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Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a term applied to practices designed to boost a website's ranking in a search engine's natural (or organic) search results. This is in contrast to Pay-Per-Click marketing, in which an advertiser bids on certain keywords to rank high in the Sponsored Links portion of a Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Whereas Per-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns cost the advertiser a considerable margin of marketing costs, most SEO tactics do not cost anything.
SEO can refer to:
1) The trade itself; e.g. "I work in search engine optimization"
2) One who works in the business; e.g. "I am a search engine optimizer" (or optimizician, if you want to be fancy about it)
For many companies, SEO is a good alternative to Pay-Per-Click campaigns, and may be used in conjunction with PPC campaigns to help brand your company's name and give legitimacy and substance to your sponsored link.
For Realtors, SEO is almost always a better option to start with. Because there are only three or four sponsored link slots at the top of each SERP, that makes competition extremely high for those positions. Imagine how much you would have to pay to get top sponsored-link rankings for a search term like "Minneapolis real estate." (A lot -- we've done the research.)
With SEO, you don't pay for someone to click on your link. The only costs are the fees charged by your SEO. And since there are more slots for natural links in the SERPs than for sponsored links, it may be easier to propel you to the top without paying the high costs associated with getting there. With the right strategies in place, you can rake in a lot more free visits for a fraction of the marketing costs of a PPC campaign.
This is a valid question, and one that every professional should consider before employing a third-party company to do their SEO. The simple answer is, there is no good reason not to do it yourself -- if you can dedicate the time and resources necessary to see results. You don't need to go to college for four years to learn SEO; there are myriad free resources to help you learn the principles and techniques at your fingertips as we speak.
But maintaining an effective SEO campaign is a full-time job; it's not like checking and responding to your e-mails each morning. It requires daily attention, meticulous crafting, and a bed of knowledge and experience one can only build from practice. It's no wonder that after analyzing their business's needs and resources, most professionals realize it would be more cost effective to employ another company's expertise.
When choosing an SEO to work with you should be aware that anyone who guarantees you'll get placement in the number one spot on the first page of Google is probably in it to make a quick buck. Because you're not paying the search engine for a guaranteed placement (like with PPC), it is impossible to guarantee results. Various forces contribute to the placement of links in any given SERP, and what you see as results today could vary drastically from what you'll see tomorrow. Search engines use complicated algorithms to "crawl" the web, analyze content, and index each page according to certain keywords and phrases. In addition to new content constantly being updated and published on the web, search engines frequently change the configuration of their automated web crawlers. So a method which one SEO considers fool-proof one time might be thrown out the window next time.
Another valid question. In the SEO world, there is a sharp division between legitimate SEO tactics and the so-called "black hat" SEO tricks. A responsible practitioner will use only those methods which are known to be both effective and within the bounds of most search engines' guidelines. For instance, Matt Cutts, the head of Google's Webspam team, regularly puts out blog entries geared at SEOs. These alert readers on changes to Google's indexing methods, as well as warnings about what not to do as an SEO, such as spamming a blog or paying people to link to your site.
Such black-hat techniques as these are the tools of the trade for scam artists. Employing these methods might boost you up to the top rankings for a keyword initially. But when Google catches on (which they will -- they're Google!), they will punish such dishonest tactics by ranking your site very low or banning it from their servers entirely, whether you were aware of the violations or not. Once you are banned, it is very hard to get them to put you back in. In this sense, choosing an SEO can literally make or break your company. So do your research before selecting a company to roll with. Make sure they use white-hat techniques only.
Needless to say, we do not employ any black-hat tricks whatsoever; to do so would be damaging not only to our clients, but to our company as well.
Ah -- the million dollar question! (Although it certainly won't cost you that much!)
Proper and responsible SEO involves a huge array of techniques. Many of these are done right on your website; others employ external resources. For a more detailed look at what we can do for you, please visit our pricing and packages page.
Your SEO will consult with you or your marketing team to analyze your business's needs. The SEO will also need to work in close contact with members of your IT and web development teams, as he/she will need unrestricted access to your web content and the ability to make changes, upload files, etc.
In today's world of fraud and identity theft, this is a question every business should ask before beginning an SEO campaign. Our parent company has been doing business for over 20 years, and we've recently taken extra measures to revamp our system's security and protect our clients' billing information. In addition, we have a small, manageable team of SEOs, and we screen our employees thoroughly for criminal histories and proof of U.S. citizenship. We assure our clients that their trust -- and their business -- is safe with us.
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