Everyday the buzz and questions about SEO/SEM services intensifies as if it were some top secret project about to be disclosed. Ironically, SEO and SEM is not a secret.
It has been around since 1995 (the year of the search engines) and became more recognizable in 1999 in what has been claimed the “Golden Year of SEO.” After the dot com era bust, it became somewhat of an obsolete and quirky profession even to the point many were saying, “SEO is Dead.” If so, why are Yahoo, Google, eBay, Warner Bros, Dow Jones, Walt Disney, and thousands more advertising for quality SEOs? And why are thousands of big and small businesses (including SEO firms) suddenly hiring in-house and freelance SEO/SEMs? The philosophy behind this top secret, why have a website if nobody is going to see it?
The SEO/SEM industry has experienced a sudden boom and this is just one byte of a 500 gigabyte hard drive. As the need to increase your business on the web, SEO/SEM services’ continues to be more demanding. AOL recently stated, there is a shortage of qualified SEO/SEMs and it will be one of the most demanding professions shortly. Reason: Online marketing strategies have become more intricate and have developed into an unparalleled and unique profession with very few that are qualified to handle it. One thing for sure, the concept of a “basic website” is certainly dying’ that if, if you want to stay ahead of your competition and it all starts with the most frequently asked questions.
What is SEO?
What is an SEM?
How important is SEO/SEM becoming?
Isn’t a Webmaster an SEO and SEM?
Is SEO/SEM more Technical then anything else?
What exactly are Keywords and Keyphrases?
Why has Linking become so important?
What are search engine algorithm?
What makes a website search-engine-friendly?
What is Tweaking?
What is a Search Engine “Spider” and what does it do?
How long does it take for SEO and SEM results to kick in?
Can SEO/SEMs guarantee a #1 position in the search engines?
Can I SEO/SEM myself?
What is Traffic and Page Ranking?
SEO/SEM in General
What is SEO?
SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization. SEO is the art and science of configuring a webpage so that it is found, read, and indexed by search engines in the most effective manner possible, making your website and its content attractive, relevant and visible to search engines and Web users. Normally there are two major steps taken for this to be done correctly to make a website search-engine-friendly.
1) All relevant areas of each webpage on the site must be thoroughly examined, structured, and tweaked, so when search spiders are indexing the site they are given the best possible picture to what the website is all about.
2) Individual pages must specifically target the best Keywords and Keyphrases that are interfaced with original content that best describes the nature of the website. These pages must be energetic by providing useful information to surfers, and clue search spiders precisely what you have to offer and provide supporting back-up for your other related keywords, phrases, and links.
What is SEM?
SEM is an acronym for Search Engine Marketing and it is used to describe acts associated with researching, submitting and positioning the website within search engines to achieve maximum exposure of your website. SEM includes things such as SEO, paid listings (e.g. directories, search engines) and marketing, banner, text and links campaigns, affiliate programs, and other search related services and functions that will increase exposure and traffic to your website.
How important is SEO/SEM becoming?
Very Important! Everyday more marketing and business plan consultants and/or Web designers understand the value of a competent SEO/SEM. If they respect the agent/client relationship they will pass along and work with SEO professionals who eat and sleep SEO and SEM seven days a week. In the right hands the Internet has become a very powerful promotional tool with allowances now being factored for SEO/SEM services in small and corporate business plans
Isn’t a Webmaster or Design Firm an SEO and SEM?
Very few website design companies now offer these professional services because of the growing expertise of it. In one recent study, it revealed fewer than 10% of top-ranking design firms even mention the mere importance of SEO and SEM to their clients. Design firms and independent webmasters are concentrating more to the owner’s wants, like fancy graphics, never-ending technology, and meeting deadlines than making it Internet-friendly.
Is SEM/SEM more technical than anything else?
Yes and no. Many make the mistake of assuming SEO is all technical — only those who know “code” and “script” like webmasters and programmers are best equipped to handle the job. SEOs have multiplex roles, besides having a good understanding of various code and script they have to be good marketers and even copywriters and editors. How to “technically” optimize a site’s title and meta tags is one thing … which keywords to optimize, how to write original content, and understanding how search algorithms work put the SEO/SEM into a technical league of their own.
What exactly are keyword(s) and keyphrase(s)?
The true art of SEO is pinpointing and detailing which “word(s)” or “phrases” will appeal to a target surfer and anticipating whether an user will type in “SD real estate” or “ San Diego real estate,” or “Real Estate in San Diego.” Keywords (individual words) and Keyphrases (combinations of words) are what users search for when looking for the products and/or services offered by a website. For example, if your website sells “dresses” the mistake would be thinking your prime keyword would be “dress” when it should be a prime keyphrase such as “summer dresses.” By properly targeting and detailing keywords, such as “baby-blue summer dresses” or “cotton summer dresses, baby blue” your website can rise to the top of the search rankings for the Major Search Engines because you are targeting a particular product that your website has to offer. Forget going after the keyword “dresses” unless you are, Bloomingdale’s online department store. Nowadays, surfers’ will detail keywords to get the heart of what they are looking for. To type in ‘dress’ or even “blue dress,” you would wad through 10s of pages on “how to dress,” or something like the hit song or movie, “Devil in a Blue Dress” nowhere close to what you are looking for. However, if you have deep pockets and plan to be the next Bloomingdales, go for it.
Why has linking become so important?
