Article Directory

The effective use of SEO is an important aspect of any online marketing strategy. Due to a lack of understanding and the preponderance of black hat SEO firms, may companies cast a weary eye on the practice. As the online marketplace for products and information continues to grow, however, companies who don't at least consult with an ethical online marketing company are limiting their growth potential.

A significant contributor to the skepticism surrounding SEO is the belief that search engine optimization ends with achieving high search engine rankings for targeted keywords. This, however, is merely a means to an end. The ultimate goal of any intelligent search engine strategy should be to improve traffic to a website and to convert this traffic into paying business. For this to occur, it's important to understand what keyword phrases are used by people who are researching or interested in buying the products and services your company sells.

That is why the value of intelligent keyword research should not be underestimated when beginning an SEO campaign. Before you begin your on-page and off-page optimization efforts, you should thoroughly research which keyword phrases it makes sense to rank for. To do this, you should look at the intent of searchers using certain keywords, keyword volumes, search trends, and keyword commercial value. Developing a strong understanding of the keyword space you're targeting will enable you to most effectively target phrases that will improve both traffic and conversions.

Once you've finished researching your target keywords, any comprehensive SEO strategy must incorporate 3 elements: a) Onsite code, tags, and structure optimization; b) Relevant, unique content creation; c) quality link development. You can find all kinds of expert advice, secret tips, and lengthy books out there on SEO, but when all is said and done, pretty much every SEO practice fits into 1 of these 3 categories. If your SEO strategy doesn't involve all 3 of these elements in a cohesive fashion, your results will fall short of expectations.

With the confusion surrounding SEO, some companies choose to stick with PPC for their online marketing efforts. While, PPC can certainly be effective, more often than not, working with a quality seo firm is a better long-term investment. This is because with SEO, you are building on online asset that will continue to generate traffic and returns after your SEO efforts are complete. A useful analogy is that SEO vs. PPC is comparable to buying a house vs. renting. Although buying a house may require more upfront capital and research than renting an apartment, you will own an asset that with proper maintenance will appreciate over time. It should be noted that like all properties, online properties require upkeep to maintain search engine rankings.

With the social media platforms that arose out of the Web 2.0 movement now ubiquitous, finding a way to include social media marketing in your online strategy will strengthen your SEO efforts. Social media marketing can seem daunting at first, and some companies are weary of spending too much time writing blog posts, staying active on Twitter, developing Facebook pages, etc. While social media campaigns can certainly be extensive, you can begin with something as simple as a blog where you post company announcements or answer customer questions several times a month. Social media's power is in its ability to enable brand building, strengthen customer relationships, and follow what people are saying about you online. Like SEO, it's important that you develop a cohesive strategy when creating your social media campaign.