from their own web site or blog. Create the kind
of content they'll want to bookmark on sites like
del.icio.us
or digg.com
(if it's tech-related). Your goal is to get the
power of word-of-mouth, i.e. - buzz - viral marketing,
on your side.
3. Press Releases
It's one of the oldest marketing tools around,
but a press release can still help attract traffic
to your site. Well-written press releases targeted
to appropriate outlets can draw media attention,
which may lead to great exposure for your web
business. Depending on how and where you distribute
your press release, it may be spidered and included
in services like Google News or Yahoo! News.
The first rule, of course, is that you have to
actually have something newsworthy to say. Editors,
reporters, and even the average web surfer will
skip right past a boring, un-newsworthy release.
Wasting people's time is no way to build a business.
4. Connect With Your Customers
As mentioned above, your customers are out there
talking - on blogs, message boards, chat rooms,
etc. Depending on your audience, they may also
be on social sites like MySpace.com.
Some businesses are having great success reaching
their target audience by joining in the communities
where the audience participates. Find your customers
and connect with them on their turf.
At the same time, set up a blog on your own site
and invite your customers to come to you. Let
them communicate with you directly -- both praise
and criticism. But before you do this, make sure
you have the staff in place to do it right. Have
someone dedicated to devoting an hour a day posting
on your company blog, and replying to visitor
comments. You have to be committed to making it
work -- a blog is easy to start, but even easier
to ignore. Better not to have one than to have
one sit dormant on your site.
Those are some of the new rules for gaining search
engine visibility in 2006. One of the rules still
applies, but with different guidelines. And that'll
be the subject of the final article in this series:
Back
to Articles index |