When it comes to linking, just remember, “Linking is good Thinking.” Never put all your eggs in one basket; other words, don’t rely on keywords and you can never have enough links. Linking becomes the “strategy” that gives any website not only additional exposure, but creditability if the links are quality inbound and relate to the webpage. Over 95% of all websites have poor links and can “break” a business when links become “dead” (no webpage at the other end) or are ill-reputed such as what links farms offer. Good links play several vital rolls; they provide leads to your website, and search spiders love them because it provides them with fresh material and leads. Links can be inbound (websites that link to yours), they can be reciprocated (exchange of links), and they can be paid (paying a website to link to you). A well-establish website with keyword-rich links from quality sites and you can dominate. Over 30% of users will click on a link and I know of no website that can afford to lose that promotional power.
What are search engine algorithm?
Search engines have several mathematical equations (aka: algorithms) they use to determine how relevant your website is to a search term (by positioning) or even how to list your site under a particular link. These algorithms are kept more secret then the whereabouts of Jimmy Hoffa and are what drive SEOs crazy tying to outwit, calculate, and predict what spiders’ algorithms are. The positionings are made up by several elements/variables associated with this algorithm, including internal linking, page content, title, keywords within the content, HTML tags, page rank, and link popularity (total inbound links to your site) among many others.
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What makes a website search-engine-friendly?
Search-engine-friendly websites do not contain barriers to prevent search engines from indexing the page and content on a website. For instance, frames, Flash-heavy websites and too much JavaScript are not search-engine-friendly techniques and make it difficult to obtain high search engine rankings. A rule of thumb is KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) and offer lots of relevant content for the search engine to ‘read’ and most importantly, “index each page”.
What is Tweaking?
Web tweaking (goes hand to hand with optimization) is more science than anything else. Tweaks are small modifications in the source code and content of the web, which are intended to increase visability to spiders to help improve keyword and link ranking. What, where, and how an SEO tweaks and optimizes is now a guarded trade secret. Each SEO has their own applications, techniques and that gut feeling that comes with experience.
What is a Search Engine “Spider” and what does it do?
A search engine spider or robot (software program) is the most advanced technology creature on earth that crawls the Internet, indexing and storing billions of data in a split second, so whenever a surfer types a particular keyword or phrase for a search it can retrive it. What makes a spider unique? There are no two alike so an SEO has to know what each spider likes and make those adjustments to the webpages. Whenever a spider finds a new site, either through a link or keyword, it takes note of it and schedules it for an extended crawl at a later date. This is where submissions to search engine and directories and linking to quality websites helps speed up this process, more so to a new website.
How long does it take for SEO and SEM results to kick in?
Nowadays, the amount of time ranges anywhere from several days for existing websites in local or niche markets to 24 months for new websites due to the increasing competitiveness of a global market.
Can SEO/SEMs guarantee a #1 position in the search engines?
Nobody can guarantee a #1 position or even getting listed on the first page for a given keyword or phrase. There are simply too many factors. The number one factor, search engines change their ranking algorithms on a regular bases. Other key factors are the increasing efforts made by competitor’s SEOs and that new pages and sites are added to the Web at the rate of one million a day.
Can I SEO/SEM myself?
Sure, why not! Then the question becomes, do you have the expertise to do so? The second and third question, do you want to spend the significant amount time to do it right and can you afford to make a mistake? Many risk the chance of getting their site banned or penalized for such things as over-submitting to search engines, spamming keywords or redundant text, poorly constructed meta tags, and using irreputable websites to increase linking. In other words, unless you understand the mechanics of a car engine, would it not be best to take it to a qualified professional when it starts sputtering?
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What is Traffic and Page Ranking?
There is debate whether Traffic/Page Ranking (TR or PR) means anything and I’m one that belives it plays an important roll. The two most known systems are Google and alexa.com and both are worlds apart. Nevertheless, they set the foundation for rank with various statistics, for instance, how many hits the website gets, how many page views, how many links it has etc. Many search engines spider alexa.com (including Google) and Google’s ranking system. Spiders will record that rank and take it into consideration when listing your website against your competitors. Also, a nice rank tends to “snowball” into more exposure: The specific keywords or phrases that have been targeted may be picked up by second and third tier search engines, thus giving the website more exposure.
a) The competitiveness of your industry and keywords helps with linking when others start linking to your site because of a good rank.
b) Whether you are targeting a local, regional or national market, a good rank will help expand to one of a global market.
c) Search engines love changes. How well the website has been tweaked, changed and ranked over time will keep spiders coming back without the need of submitting.
d) Your ongoing reciprocal and inbound linking campaign helps determine your ranking to other search engines and directories and can get you listed without submitting to them.
e) A good rank will also let surfers know how long the web has been online and most important, the quality and creditability of it.
f) A good rank usually receives priority, so new pages and added content will get indexed faster.
Summary: SEO/SEM in General
SEO/SEM has become a highly-specialized service, requiring much research on the website itself, along with the competitors, forethought, computer skills, and can be extremely time-consuming to implement correctly. It has become more challenging as the web grows, and as technology becomes more complex, search spiders get smarter. What worked two years ago or even six weeks ago may not produce the same results now, so forget all those marketing classes you took in college. SEO/SEM has it own rules, regulations, techniques, and procedures. Using poor optimization techniques or automated submission services you now risk losing your website traffic, qualified leads and in some cases can get the domain name banned by search engines.
For more about how SEO/SEM services can increase your business please feell free to email.
