Search Engine Optimization - Part 4
We
seem to have gotten to the last of our questions that are being asked
about search engines. After 3 articles, I think a 4th article is about
all you need to make your decision on what you need to do about your
companies search engine requirements..
I have had my site search engine optimized, how long until I see results? What should I be expecting?
This question is really difficult to explain, so let us explain it with an example.
Jack has spent 10 years in the real estate industry. He’s gone from a
sale agent to a broker and now owns his own brokerage, Jack’s Realty.
To help his staff and to help advertise his company, he’s gone ahead
and contact a custom software development company to create a website
with 5 pages of content, one of which is a splash page, a page about
the company, a page with the listings, a contact page and a page of
testimonials. He’s chosen the keywords “Real Estate”, “Home For Sale”,
and “Sales agents”.
So what’s wrong with the way he has optimized his site? Assuming Jack’s
IT Outsourcing firm has done everything correctly, they probably
haven’t considered several factors: who are his competition? When you
enter “Real Estate” into a Google or Yahoo search, you’ll get thousands
of hits. Unfortunately, the top 10 hits will probably belong to
companies with major brand recognition, longevity, staying power, and
huge amounts of content. ReMax.com, Century21.com, Realtor.com,
ColdwellBanker.com, RoyalLePage.com all comes to mind when thinking of
Real Estate. Visit and browse some of these sites, without a doubt they
will have pages and pages of content. How can Jack’s Realty compete
against these companies with the same keywords if he only has 5 pages
of content and the first is a splash page? We already know that search
engines do not like flash or splash pages too well.
So, how can Jack resolve his problem?
1) Optimize your site for less competitive keyword phrases. This does
not mean Jack shouldn’t use “Real Estate” but he can regionalize his
keyword phrase like “Home for Sale in Springdale”, using a large city
like “Home For Sale in Toronto” is almost the same as just using “Homes
for Sale”.
Jack can also target a certain aspect or location of
his business, like “Forresthill Real Estate”, or “Luxury Real Estate”,
or “Foresthill Luxury Real Estate”
2) Maximize and Optimize the Content on your Website:
If you want to compete with the top sites, you’re going to need lots of
relevant, keyword-phrase enriched content. Writing useful information
and updating your site with fresh content should be one of your
priorities if you are serious about optimizing your site. Do what you
can to keep your content fresh so visitors will keep on visiting your
site. Not all software development services are the same, make sure the
company that is supporting you can help you or properly direct you in
your requirements.
3) There is power in numbers. How many links do you
have coming into your website? Are there relevant and associated
websites with links to your website? The concept is simple for search
engines, the more sites that point to your site, the higher the chance
of it being a legitimate site. The more pointing, the higher your
ranking is within search engines. Keep in mind that not just any link
will help, you need to focus on related and relevant links.
For more about SEO, read all 4 parts of Search Engine Optimization .
