Getting Your Site Found Step By Step

So…You want to get MUCH more out of your website,right?

Just how is that done and what do
you have to do to get that result?

Search Engine Optimization is a process. Certain steps should be done before others simply to make what follows more effective. Many times I’ll run across people who are literally doing the same things I would be doing for their website ranking but are getting nowhere because they are doing them in the wrong (or not optimum) order. But in a very simplified manner I’ll lay down what a good SEO Marketing plan would look like.

• Keyword Research –Keyword analysis is the foundation of your entire search engine optimization efforts. The success of all attraction-based marketing depends on solid keyword analysis.

If you want to get better search engine results you have to focus on having the right keyword analysis and research. Your keyword analysis paves the way for you to target exactly how your market will find you. Almost all of the business owners and even website design people we meet have no idea how important choosing the right keywords is to the success of their online efforts. The fact is,you can have a website with thousands of visitors per month coming to it that generate almost no sales simply because the keyword choices are out of kilter. This is common ailment for many a business website.

The first step for all websites,new and existing,to make their website more productive should be conducting a keyword and competition analysis. How are people searching for what you sell? Who are your strongest competitors in your market and how entrenched in your market for a particular keyword are they? And what will you need to do to get your webpages listed with or above them?

MakePageOne.com analyzes hundreds of keyword phrases and competitors and offers you insight on where to point your efforts. Once this is done,we can then recommend specific strategies for advertising,building links and generating content to get your site ranked high in the search engine results,which brings you meaningful traffic.

• On-Page Optimization –This means getting your website ready to receive “Google Love.”

1. Pages with no or poorly optimized title and description tags can’t really be expected to rank for the words you are hoping them to get ranked for.
2. Keyword density and keywords in the copy need to match the subject of the page. You get rewarded by the search engines if people find exactly what they are looking for when they land on your page and don’t hit the back button. (This is important!)
3. Other really boring &technical tid-bits…H1 tags,alt text on pics,keyword tags,framing and flow of information etc.

• Off-Page Optimization (also called “Link Building”) –A “link”is simply a citation to your website (a webpage is a better way to say it) from one page on the web to another.

Link building is the fuel that stokes the fire for SEO. Without the link building your site is like a well laid campfire and no one has a match. Nobody is going to see,feel or gather around it if you don’t have it. Every link to your website,especially if it is a link that is tied to a keyword like this:Mobile Marketing  is a “Vote”for your site to the search engines.  It’s a vote that says,“Hey Google,this site is about that keyword!”The more votes you have from more places scattered about the internet,and the higher authority (reputation) that remote site has,the better your site ranks. That’s it,could not be simpler than that. What we do at MakePageOne.com is build thousands of these backlinks pointing to various pages (by keyword) on your site which makes your site more visible week after week after week.  This has to be done in a natural and meaningful way of course (you’ll do damage if you don’t) but this is something that builds over time to make your website outrank your competition.

• Social Media –Sites like Twitter,Facebook,Linkedin and Merchant Cirlce are deemed “Social Media Sites.”There is a new emphasis on social media that even the search engines are making a part of their “input”as to who and where they serve up a website. So social media does have a direct effect on your linking and ranking.  This is one aspect of SEO that every business needs but the application of it must be more tailor made for that specific business.

Social media can be used for a business in some pretty surprising way.  For instance,if you owned a wedding dress store,would it be a boon for you to be able to find 50 women today that got engaged within the past 2 months? How about if you are a heating and air company,would you like to be “flagged”anytime someone in town mentioned their air conditioner or heater wasn’t working? This type of thing is not a dream,it’s possible and is being done as we speak!

I think the only reason that more businesses aren’t using social media today like they should is that they simply don’t know the capabilities or how they might apply them to their personal business. I mean,really…Twitter as a business tool?  Yes Indeed!

