Search Engine Optimization Stuff #1
I have been priviledged to work for SEO on some of our clients. Search Engine Optimization is the process of increasing the number of targetted visitors on a website by optimizing certain keywords so as to increase its ranking on search engines.
Currently there are two types of search results. One is the generic search results you see on approximately 80% of the search result page. This is what we call organic search. Organic in the sense that the result is based on the indexed pages by search engine robots. Another term for this is natural search.
Another type is the paid listing which enables a website to be displayed on the first resulting page. For example if you search for "antique wall clocks" (with no quotes) the natural search typically returns pages such as antique products (not just wall clocks), shops selling antique wall clocks or any page that contain the word "antique", "wall" or "clocks". But on the advertisers section it displays specific product lines about clocks or antique items which makes it more specific.
While paid listing enables an instant ranking on the first page of search results, it is also more expensive way to gain prominence online. It is also artificial. Once you run out of funds or simply discontinue the campaign to post ads on a particular search keyword phrase, your website listing disappears on search results.
On the other hand an organic method of SEO includes manipulation of text, graphics, links on a webpage. It includes (but not limited to) meta tags, title, font size, font style/color (yes!), alternate tags, type of web host, quality of content and frequency of updates. This type of approach takes much longer time to bear results but when results come, traffic bonanza is all yours.
When I used to work for BuildingBrands, we exerted efforts on making the site gain traffic mainly aimed to gather subscribers (the site did not generate products then). Overture ads were expensive considering the phrase "brand" generates about 377,000
queries each month and is therefore a highly competitive keyword. I balked at the idea of bidding for such keywords when visitors that come to the site did not give us money.
Later did I realize that we needed to do it as we were building the brand of the website. Coupled with submission to search engines, contacting partners for link exchanges and participating on discussion boards. It took us 18 months to get a significant ranking at Google and Yahoo!. You can try searching keywords "brands" or "brand management" in Google and see where buildingbrands.com rank.
From experience I learned that consistent updating of contenthelps improve site ranking more than links or listing in search engines (most of which are irrelevant and unknown; worse many are free for all links which is a recipe to being banned by major search engines). A site should have quality content to warrant good ranking. This enables a longer period of stay on the site and promote stickiness of the site -- a term used to refer to the level of interest generated by the site's pages. After all, who would like to visit a site ranked number 2 on Google, MSN and Altavista if the news content was updated three months ago?
Remember, the aim for SEO is not higher keyword ranking but quality traffic onto your site.
Currently there are two types of search results. One is the generic search results you see on approximately 80% of the search result page. This is what we call organic search. Organic in the sense that the result is based on the indexed pages by search engine robots. Another term for this is natural search.
Another type is the paid listing which enables a website to be displayed on the first resulting page. For example if you search for "antique wall clocks" (with no quotes) the natural search typically returns pages such as antique products (not just wall clocks), shops selling antique wall clocks or any page that contain the word "antique", "wall" or "clocks". But on the advertisers section it displays specific product lines about clocks or antique items which makes it more specific.
While paid listing enables an instant ranking on the first page of search results, it is also more expensive way to gain prominence online. It is also artificial. Once you run out of funds or simply discontinue the campaign to post ads on a particular search keyword phrase, your website listing disappears on search results.
On the other hand an organic method of SEO includes manipulation of text, graphics, links on a webpage. It includes (but not limited to) meta tags, title, font size, font style/color (yes!), alternate tags, type of web host, quality of content and frequency of updates. This type of approach takes much longer time to bear results but when results come, traffic bonanza is all yours.
When I used to work for BuildingBrands, we exerted efforts on making the site gain traffic mainly aimed to gather subscribers (the site did not generate products then). Overture ads were expensive considering the phrase "brand" generates about 377,000
queries each month and is therefore a highly competitive keyword. I balked at the idea of bidding for such keywords when visitors that come to the site did not give us money.
Later did I realize that we needed to do it as we were building the brand of the website. Coupled with submission to search engines, contacting partners for link exchanges and participating on discussion boards. It took us 18 months to get a significant ranking at Google and Yahoo!. You can try searching keywords "brands" or "brand management" in Google and see where buildingbrands.com rank.
From experience I learned that consistent updating of contenthelps improve site ranking more than links or listing in search engines (most of which are irrelevant and unknown; worse many are free for all links which is a recipe to being banned by major search engines). A site should have quality content to warrant good ranking. This enables a longer period of stay on the site and promote stickiness of the site -- a term used to refer to the level of interest generated by the site's pages. After all, who would like to visit a site ranked number 2 on Google, MSN and Altavista if the news content was updated three months ago?
Remember, the aim for SEO is not higher keyword ranking but quality traffic onto your site.
posted by Unknown at
11:25 PM
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