By David Martin, President and CEO of VeinInnovations
When you use Google to search for a business, how often do you click to the second page of results? How often do you look past the first three results? If your answer is, “There’s a second page?” I hope you know a bit about SEO.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of getting visibility for your website. SearchEngineLand.com provides this definition:
It is the process of getting traffic from the “free,” “organic,” “editorial” or “natural” listings on search engines. All major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing have such results, where web pages and other content such as videos or local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers most relevant to users. Payment isn’t involved, as it is with paid search ads.
SEO is ever evolving. Google, for example, changes the factors that affect SEO often. The changes occur to streamline the process for better results, and to weed out those who are gaming the system. Sites like SearchEngineLand and SEOmoz track changes and keep readers up-to-date on the newest techniques and tricks to keep your site visibility up. It can get confusing for the uninitiated – quick.
SearchEngineLand’s “Periodic Table of SEO” provides a quick look at many of the factors that affect a website’s rank in search engine results.
Where does your page rank? Do a quick Google search for your specialty and see where your name pops up. If you’re not satisfied with the results, you have two options. Have someone in your office learn all about SEO and take the reins, or hire an SEO company to do it for you. The option you choose should be determined by the availability and Internet savvy of your staff and your budget. If you’ve got a computer whiz (with some background knowledge and experience) you may be able to use someone you’ve already got. If not – hire a professional.
Hiring an SEO expert to improve your Internet visibility is worth the money. Think about your own reaction to the top three results in a Google search. If I search “buy compost in Atlanta”, I’m going to call the company that pops up first. Sure, a company on the second page might be better, but there’s credibility that comes along with a premiere spot in search results.
As I mentioned earlier, SEO factors change often. Professionals live and breathe in the world of search engines. What you spend on their services means a lot less worry for you, increased visibility (and often, credibility) for your business.
