Local Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
We work diligently to make sure that the code behind the scene tells the search engines like Google, Yahoo & MSN(Bing) know who you are and what you do. At the same time, the written word and photos on the front end, the pretty side, that your visitors see tell your visitors, in a very different language, (Plain English), who you are and what you do.
The reason this is needed is because you are competing with a lot of other companies in your area with similar services and similar sites. If you want to know how many competitors you have, just go to Google and search for the keyword you are competing against. In the upper right hand area of your screen you will see 10 results of XXXXX thousand. That is how many sites that want to be seen on the front page of the search engines.
There are only 10 premium spots. This is what we call virtual real estate and the rush is on for positioning. Do you want to be in position 5, or 5,000? This is the reason you need SEO.
There are two distinct types of SEO and they both need to be implemented if you really want to be competitive. The first is On-Page Optimization and the second is Off-Page optimization.
Let’s talk for a moment about On-Page Optimization. This is a combination of formatting your HTML code so that the Search Engines can see and understand you together with the written content, photos, graphics, audio and video so that your visitor can understand you.
I need to demonstrate the HTML coding so you will fully understand. Click your right mouse button, then, when the drop down menu appears, click “View Page Source”. That is this website written in the language used by search engines.
As you read this page, see the colors and textures and read the words I am writing. That is the second part of On-Page Optimization. These two have to be blended and formatted in a specific way to go head to head with your competitors, and win.
Now let’s look for a second at Off-Page Optimization. Off-page optimization is a process that tells the search engines how other websites see you as an authority figure. If Google or Yahoo sees you as an authority, they will move you up.
How do the search engines determine who is an authority? They actually count the sites that link to you and they study the content of those sites and see how they relate to the content on your site. So, for instance, if there is a site linking to you that is based on custom pool cues and you sell pool tables, Google is going to give you a lot of credit. However, if you sell billiard tables and have an inbound link from a stuffed animal site, the search engines may give you zero credit. Our job is to find contextually related sites to yours, and develop permission based links from them to you.
Another consideration is the variety of site types linking to you. If all your links come from blog pages, it does not look natural and the search engines will not give you credit. If however, you have links coming in from directories, blogs, tweets, articles and social bookmarks, then that is the way the search engines expect natural links to appear. They once again give you the thumbs up.
All those links though do no good if they all go straight to your home-page, but why? It just looks manipulated. Whenever anyone visits your web-site and places a Social Bookmark, like Delicious or Stumble-Upon (social bookmarking sites), that visitor could be anywhere in your site. They may be on your blog or on your service page. When another site wants to reference one of your services, they will link to that page. So, a variety of link types to a balanced variety of your site pages and you have a recipe for success.
Does that all sound like a lot of work? It is, but it is what we do. These are the same strategies used by Sears, Walmart, Goodyear, Dell and the list goes on. We have put plans together that are scaled down to be affordable by the small business owner.
