If you own or manage a business Website, chances are you are at
least somewhat familiar with the concept of search engine
optimization (SEO). You may have read any number of books and
articles on the subject and possibly given it a try yourself. Or
perhaps, after exhaustive research, you decided that your time
is better spent in your area of expertise. If that’s the case, I
have some good news for you. There is such a thing as affordable
search engine optimization. In fact, when you know what to look
for, it can be a real bargain.
Step One – 3 Simple Questions:
The first step is estimating some target market information.
Just ask a few simple questions and write down the answers that
you come up with. You’ll need this information later:
1. How many people do you think are looking for what you offer?
2. What keywords are they using in search engine searches? 3.
Which keywords are the most popular to meet your needs?
Step Two - Verify:
Now that you have your initial estimates, let’s validate the
information. Visit Overture.com’s Advertiser Center and try
their Search Term Suggestion Tool located at:
http://www.content.overture.com/d/USm/ac/index.jhtml
Type in any term that you think is close to what your potential
visitors are looking for. You will see how many searches were
performed, on the Overture search system, for the previous
month. TIP – Use a general search term to start with.
Now you have the single most important advantage when dealing
with any trained business professional – you are informed!
Step Three – Make it Happen:
Now that you have this great information, you want to see it
implemented. This is the best part. I recommend a visit to SEO
Partner. SEO Partner (www.SEOPartner.com) really lives up to its
slogan “search engine optimization on your terms”.
They have assembled an enormous talent pool of SEO developers,
who actually compete to work on your project. It does not cost
you anything to post your optimization projects. To operate the
service, they accept a small commission from the SEO developers
(which is only a fraction of what developers would normally
spend on marketing efforts alone).
Finally, there’s one of my favorite features. SEO Partner
protects you from those less scrupulous SEO ‘experts’ you read
about more and more with their protective escrow payment system.
Step Four – Track Your Progress:
Finally, once you have your campaign underway, you really need
to track your progress. There are some great tools available for
that purpose. Here are links to some of the better products that
I have worked with:
www.webposition.com www.axandra.com www.searchenginecommando.com
There are a lot of products out there - all at varying costs. I
recommend you visit your favorite search engine and look for
‘seo tools’ and see what you get for a response. Then I would
definitely test each one’s demo version thoroughly before
investing in any one of them. A good tool is worth the
investment but there are so many great options out there that
it’s best to shop around and try before you buy.
I wish you the best of luck in your campaign!
About the author:
Scott Jason is a search engine optimization project manager with
SEOpm.com. With five years in the industry he specializes in
assisting small to medium sized companies attain their SEO
goals. Feel free to contact Scott, or his associates, at
www.SEOpm.com
