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To draw traffic from the
Internet, a website must employ a wide spectrum of services and tools.
Some websites are used
in ways that make search engine ranking irrelevant; and if high ranking
is not a priority, something as casual as submitting the site to a few
search engines (SEs) and periodically tweaking the META tags (a
website's invisible instructions to search engines) is enough. Only in
the rarest case will such a site rank in the first several hundred
listings on the search engine results pages (SERP).
The rest of us who DO
require search engine traffic to our websites know that much more is
required. In fact, search engines have evolved over the last few
years to be highly intuitive. Each engine has unique rules for indexing
and ranking websites, and the rules change constantly. At a minimum, all
search engines require the following:
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A website structure
and layout that is easily probed by the SE and organized for easy indexing.
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Text, graphics and
links that comply with the SE's specific guidelines.
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Worthwhile,
keyword-rich content proven useful to visitors (the more such
content, the better the SE positioning). And, yes, SEs can
tell what is 'useful to visitors'.
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In-bound links from
other websites (but only those deemed of high-quality by the SEs) --
the more such links, the better the SE positioning.
Therefore, achieving
effective ranking and drawing targeted traffic requires legitimate
Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This comes in two forms, both of
which are critical.
In-site SEO
This prepares your website (structure, navigation, textual/graphical
content and coding) to comply as fully as possible with the
requirements of the various Search Engines.
Off-Site SEO
This focuses on building in-bound links to the site from other
websites -- a necessity if the website is to rank well in the SERPs.
For example, just do a search for "auto insurance" or
"security consultant" or "real estate" and note the
competition. The more competitive the probable search terms
(terms that are used throughout the website to define its theme),
the more important link building becomes because it boosts a
website's SE ranking.
Okay, now what?
Let's suppose you have grasped the importance of legitimate SEO,
found a professional who knows their stuff and have invested
in a campaign that has brought phenomenal traffic to your website.
"But why," you ask, "is all this traffic is not resulting in business?"
The answer: Because your website
does not satisfy the visitors' question: "What's in it for me?" To
address the WIIFM factor, your website must engage the visitors who are
always seeking to take something -- tangible or intangible - away with
them when they visit. Just reading about you, your staff, your services
and what you have done for others won't cause any but the most motivated
of site visitors to take the next step -- to seek you out.
Visit Conversion
Optimization (VCO)
Many well-meaning website owners stop just short of this concept, and
they can't understand why they get lots of traffic, but no one buys!
Visit conversion
optimization addresses your visitor's experience on your website.
Visitors want to interact, quickly find information that they seek,
request a quote or an answer, make a purchase, etc. If they are
not called to action and directed quickly to do something, they simply
move on to the next website -- likely that of your competitor.
In addition to making
visitors happy, VCO builds useful content, creates mechanisms that
encourage visitors to identify themselves, promotes dialog, generates
leads and serves existing clients.
So, to summarize, any SEO
is better than none. A balance of in-site SEO and off-site SEO
offers your best chance for good search engine placement and
targeted traffic. Once a visitor arrives, they must be engaged or
they will leave. VCO paves the way for conversion of visits into
dollars and offers return on your investment.
Is it time to see
your investment pay off? Contact the
Gilman Group to discuss how we can best help you do that.
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