SEO, SEM, PPC What the Heck?

In the past few months it seems that anyone and everyone has become experts at Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM). One such website designer shares that they are the SEO Experts because anyone looking for homebuilder websites will find their website design company listed #1. A strange idea since the people searching for homebuilder websites are more likely looking for someone to build a home than a website company. This example illustrates an extremely valid yet often overlooked point that not all traffic is good traffic online.

Website companies offer Search Engine Marketing (SEM) services such as Pay Per Click (PPC) using Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing and other paid advertising with the same lack of understanding costing customers thousands of dollars in worthless marketing. Search online for Atlanta New Homes and a builder from Oklahoma (does not build in Atlanta) was listed in the top 3 paid listings for a cost of nearly $4 a click because their SEM company did not setup the marketing properly. When the monthly reports come in the Search Engine Marketing company shares with the customer that they spent the budget and gained whatever number of visitors to the website. What was missed by the SEM company and the customer is the fact that the budget was spent bringing unqualified traffic to the website. The website company managing the Search Engine Marketing may never realize the mistake and the customer is likely satisfied at the increase in traffic to the website.

The inherent problem with companies claiming they ‘do SEO‘ is that Search Engine Optimization is not something you can just ‘do’. To properly Optimize websites for Search Engines there are literally dozens of key aspects that must be properly completed, many outside of the website development process. Just because everyone is familiar with the term and every website design company claims ‘they do SEO’ does not mean they even understand what the terms mean much less how to provide the results. If you are considering hiring someone for SEO or SEM ask the prospective companies what their target audience is and go search for them online, ask for and check referrals, verify the provider has multiple websites using the very same SEO and SEM services they offer and understand that not everyone is able to provide what they claim.

Robert ‘Dot Com’ Jackson
http://www.BuilderConsulting.com
913-814-8844 Corporate Offices

Search Engine Optimization Guidelines

When planning and executing an effective Internet Marketing and Search Engine Optimization program it is important to understand that Search Engines often change rankings within their directories. A Search Engine (Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc) is simply a database of pre-approved website listings. This means that your next Google Search only shows the results of the websites that have previously been added and ranked in the Google Database Directory of websites!

When Google, Yahoo, MSN and the other search engines add new websites to their directory your website ranking will be affected. If there were 1 million new websites added to the search engine directory this month it is likely to move the rank of your website in the Search Results. Sometimes the website may rank higher while other times the addition of large numbers of new websites may bring the website rank down. When executing an effective Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing campaign remain focused on the long-term advantages and goals when the rank of the website changes each month.

Keep these 5 guidelines in mind when assessing search engine optimization efforts:

1. Content Changes on the Internet
Websites are updated, new text may be added, new images or pages may be developed and content changes on the website. Other websites are also changing and updating content to improve their rankings which may affect where your website is listed even if you make no changes. Any and all changes made to the website may affect the ranking at any time.

2. Search Engines Constantly Change and Evolve
Every Search Engine is constantly trying to improve the Search Results for users online. The algorithms or programs used to determine how a website is ranked are updated and modified frequently affecting how your website will be listed.

3. Size Does Matter Online
Websites or marketing pages with a single page and links to other websites are often ranked low or even excluded from Search Results. Since all pages of your website contain different text and content every page added over time can affect rankings. The QUALITY of the content is more important than the quantity since a properly developed and optimized website will always rank higher. When expanding the website keep your primary phrases and keywords in mind and be sure to incorporate them.

4. Inbound Links from Other Websites and Directories
In an ongoing attempt to exclude marketing websites the Search Engines have given higher rankings to websites which have more links TO the website from other websites considered to be of high value. This means that having a link to the website from website not listed in the directory or another website ranked poor does nothing while a link from a highly rated website that has been online for many years will improve the rank of YOUR website!

5. It Takes an Expert
Search engine optimization is an art developed over years of experiance and research. Knowing what search engines share data with others, how the cross linking works, what content and design affects rankings and how to properly submit a website and webpages to the thousands of directories is extremely time consuming. Search engines are constantly changing ranking methods and adding new websites which requires ongoing research and tracking by consultants and SEO experts.

Searching online may be discouraging when other websites rank higher than yours that have apparent deficiencies such as lack of content, no keywords in the title or META tags and a limited number of pages. Sometimes the rank of a website makes no sense considering the known standards used to rank and sort Search Results.

Often times the age of a website (how long has the website been online and ranked in the directory) and number of other websites with high ranking that link to the website can provide a higher rank for a poorly designed older website over a properly designed new website…at least until the new website adds creditability.

Not all websites are created equal and neither are the thousands and thousands of inferior website designers who lack true skill and understanding of the Internet. Make sure your website is Search Engine Optimized and keep the long term goals in focus as you see the webite rank differently over time.

Robert ‘Dot Com’ Jackson
Internet & Technology Expert since 1995
http://www.BuilderConsulting.com