• Other Methods For Driving Traffic And Sales –Everything listed above is a “common denominator”for all businesses that want to drive more targeted traffic to their website and make more sales. The following are things that while just as important,each and every one of them are not really for every industry,niche or business.  This is where having a professional marketing expert come take a look at your business would pay for itself thousands of times over.

Social Media –Again! Now here it is twice!  I mention this again because just like the telephone and the fax machine (for those who can remember when it made it debut) changed the way we do business,social media is doing it too.  Only it’s more complicated than the phone and fax. But believe me,your kids and your competitors understand it,and if you wait too long,you will not be happy about it!

Blogs –A “Blog”is merely a website that is built on a platform that the search engines like to see.  Blogs can be interactive by providing a comment section for visitors to add their thoughts or they can be made with the look and feel of any other “ordinary”website you see on the web. Search engines like the blogging platform because content is easier to add and change on them,more so than on a regular html website. That changing content makes your site more “relevant”and Google loves “relevant!”Making a blog either to be your company website or as an extension of your website is actually a very good way to not only get your site noticed by the search engines and drive traffic but it can be used to provide a level of personal attention to your prospects and customers.  A blog does not make sense for every business but you’d be surprised at how many types of businesses there are that could benefit greatly by having one.

Mobile Marketing –Most local searches are done from a phone these days. (That’s kinda weird isn’t it?) Which brings us to two things…

1. Is your company website in a mobile format? If it isn’t,people can’t see it well on their phone. (Your competitor’s site is…or soon will be!)
2. Are you doing anything to take advantage of the fact that 97% of all text messages are opened and read? If you aren’t,you could be really missing the boat here.

This is one of those areas that if you are not familiar with how these new technologies can be used,you’ll likely not come up with any ideas of how you could literally drive a couple of thousands of dollars worth of business to your store with 2 hours flat! And then you can do that over and over and over again! This is one area I’m “jazzed”about.  It reminds of the day I got my first fax machine and I couldn’t believe I put off the purchase because it literally saved me 2 hours a day on the phone calling in orders. I could have kicked myself.
Do yourself a favor and don’t dismiss this as “Something that won’t work with my business”until you talk with someone who is knowledgeable about it. You don’t want to kick yourself later about this if it is indeed something you can use!

• Your Message “On Page Marketing”- This should not be last and it certainly isn’t least,but,many,many websites are merely an electronic brochure that tells who you are and where you are and makes unsubstantiated claims that you are the best. Sites that are heavy on features and don’t get into the benefits of your product or service are little more than a business card as far as generating you more business. Sure,you’ll get more business simply by being there and getting found,but if you were able to get 20 times the business from the same number of visitors to your site,would that help your bottom line?

Here’s some simple ideas to have on your website that affects that in a huge way…

• Answer the questions everyone is asking: “What’s in it for me?”and/or “Why should I care?”

• Add video to your site –Marketing is changing and marketing on the web is changing things even faster.  If you aren’t using video on your website that shows you or even pictures of you or your staff or your place or what you do,you are missing out on a golden opportunity to make more sales.

• A lead capture system –Are you asking for the email,phone number or interest or feedback from your visitors? Having a way to keep in contact with your prospective customers and customers is worth more than you can imagine. This works into your marketing system for customer retention,referrals and continuing sales.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of things that any business could do to turn their business marketing into a well oiled profit center,but hopefully it has given you some idea of the potential that you have sitting there in cyberspace right now that could be of much more value to you than it currently is.If you would like to explore further the possibilities that any one of these online or offline marketing systems can do for you business,I’d love to be the one you call and talk to about it.  If you fill out the form on this page I’ll take a look at your website and do an SEO and Marketing analysis on it. There is no cost or obligation that comes with this. After I review your site and talk with you a bit about your business and how you are set for growth or service etc. I can make recommendations that you are free to implement yourself or have your current SEO company implement or we could explore the possibility of you hiring me to do it for you. In any event,it’s all good!

Here’s something that might help you…a whole lot!

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