Search Engine Optimization Success Strategies
The Experian Hitwise April 2010 report indicates that "search engines continue to be the primary way internet users navigate to key industry categories." Google still dominates the US search market with a more than 70% share. A distant second is Yahoo with almost 15%. Although Bing is third with just under 10%, it saw "double-digit growth among two categories - Health and Shopping - including a 105 percent increase in the Health category." Similar findings were reported by comScore for April 2010 noting that out of the 15.5 billion searches conducted by Americans in April, more than 10 billion of them were made using Google.
With the continued growth of the search engines, particularly Google, it just makes good business sense to uncover the ways to get your web pages ranking in the top listing positions of the search engine results pages for the keywords and phrases that will attract your target audience groups.
The three principle roadblocks to search engine ranking success are:
- Bad website design
- Ineffective webcopy
- Insufficient inbound links from the "right" sources
Fix Bad Website Design First
Bad website design isn't always recognizable at first glance. Your website may be aesthetically pleasing to look at but terribly flawed otherwise.
Site Architecture and Navigation:
The first place to look is the overall site architecture and navigation structure. A well-architected site offers both the end-user as well as the search engine spiders a very clear path to the web content contained within your site. Even if you have thousands of web pages that necessitate a sub-navigation or on-page links in addition to the principle navigation, or your web pages are dynamically generated (access a database), links must be placed so that they are intuitively easy to find and logical to follow.
Each link path must lead directly to the content it promises and be free from all errors. Be sure to include a search engine optimized XML sitemap, which provides both site visitors and the search engine spiders with links that allow for quick and easy access to all your web pages.
Meta Data:
Search engine optimized meta data not only includes relevant keywords and phrases but when used effectively helps the search engines to accurately index a document (web page) scanned by the spiders.
Meta data should be strategically added to ensure web content is "understandable" and easy to index. Whereas webcopy predominantly clarifies content for the end-user, meta data further clarifies content for the search engines ensuring they accurately index your web content for future retrieval.
Alt Text and Anchor Text:
Images and graphical links need to have alt text for two very important reasons: first, visually impaired users aurally relate to visual images and text read aloud to them by electronic screen readers; and secondly, search engine spiders rely on alt text to descriptively inform them of the relevance of the image or the link to the web content it is associated with. Anchor text, much like alt text, is used in a text-based link (as opposed to graphical) to let both the end-user and the search engines know about the content the link is pointing to. In both cases the text needs to be descriptive as opposed to literal. For example, alt text that literally states what the image is, such as "blue birds eating seed," misses an opportunity to clarify what the blue birds really represent: "attract blue birds with quality feed." Including the relevant keyword or phrase within the anchor text or alt text goes without saying.
Title Tag:
I just could not believe my eyes when I visited the website of a very famous hotel in Saratoga Springs, NY and saw "Untitled" where the title tag was supposed to be for EVERY PAGE of the website. The title tag is a gold mine of opportunity. Provided your webcopy (sales and marketing text or body copy) is highly focused and accurately search engine optimized, your title tag is like the guy outside the parking lot waving the orange flags to get the attention of potential customers. Compose title tags that are informative, contain the relevant keyword or phrase, and are compelling. There is real skill needed here because you have to contain all those elements using no more than 67 characters!
Replace Ineffective Webcopy: Keep it Updated and Refreshed
Keep in mind that the reason you desire top rankings in the search engines is so you can attract your target audience groups and persuade them to do business with you. Your webcopy is the meat and potatoes of your online presence. It is what the search engines are trying to index and what site visitors interact with to help them decide if they are going to do business with you. Videos, images, attached documents, and design elements are there to support and enhance the information you provide in your webcopy. What you say, the way you say it, and the language you use are all important aspects of creating informative, compelling and persuasive webcopy. Keywords and phrases relevant to the content on the page have to be used sensibly and elegantly to be effective. Neither your site visitors nor the search engines are going to be persuaded of your value because you repeat your keyword far more than is needed. Your webcopy is part of your professional image. Be mindful to talk to your site visitors more about what they can expect to get from you and less about how great and accomplished you are. And keep your webcopy fresh by updating it often. Search engines look for updated content and consider it more relevant than old, stale webcopy that never changes.
Calls to Action: An aspect of your webcopy and your site architecture is your 'calls to action.' They are like the "personal shopper" of your website seamlessly guiding your interested site visitors successfully through the conversion process to completion. Whether it's submitting an online form or making a purchase directly from your site, site conversion is critical to the success of your website as a lead and revenue generating tool. Generally taking the form of instructional hypertext links so that you can incorporate them into the body copy, your 'calls to action' should make it very clear to your site visitors what you are trying to get them to do next. The best approach is first to identify your site conversion goals. Then write out all the steps that have to be taken for conversion to be completed. Once you have mapped out the process it should be clear to you where you need to place the 'calls to action' on each page to make it easy for site visitors to convert. And remember to include the keyword or phrase in the 'call to action' that corresponds to the content it points to.
Acquire 'Inbound Links' from a Variety of Quality Sources
Acquiring inbound links takes time, strategy, and carefully determined criteria for selection. Part of the search engine's ranking algorithm is what is a referred to as a "popularity score" (Google has its own PageRank™ link analysis algorithm).The score identifies how relevant and valued your web pages are by the number of quality links from various recognized external sources pointing to them. It is a sort of voting mechanism. You are thus charged with proving your worth to the search engines. If your web pages are not considered of any great value they will be placed in a 'Supplemental Index' and delivered only if no other web pages of accepted value exist for those particular search terms. The search engines have become very critical over the years. Before you get started acquiring inbound links you must take care of all the other issues first - namely, fix your website and your webcopy - then you are ready to have others point to it.
Conclusion
Search engine optimization is a process that starts with a thorough and honest look at your website to uncover what is keeping it from ranking in the top listing positions of the search engine results pages. Things have to be done in the right order if you are serious about your campaign. Placing keywords in the title tag and within your webcopy without doing all that is needed to ensure your conversion goals can be met is a waste of your time and your resources. Even if you attract your targeted audience groups before your website is ready to help them through the conversion process they are likely to leave without doing what you want them to do. Tricking people to get to your website or inviting them before you are really ready to help them is not a good way to start a business relationship, if one can be started at all.
Search engine optimization is a means to an end, presenting you with an opportunity to do business with the people who find you by this means. There are no short cuts but there can be successful long term results if you are committed to doing what is needed.
If you would like to talk with an Industrial Web Solutions search engine optimization specialist about your website please call (800) 399-9859.
Contact us to learn how to prepare your website to attract, convert and track leads.
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