There Are No SEO Shortcuts
When SEO is done properly, potential customers find your website by entering keyword phrases into one of the search engines. If these prospects find your website and take the action you have asked them to take (purchase a product, sign up for newsletter, etc.) then these are considered to ‘very warm leads’. So the question everyone asks – how do you get more of these prospects to find your website?
Search engine optimization is the process of identifying keyword search terms that are relevant to your business and then working to establish top search engine rankings for those keywords. In some industries this may be relatively simple while in others it might be extremely difficult. The basic process is the same, it’s just that the more competitive keywords require more time and effort to achieve top rankings.
SEO really has not changed that much over the years. To get top rankings there is a time tested SEO process that is as true today as it was in the early stages of the search engines. And it really is very simple, as the following steps will illustrate:
- Keyword research
- Competitive analysis
- Create content
- Build back links, and
- Wash, rinse, repeat with the next batch of keywords …
These all sound like simple steps, and in fact each of the individual steps are somewhat simple to complete. That assumes two very important things though: a) that you understand how search engines work and b) that you have the necessary tools to analyze and implement the SEO strategy. And therein lies the complexity.
The search engines are always changing, adapting to new technical capabilities and modifying their algorithms based on search trends. For example, just a few years ago there were no social media websites. Now, if you do not have social media marketing included in your SEO strategy you are missing the boat. But the point is that something new happens everyday on the internet and some of those become important for SEO rankings, so it is very important that your website stays current.
Keeping aligned with the search engines’ algorithms will ensure that your website remains well ranked, not doing so can find you delisted overnight. Just ask website owners who recently experienced the Google Panda update – many of them are virtually out of business overnight because of the new way that Google is treating ecommerce websites.
There are no shortcuts when building a meaningful and sustainable online marketing presence. While SEO may not have the ‘glitz’ when compared to some snazzy marketing campaign, SEO arguably provides a greater return on investment than many other marketing programs you can consider.
Carolina SEO Services is a Charlotte SEO company that provides small business search engine optimization services to NC SEO clients.
Category : Blog &What Does SEO Mean