SEO Overview
This SEO Overview provides a quick introduction to the major topic
areas you are going to discover as you explore this site. SEO - Search
Engine Optimization - is a huge, constantly evolving topic,
but like most things in life, the basics are actually quite
simple. Read on!
What is SEO?
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the business of optimizing your site to
improve its positioning in the search engine listings. When people use
the term SEO they are usually reffering to the free listings, and not
sponsored results, directory listings, etc, which fall under the broader headings of Search Marketing or Web Marketing.
Why is SEO Important?
For many reasons, including:
-
High Volume Traffic
- Search engines are the primary method of web navigation employed by users today.
This means that a successful SEO
campaign can generate a huge volume of additional traffic to your site.
-
Targetted Traffic - The traffic that is generated from search
engines is highly targetted traffic.
This means that these users are more likely to be interested in what you
sell/say and are therefore more valuable than users brought to your site by
most other means.
-
Free Traffic - Of course nothing in life is free; a successful
SEO campaign requires time and effort, but unless you hire a specialist
consultant to do the work for you, there are no direct fees
involved. ROI can be correspondingly huge.
Can I do it?
Yes. There is no magic involved, despite what some of the less reputable
'experts' would have you believe. A good SEO strategy also requires considerable time and
effort on an ongoing basis, but there is nothing
intrinsically difficult about it. There is always more to learn, and the
rules of the game constantly
evolve as the major search engines update their
algorithms, but the basics remain
the same. It is not necessary to stay up to date with the latest industry
trends on a daily basis in order to stay ahead of the vast majority of the opposition.
A sensible, ongoing SEO startegy WILL pay dividends.
Should I do it?
Less simple. It would depend upon several factors including: the nature of
your business/site, the value you attach to your time or that of your staff,
whether you would enjoy the personal challenge, etc. If you decide that
you would rather get a proffessional to do the work for you there are a large
number of consultants who would be more than willing to lend a
hand. I am not in the business of recommending individuals or firms, but I
have spelled out a few things to look for (and a few things to be wary of) in a
potential consultant here.
The Search Engines
This is your battleground. You're fighting for their attention and the competition
is fierce. New search engines appear constantly, but the major players show up
year after year, fighting over market share. Google is king, with MSN Search (Microsoft)
and Yahho Search following on their heels. There are literally hundreds of search engines out there, some good some bad.
None of them come close to the big three in terms of the sheer volume of
traffic they can generate, but some of them are certainly worth a look,
particularly if the content of your site is specialized. There are many
"special interest" search engines out there that target material related to
their topic of choice.
The Search Engine Crawlers
The forgotten twins of the search engines. Everyone is familiar with the
search engines; we've all typed something in the little box and watched as
relevant (or not so relevant!) results appeared on the page. Fewer people have
ever stopped to wonder what's going on behind the scenes. How did Google know
which web pages to return as a result of your search? This is where the Search
Engine Crawlers come in.
What is a Crawler?
A crawler is a sofware program developed by the search engine companies to help
them explore the web. The crawler starts with a list of known addresses (URLs)
and then visits each one, following all the links it encounters during its
travels. In this way the crawler builds up a picture of the web and can present
its users with (supposedly) the most relevant pages when they perform a search.
The list of original URLs are those that have been submitted to the search
engine company and/or gathered in past crawls. The result of the crawler's travels
is a huge store of information about the pages of information that make up the web.
This is called an 'index'. Google's index contains information about more than 8 billion
pages.
OK, How Do I Start?
You read SEO Strategy. It will fill in some of
the blanks left by this overview and lay out the various pieces that go
together to form a comprehensive SEO strategy.
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