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Some people are frightened of search engine optimization. Maybe it's just that so many small business owners, especially those still in start up mode are overworked already. And because it sounds so alien and they're pressed for time, they don't get around to investigating search engine optimization for there websites. It's a shame really because it is totally necessary and not really all that hard to do.
Some people are frightened of search engine optimization. Maybe it's just that so many small business owners, especially those still in start up mode are overworked already. And because it sounds so alien and they're pressed for time, they don't get around to investigating search engine optimization for there websites. It's a shame really because it is totally necessary and not really all that hard to do. We can start by losing some of the smoke and mirrors that many people use to obscure some of the simpler truths about SEO. Its only a series of steps to follow, so that customers can find you on the web. If a lot of them aren't carved in stone, that's because they tend to change a lot. And yes, there are a lot of steps to follow, not necessarily in an exact order and for many people the biggest problem is figuring out where to start. Because there are so many different ways that you can attack the problem of improving your search engine ranking positions, a whole industry has grown up around SEO, offering different services. Of course, each company believes that what they do is the most important thing that needs to be done. At least that's what they'll tell you. One company claims you need press releases, and another " blogs and yet another is built around social sites and with each claim, the picture grows more confusing. It can be paralyzing. Because there really isn't a better place to start. How about defining your keywords and lining them up with the pages that you want people to find. Keywords are very simply the words or word combinations that are typed into one of the search engines when your future customers are looking to buy something on the web. Your keywords ( and most will be phrases- not single words) need to be those that people are already using. I've found that if you search carefully you should be able to find a range of phrases from 5,000 maybe if you're lucky up to about 25-30 thousand monthly searches, but be happy with 3-4 phrases per main page that average about 12,000 searches per month each. At the most basic identification of the level of competition for the phrase you'll want to have less that 300,000 pages returned in a search for your keyword phrase and be sure to wrap it in quotation marks when you're doing your estimates. Different pages in your site need different levels of search volume to be successful. Your biggest phrases - the ones with more than 50,000 monthly searches will probably be for your home page, because your home page is the broadstroke sweep of everything you sell - and lets be honest - it's going to take you a while to get anywhere on the really big searches and competitive terms. But as you look at the categories of products or services you sell- for instance if you're selling patio furniture your categories might be wicker, wood, teak, wrought iron....those more targeted terms will have smaller search volumes and less competition- until you get right down to the products themselves. Your home page will probably have 3-4 big sweeping keyword phrases and your main category pages will have the same slightly more focused phrases - and a host of long tail variations. Say a category is wicker patio furniture, some long tails will be - white wicker patio furniture, discount wicker patio furniture, white resin wicker...etc. Do you see the pattern? The more specific you get the less people will be looking, but the chance that they can find you should get better if you do a good job picking your words. But the most important thing to remember when you're looking at getting your website found is that you don't have one or two words that you'll use to promote the site, you'll have a few main words to promote the individual pages on your site because the first thing you really need to wrap your head around is that people will find your webiste one page at a time. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. By Louise Collins, author of Start Up Mistakes. With information you should have before you negoiate your online merchant account |