If I was to ask you right now "Are you absolutely certain that
your web site is optimized for high search engine rankings?",
what would you say?
What if I was to ask "How many search engines has your site been
registered with?" Or how about "Does your site have tailored
title and META Tags?"
If you would answer "No" or "I don't know" to any of these
questions, you would be amongst the 70% of web site owners whose
web sites are missing out on search engine traffic because they
are not designed for high rankings. Has your web designer
optimized YOUR site? Have they submitted it to the top ten
search engines and directories? More than likely, you don't know
because they haven't told you. Ask them TODAY!
But what exactly is search engine optimization? Simply
explained, it is the technique of attaining a high ranking in
search engines and directories via changes to your site code to
make it more search engine compatible.
Did you know that key search words and phrases in your "title
tag" and "META tags" (in the HTML script of your site) and body
text are often very important references that search engines use
when ranking web sites for search relevancy? Optimizing your
site meta tags and your body text for search engines ensures
that it ranks highly for particular words or phrases that you
would expect potential visitors to type in to search engines to
find your site.
For example, if you are a Miami florist, you should have logical
search phrases such as "flowers", "Miami florists", "bouquets
Miami" and even target search terms such as "Miami weddings",
"Valentine’s Day gifts" etc integrated in your title and meta
tags, as well as in the visible text of your site. That way, if
anyone types in those phrases in a search engine, your site is
more likely to appear higher in the search results.
So why wasn't your site optimised for search engines when it was
built? Depending on who developed your site and how it was
built, you’ll find a million different reasons for this. Many
web developers believe it is the site marketer’s job to ensure
the site is found in search engines and vice versa. Most don’t
bother submitting your site to the important search engines,
assuming you or your marketing department will do it. Or perhaps
it wasn’t in your original development budget.
Not many web design firms know how or have time to optimize a
site successfully, no matter what they tell you. They might feel
it is outside their core business, or they might believe it is
not part of the "design process". Consequently, your site can be
launched for many months without the search engines having any
idea it exists. Some web development firms don’t include even
the most basic META tags in your site code when building it. Or
those that do include META tags without close consultation with
you, resulting in the wrong search terms used and poor
performance. This is quite typical! Remember that search engine
optimization is a relatively new science and requires both
client interaction and constant monitoring to be successful.
The bottom line? If your designer can’t show you the high
rankings they’ve achieved for other clients, they won’t be able
to optimize your site properly. Search engine optimization (SEO)
specialists have sprung up to fill the need for these services.
Many SEO's will work either directly with you or with your web
site designer to ensure your site gets the exposure it deserves
in the most popular search engines and directories. Find a
specialist with a good track record and reap the results.
Remember, search engine users generally only explore the first
10 or 20 sites in the search results. If you site isn't in the
top 20, you won't be found, it's as simple as that. Always
include search engine optimization into your marketing budget or
your site could be as effective as a billboard at the end of a
dead end street.
About the author:
Article by Kalena Jordan, CEO of Web Rank. Kalena was one of the
first search engine optimization experts in Australia & New
Zealand and is well known and respected in her field. For more
of her articles on search engine ranking and online marketing,
please visit http://www.high-search-engine-ranking.com
