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Working the Web

Last week a friend spent 40 minutes on the phone with a search engine optimization, or SEO, salesman who promised his company’s special formula would get our friend’s business on page one of Google search results. The cost? A minimum of $800 over six months. “What do you think?” she said.

Knowing there’s no magic wand for top search engine rankings, we skeptically Googled the name of the SEO company. No surprise that pages of citations came up warning about scam and fraud. So what do you need to know about SEO – first to avoid bad players and second to actually improve your search engine visibility?

The major search engines are constantly updating the algorithms they use to return the most relevant search results. No SEO consultant can second-guess these, or get special “inside information.” If they say they can, run! Also recognize that SEO incorporates a number of activities. Here are four SEO basics for improving your rankings over time:

Keyword research
The first step is to identify the words that prospects actually type into a search field to find products or services like yours so that you can attract this qualified traffic to your website. These words may surprise you.

If a wooden fencing company searched Google Adwords – one of a number of free keyword selection tools – here’s what it would learn about the number of U.S. searches last month for some terms related to its business:

• wooden privacy fence, 4,400
• wood picket fence, 5,400
• wood privacy fence, 12,100
• yard fence, 22,200
• wood fences, 27,100
• fence picket, 165,000

A very strange term, fence picket, winds up having the highest volume, but isn’t necessarily the best choice for optimization. Higher volume makes ranking high much more difficult. Since most companies could do well with just a small fraction of the traffic from any of these searches, one of the lower volume searches would be far easier to rank for and could still yield solid leads. Optimizing for lower volume search terms is called long tail search.
For a further edge, research what your competition is ranking for and go after different terms. There are literally thousands of search terms for any given product or service. You’ll find your own to work with successfully.

On-page optimization – code and content
Put your search terms where search engines can find them. You can optimize many places on a web page including the url, the alt text for your photos, the tab at the top of each page – and of course the copy. The HTML code for your web pages should contain meta data – the primary info that helps search engines determine your site’s relevancy to a particular search. If you’re building or redesigning a website, make sure the web designer understands meta data, what it includes and how to code it.

Dynamic content
We’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: Create lots of interesting content that incorporates the terms you’re trying to rank for. Search engines eschew a static website and crawl all over sites that exhibit fresh content on an ongoing basis. Creating great content has many rewards. It builds inbound links from other websites – the best way to gain search engine credibility – it establishes thought leadership and it contributes to lead nurturing and conversion.

Research some more
You have to keep checking to see if you’re making gains in your search engine rankings. Google your search terms and see how much closer you’ve come to page one! If you’re not happy with your progress, adjust your strategy. It’s an ongoing, and measurable, process.

Ellie Becker is president of E.R. Becker Company Inc. in Norwalk, a public relations and inbound marketing consultancy. She is an inbound marketing certified professional. Reach her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or read her blog at www.erbeckercompany.com.

Bernadette Nelson is principal of Studio B/Visual Communication in Norwalk. She has more than 20 years of experience in graphic and web design. Reach her at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or www.studiob-ct.com.

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