Benefits of Search Engine Optimization

Introduction

Businesses spend hundreds even thousands of dollars to develop aesthetically pleasing web sites. They spend even more on banner ads and other forms of web marketing. However, those same businesses often neglect the one area that could be the most beneficial to their site's success - search engines.

 A recent Georgia Tech study discovered that 85% of customers looking for vendors or suppliers used search engines to find them, but only those listed in the top 30 results ever generated a sizable stream of traffic.

 The key, then, is getting the site at the top of those lists, but with hundreds of new sites coming online every day that can be more difficult than it sounds. Higher rankings require search engine optimization.

What Is Search Engine Optimization?

 Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a plan implemented to increase a site's visibility. It involves selecting keywords that will generate targeted traffic, researching search engine policies and guidelines, and understanding customers. In addition, SEO involves dealing with design and content problems that might hinder a site's results ranking.

 SEO is not a one-time job. It requires trial and error testing, regular updates, and periodic performance enhancements so the site will continue to appear high in the results. Because of the demands of SEO, many companies outsource these needs to individuals or businesses that specialize in providing those types of services.

 After all with more than 500 billion documents online right now, the competition for

Internet visibility is fierce and a knowledgeable expert may provide just the edge a site needs. 

Why Optimize?

 SEO provides a number of benefits that are often overlooked or undervalued, including the following: 

Long-Term Visibility

 Obviously, a site needs more than flash-in-the-pan exposure if it is to generate a significant stream of revenue. Banner ads or paid search engine placement may work wonders for a while but once the marketing budget is depleted, the site disappears. Another factor is that consumers tend to ignore or distrust blatant advertising; they are more likely to purchase from a site ranked high in the search engine results than from a conspicuously placed advertisement.

 Increased Brand Awareness 

A high ranking in major search engines means more people see the name of that company and become familiar with its products even if they haven't made a purchase. In fact, a study by NPD found that consumers are twice as likely to recognize a business ranked in the top three in search engine results than those appearing in prominent banner ads. 

Targeted Traffic 

Because keywords determine when a site will appear in search engine results and because those keywords are carefully (or should be) by the business, the type of traffic generated is highly targeted. For example, a site selling music could use key words, such as “classical music” to weed out people interested in jazz, rock, or pop. The higher the conversion rate from browsers to buyers. 

How SEO Works 

In order to understand Search Engine Optimization, one must first understand how search engines work. Actually, the term “search engine” refers to two types of engines: crawler-based and human-powered. A crawler-based search engine sends what is called a spider to go through web sites. The spider's findings are then added to the engine's index. The spider returns to the web site periodically and brings updated information back to the index. When a search is conducted, the engine sorts through the entire index looking for matches. Google is one example of this type of engine. 

Human-powered directories require a short description (written by either their reviewers or the company running the site) that is included in the directory. Updating pages on the site does not alter the listing and searches only look through those descriptions for matches. Look Smart is an example of a human-powered directory. Today, many search engines, such as Yahoo and MSN, present both crawler-based and human-powered results. These are known as hybrid search engines. 

When people discuss site ranking, they are generally referring to the crawler-based search engines, which list search results based on relevancy. But how is that relevancy determined? 

Search engines determine relevancy by applying a set of rules known as an algorithm.

Which each engine's algorithms are different, they all look for similar things: 

Location of Keywords – Search engines first check title tags, headlines, and the first two paragraphs of content for keyword matches 

Frequency of Keywords – Search engines look at how often a word appears on a page. The more frequently the word shows up, the more relevant the site. 

Avoid Spamming – These are elements that cannot be controlled by SEO, such as link analysis and click through measurement.