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Search Engine Optimization - Expectations
Is SEO a Competition? No, It's a Fierce Competition!
Factors Search Engines
Care About
Why do some websites show up above others in searches? What
do search engines care about?
- Age of the website. The older
your website, the more trust it builds with the search
engines.
- Coding of the website. Web code
and site navigation can be easy or difficult for search
engines to follow, index, and understand.
- Well written Page Titles, Keywords, and Page
Descriptions. These are code elements that
clue the search engines in to the purpose of the website and
its audience.
- On-Page Content. The marketing
message -the actual words on the page- do a lot of the
"heavy lifting" when it comes to SEO.
- Website Size. All other things
being equal, the bigger site wins.
- Changing Content. Is your site
stagnant and unchanging, or does it offer important new
information?
- Inbound Links. Links to your
website from another website are weighted for their value,
the specifics of where they come from, and how they were
presented.
- Social Networking. From Facebook
and YouTube to electronic newsletters, blogging, and
twittering, the more people you engage the better, but only
some of these methods are appropriate for your website.
To learn more, contact CME today.
We've had customers tell us 99.9% of their business comes from their
website. That means everyone is not just competing to be found
online, they're jostling fiercely to be on the first page of Google,
Yahoo, Bing, and the rest. And remember, for any word or phrase
your potential customers type into a search engine, there are only 10
first page positions in response.
So don't believe anyone who promises you miracles, and especially
not "quick, cheap miracles!" Just like building your business,
SEO can be a hard, expensive slog. But it can be done.
Learn more on our SEO Process page,
or contact CMEwebsites today.
For several years, I had a website created by another
company and never got one call. My site was not even on the radar when it
came to search engines. I pretty much figured it was just a waste of
time.
Then I met with Computers Made Easy and shared my passion for my
practice. CME was able to convey that passion on my website.
Now I get calls, patients compliment me on my
website, and I am up at the top of the search
engines. These people really know what they are doing !!
-- Dr. Timothy P. McHenry
One on 1 Physical Therapy, Inc.
Not an Instant Process
Five minutes after it is first launched, your website is not at
the top of Google! The search engines may not even know it
exists for weeks or months. Search engine "spiders" (automated
software bots that crawl the web) need time to find it.
At CMEwebsites we work to speed up this process by listing sites
within our region on our own website directory:
www.InWestmoreland.com.
We also manually register websites with Google, Yahoo, Bing, and
DMOZ (the most comprehensive human-reviewed directory on the web).
Still, at best it will be weeks before your website is noticed.
After that, building search position takes time.
How much depends on a variety of factors, including the strength of
your competition online. We've seen modest websites take a
commanding search position within a few weeks, and very expensive
websites fight for visibility for over two years before shining like
stars. Still others face such stiff competition that no
reasonable investment can overcome their SEO challenge.
Not a One-Time or
One-Size-Fits-All Process
Being found online is not just a competition - it's a competition
that changes a little every day. Search Engine Optimization is
like participating in a sport. Think of it as an ongoing
series of races or wrestling matches; you're only as good today's
race. Tomorrow you may place better or worse, as the strength
of your competitors changes, new competitors come online, and your
reputation grows or worsens. Given time, you may need to
adjust your own SEO to hold your position, improve, or keep from
falling too fast.
Nor is SEO a "one-size" or "one-approach" fits all proposition.
Depending on the competition, it could be as easy to gain the lead
as changing a few page titles and modifying some on-page content OR
it could require extensive website rework and redesign, along with
such "off-site" SEO as link building, blogging, and social
networking.
So What Should You Expect?
You should expect SEO to require professional assistance, take
time, and be worth a significant investment of your own time, money,
and attention.
The principles that build success in business haven't changed for
centuries: diligence, hard work, and craftsmanship. The
Internet hasn't changed that, nor is "optimizing" your website a
"get rich quick" scheme. It is one valuable factor in bringing
your goods and services to the attention of your community and the
world, and at CMEwebsites, we have the experience and proven history
to help.
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