Thursday, December 4, 2008

How Search Engine Optimization Increases Profits

No discussion about SEO would be complete without some mention of Google, Google's algorithms, and eventually about which method is best for increasing a website's rank. But the bottom line is this: only the higher-ups at Google know for sure exactly how the algorithms work and the precise formula for determining PageRank. Does that mean we shouldn't bother trying to optimize our search engine rankings? Of course not. It does mean, however, that the energy it takes to debate and analyze which SEO method works best might be better spent performing simple, common sense SEO fixes.

In very basic terms, Google rates websites based on their relevance to the search. So, to optimize your site and increase your PageRank, you need to "prove" to Google that your site is very relevant.

A good place to start is to look at websites that already rank high for their keywords, and work backwards. See what features those sites have that probably contributed to their high ranking. Does that site have a lot of content that is updated regularly? Do they have a lot of links? A blog? What do all of the highest ranked sites have in common? By mirroring the format (but never copying content, of course) of sites already ranked high, you can't lose.

There is nothing wrong with analyzing SEO and algorithms, and for trying to understand the process as a whole. But on the other hand, there is also something to be said for going back to basics. The bare essentials of what makes a website rank high on Google's system are no secret-content and links. So instead of debating the latest technique and trying to figure out how to crack the code, think about spending that time building your site's content and links, and looking at sites that Google already likes.

Sure, this is a very basic approach to SEO, but, like many things in life, getting back to the basics often reminds us of what is really important. And in this case, Google will remind the world that your site is important, with a higher ranking.

For anyone who is attempting to make money online their website is their livelihood. It is important for them to understand that without appropriate search engine optimization (aka SEO) they might just as well be standing in the unemployment line. You see, the majority of people locate the websites they will purchase from through search technology like google.com and they usually only click on a website that shows up in the first page of the results, so any website that isn't on the first page of the search results may as well not even exist. You can't make sales without getting traffic to your site and you can't make money without making sales, right?

By getting a website properly optimized many more people will visit that website. Depending on how well the site is set up for conversion a website will turn a certain percentage of its visitors into customers. So, the more people that visit a website, the more sales that website will make. If a website is getting a 3% conversion rate (fairly common) that means that 100 people have to visit a website before 3 people will make a purchase. With figures like that you can see why it is essential to drive huge numbers of people to a website in order to make any money.

So, what factors are involved in getting a website optimized? One of the most important parts of optimization is good SEO content. Web "spiders" crawl through a website looking to see what the keywords are and how many times they are used on that site and then report this information back to the search engines. This is one of the main factors in determining a website's ranking and obviously, in determining how much money that website will make. Good content will not only get a website a good search engine ranking, but it will also inform and entertain the people who come to that website which will make them more likely to stick around and return...the more time they spend on the website the more likely they are to make a purchase.

Getting the right SEO can be tricky, but an abundance of companies offer top-rate SEO service for a nominal fee. Getting the right SEO determines the success or failure of a website and thus their profit, so a small investment now is worth the big payday later to anyone wanting to succeed on the internet.

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