Search Engine Saviors

Anyone who has played around with Google AdWords and Analytics knows that search engine optimization can be frustrating. We could all use more organic search results, and we can. It's like I mention elsewhere on this website, where following just a few simple rules can help improve your rankings. The whole basic philosophy is:

Relevant information, strategically placed, updated frequently, and gaining in popularity.

What does that all mean? Relevant information is your content. A good website will have content that is well written and peppered with selected key search terms upon which you would like to be found. Take this site for example-some of the keywords that you will notice are "western mass graphic design", "western mass advertising", "western mass website design", etc. throughout the site. Try those searches on Google or other search engines and usually winanscreative.com appears near the top 10, although it's tough to hit them all. That's because those are specific enough search terms to define a geographic area, and there's not a whole lot of competition for those terms, at least not as much as "boston graphic design" (although it is good to see my former agency in Boston still in the top 10 on Google for that specifc term, where I did the SEO). Anyhow, you want to have good strong content and lots of it. And I know that there's some of you who may be considering creating a bunch of "invisible type" with your search terms and repeating them hundreds of times throughout your site. The search engines are on to you, and the rouse won't work, or at least not for long. It's okay to be a little bit redundant in your copy, however. As long as it's not TOO redundant. You'll know when it starts to sound stupid.

So now you've got this great content, but that alone doesn't guarantee SEO success. It's where and how you place it in your site that can make a difference as well. Make sure to use very accurate descriptions in your Title Tags (the stuff at the top of your web-browser) and your Meta-Desciption Tags (the tag in the of your HTML that lists a 1-2 sentence description of your page). Both these places can be easily overlooked in a website design but they are essential for search engine relevance. You can usually tell by browsing through a site as to whether there has been SEO work done by glancing at the title tags. If they seem strategic, it's because they are. Also, be sure that your page design allows for your content to be as high on the page as it can be, and that it isn't embedded in Flash movies or graphics. If it is, the search engines won't even see it.

Updating your content frequently is self-explanatory. Search engines don't like to see that you've had the same information unchanged for the last 5 years, because the web has a very short shelf life. You don't need to update every page in your entire site every week, but updating a few key pages once a month or so is enough for most simple web-presences. If you have the means to update it more frequently, then by all means, do it. A blog is a great way to do it, as is a "news", "press", or "what's happening" section. However you decide to do it, search engines like to see that your site is a place to get fresh info.

Search engines also like to see that your site is getting more popular.That means they like to see more people linking to your site and visiting from searches. You can accomplish this in many ways. First is to join relevant directories, such as a Chamber of Commerce directory or any membership-related directory that you belong to, and then try to get into geographic ones as well. Google Maps is a good example. Basically any legitimate directory that you can be listed under is beneficial. However, beware of "link-farms" and some directories who will list your business in exchange for a reciprocal link or a fee. Some of these are OK but most frowned upon by Google and hurt more than they help. If there isn't a legitimate reason to be on there, you're better off not taking the risk. Once you are listed everywhere, start publicizing your site! Get your web address out there on everything you send out and get more people looking for you. As long as people keep looking for you or your product, the search engine gods will smile upon you.

Granted, often it's not all that simple. In fact, everything I just mentioned is more involved than what most people are willing to take on. In competitive spaces where there a lot of sites aiming for the top spots it will often take an even bigger push and a lot more strategic thinking, as well. That's where a good SEO partner can help. I hope this was enough to at least take some of the mystery out of SEO. Until next time!