WHY WEBSITES NEED SEARCH ENGINE OPTMIZATION (SEO)
The Secret to Getting Found in Search Engines
To reach your target audience with the rich and compelling information on your web site, you need to be very conscious of your positioning in the "natural" or "organic" search engine results (don't confuse paid search with natural search). The goal of search engine optimization (also called SEO) is to have your web site listed first when a consumer searches using terms that are related to your product or service.
So what's the secret to getting found in the search engines? If the search engines find your website to contain valuable, unique information, they should give you a top ranking - if you have properly optimized your site. Many valuable web sites never make it into the natural search results simply because they have ignored SEO as a part of the web development process. On the other hand, if the search engines find your website to be totally lacking in quality content, no amount of optimizing will get you included in the top search engine listings.
The Bottom Line: Build your website for human visitors first, but build it in such a way that the search engines can see the value that you offer. Investing in SEO is the best way to ensure your valuable content is visible to searchers. And the research indicates that more than 80% of all web site visitors now come from search engines!
The Myth of Search Engine Submissions
Some marketers are still under the impression that all they need to do to get a top rank is to submit their website to zillions of search engines. Don't fall for these scams. The fact of the matter is, if you're not listed within the first 20 or 30 natural search engine listings on Google, MSN and Yahoo!, you lose most of the available search engine traffic, no matter how many thousands of search engines you submitted your site to. The secret is to use search engine positioning techniques that will rank you higher than your competitors.Carving Out A Place For SEO in the Marketing Budget
How much does your business spend on advertising every year? Much of that cost could perhaps be avoided, if your website was ranked well in the search engines. Yet many companies still don't allocate the necessary funds in their marketing budgets to optimize their web sites for better search engine rankings.
How much should you budget for an SEO campaign? It depends on the magnitude of the optimization job required, of course and each situation is different. But a rough rule of thumb is about $20,000 to $60,000 in the first year for a complete SEO campaign, including link partner outreach, and $5-10K each year after that for on-going tuning and maintenance.
Be sure that you are able to sustain your efforts over time, because regular algorithmic changes by the search engines and SEO moves by your competitors necessitate that you constantly monitor your search positions, and react quickly when needed.
Next Step: Requesting a Quote
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- completing our online quotation request form (easy to fill out and minimizes information we need to take over the phone) ;
- requesting that a StratiMind expert call you to discuss your needs (most convenient if you are pressed for time right now); or
- calling us directly during our extended business hours: Mon-Fri 9am to 7pm EST (GMT -6 hours) (if you would prefer to speak "live" with one of our experts)
- sending us an email (we guarantee a reply within 24 hours)
Ready to talk to the experts? Call or email us to set up an appointment to discuss your specific needs, and join the growing list of satisfied StratiMind clients.
