What's all the noise about SEO?
If you're a marketer, odds are you've been hearing a lot about SEO lately. But what exactly is it? And how does it work?
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of arranging a website's content in a way that makes it a) easy for search engine "spiders" to read, and b) dense with topics your consumers are searching for. Spiders, also known as robots, are the computer programs search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN use to navigate web pages, index their contents, and add them to their databases.
The outcome of all this busywork are the search results pages you see when you submit a search query on Google, Yahoo, MSN, or any of the other numerous search engines that exist. Have you ever wondered why some sites rank higher than others? When you look at a search results page, generally the first items you notice are the "Sponsored Links," or paid advertisements. We'll talk about those next time; for now let's just focus on the results that appear naturally.
The search engines use a complex algorithm to determine which websites are ranked the highest on their results pages. The natural, or organic search results, are ranked as a result of each website's content. For instance, if you submit a Google search for "moisture meter," the first organic result that appears on the page is www.moisturemeterstore.com, which just so happens to be one of our clients. Two reasons this site appears first is due to the number of occurrences of the phrase "moisture meter" on the site and the positive linking structure that exists there.
Keyword density
First let's talk about the density of the phrase "moisture meter" on that website. Because the site's main purpose is to sell moisture meters, we identified that as a key phrase for SEO purposes. We then developed website copy that was rich with that key phrase, but that was also logical and not so repetitive as to make visitors and spiders want to leave the site as quickly as they arrived. It is also important that each page has unique content, because as much as redundancy would be mind-numbing to visitors, spiders are wise to this tactic and they have methods in place to penalize websites that attempt to "trick" them.
Positive link structure
Now why don't we address the positive link structure we created for the site. Good link structure helps visitors and spiders navigate your site with ease. If you click on the first product that appears on the website's home page, the Tramex Encounter Plus, you'll land on a page that provides all the details about that moisture meter. Notice the URL that appears in your web browser at the top of the page. This is how it appears:
www.moisturemeterstore.com/moisture_meter_M254.shtml
The first thing to point out about this URL is that the words "moisture meter" appear in it twice. The second point is that it is very logical. It begins with the website's name and continues on to moisture_meter, which is the type of product you are viewing, and ends with the model number of the product. The simplicity of the link not only makes it easy for a visitor to write down if they want to come back to that page later, but also makes it very search-engine friendly.
In addition to the simplicity of the link, each significant page on the website links to the other significant pages of the site. For instance, from the Tramex page you landed on it is very easy to find your way back to the home page you originated from. Just click on the "home" icon in the navigation bar or click on the company logo in the top left hand corner of the page.
In addition to key phrase density and positive link structure, there are numerous other techniques that are incorporated into a good SEO program. Some of them include URL canonicalization, link acquisition, site maps, 404 pages, website architecture, hosting, title tags and meta description tags. We'll explore those more advanced techniques in future articles.
But wait.before you go, we'd like to leave you with some astounding statistical data regarding SEO.
- 77% of adults who research online before making a purchase use search engines.
- 54% of small businesses currently use SEO.
- Four out of five Internet user sessions begin at a search site.
- 93% of consumers worldwide use search engines to find websites.
- Three out of four of those surveyed said their main vehicle for traversing the web were search engines.
- 33% of users think that a company with top rankings on a search engine is a leader in its field.
- 17 out of 20 qualified visitors to a website are driven through search engines.
- 55% of all Internet purchases begin with a search engine. 93% of these users do not look past the first two pages of results.
All of these percentages and statistics add up to the fact that SEO is a valuable tactic for any company to take advantage of. It increases visibility, brand awareness, and ROI. Hopefully you're on your way to establishing a keen knowledge of the search engine optimization process. We'll see you next time!
