Search Engine Optimization (referred to as SEO) is as important as the website itself and there are a number of ways to achieve high SEO and a number of ways to destroy it. It’s imperative that all website managers have a basic understanding of SEO so that they don’t hurt themselves and so they know how to qualify what enhancements they may need.
Visit 10 SEO experts and you’ll get 10 different answers as to what takes highest priority. The truth is, how you manage your website, what kind of company you are and how you apply your content determines the priority of your SEO needs and this needs to be reviewed before recommendations can be made. Which we’d be happy to do with you if you Contact Us for an SEO audit.
Measuring results and getting ROI from your SEO efforts
Getting to page one of Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) takes an organized effort and investment. And as with any investment, you should make educated decisions to reduce risk and increase possible Return On Investment.
Making sure true results are measured is the best way to assure ROI. This should be done by monitoring Google Analytics, Keyword Rankings and of course, leads generated. See this Case Study to see how we put this into action: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) recovery project: Cleveland dentist’s rankings on Google vanish after site redesign.
Let’s take a look at search engine optimization basics:
3 main areas of SEO:
On site SEO
We will review and optimize your title tags, meta descriptions and alt tags of your images as well as your headings and body copy. In most instances, we can dramatically improve your placement in search engine results and increase traffic to your site. We’ll analyze your keywords and your competitor’s keywords (and long tail keywords) and adjust your copy and metadata as needed to increase your ranking. You’ll receive the proof (Google Analytics) in your email box each Monday.
We also provide consulting with your content provider to ensure better optimized copy in the future.
Off site SEO and backlinks (inbound links)
The good: Off site SEO consists of backlink analysis (also referred to as inbound links)
The Bad, and the Ugly: Some sites have gotten unintentionally caught up in “black hat” methods of link building. This likely happened by link manipulating methods that Google began penalizing under its Penguin algorithm in 2012. Unfortunately, it can still happen when outsourcing these services. We can get you de-listed from these sites and submit disavow documents to Google for reconsideration of penalties.
Local SEO
Local Searches have gained in popularity and ability to manage largely due to the dominating mobile market. If your business thrives off of customers within your geographic location, we can increase your Local Search performance utilizing a variety of methods. This is a must today for local businesses.
- Standardize contact information on your website to abide by standard, accepted search engine criteria.
- Standardize contact information with the many local directories online that search engines use to find you
- And we offer Google+ account set up services, including Google+ Local to ensure that Google… and your customers, can find you when they need you.
To further breakdown SEO into more specialized efforts, I love this infographic by Dennis Seymour at Raventools.com:
