SEO: What and Why?
SEO is the abbreviation for search engine optimization. It is such an important part of a wise online marketing strategy that it often bandied about without being defined. It is a simple principle with a complexity of techniques for use.
But, what exactly is SEO? It is the strategic scattering throughout a site and beyond, across the web, of certain words and phrases which are commonly typed into search engines by people looking for businesses or services like those the site offers. Those words and phrases are called keywords, and they are the way in which a search engine determines the relevance of a given site to the search being performed.
So you can see, without the right keywords in the right places, a site runs the very real risk of being entirely overlooked in the gigantic marketplace that is the internet. SERPS or “Search Engine Results Page” is the term for where a site comes up in a search. The best SERP, of course, is the first few spots on page 1, but depending on the volume of traffic for your specific search term, anything on the first page can bring in traffic.
The placement of keywords matters when it comes to results in the SERPS. Deep links, those which point to pages other than a site’s home page, and the number of different links, both internal to a site and external from other sites, both are counted favorably for page rank.
SEO techniques are constantly changing in response to the changing environment of online marketing, and search engine algorithms. In addition, the ways in which people – potential customers – are using the web often changes rapidly. The largest current trend which has an impact on SEO is the growing popularity of social media. Major search engines have begun to weight links from these sites more heavily, leading to higher page ranking.
Social media sites include those which collect user-posted news and other content from around the internet, video sharing sites, and social networking sites at which users interact directly with their friends as well as with businesses and media figures. Through the principle of sharing, social media spreads links, and search engines see those links as being more relevant to the interests of their target audience, the average searcher.
It is not an exaggeration to say that without a well-designed approach to SEO a business cannot develop the strong online presence necessary to compete. Most business owners just don’t have the expertise, or the time, required for optimum SEO, which has led to the proliferation of professional services. Not all of these professionals use ethical techniques, and many of them have hung out their shingles before gaining enough experience to do much better than non-professionals. The best results are obtained working with a reliable, ethical company with a strong record of success, like us at 50 Media, where we rank on page 1 for our chosen search terms “Orange County SEO” – “SEO Orange County” – and “Orange County Website Design.”
Some examples of the SEO services we provide are:
- Review of your site content or structure
- Technical advice on website development: for example, hosting, redirects, error pages, use of JavaScript
- Content development
- White Hat Backlinking
- Management of online business development campaigns
- Keyword research
- Expertise in specific markets and geographies.
