SEO – Search Engine Optimization – What is it?

The Online Marketing medium continues to evolve, but one buzzword has established itself as a stronghold in Search Marketing and this is SEO, Search Engine Optimization. So what is SEO?

SEO – search engine optimization, the technique of placing a website as a relevant source for search engines to reference for information

As the search engines continue to evolve the complexity of turning your website into a search engine resource for information continues to get increasingly complex.

The following information establishes a sampling of the factors search engines use to measure whether a website is relevant to the search engine:

Meta-tags – the creation of information that is placed at the top of all web page back-end (area
users do not see) documents to establish what a website is about and the keywords it should be established relevant for. Characteristics include title, keywords, description, and other references that do exist you can create in your tags – but are known not to have much weight as compared to the three mentioned above. Each of a website’s pages should have unique meta tags that reinforce the keywords that are naturally present on that particular page.

Examples of Meta-Tags: e-mail zach@seo.cc for sample - blog does not allow post of code

Meta Title Tag – the information in this tag will appear as the title of the page title in the top right-hand corner of the web browser window. This tag should describe the page at hand and utilize the keywords in which that page is to be focused around. The meta title tag is currently believed to be the most heavily weighted meta-tag by search engine spiders.

EXAMPLE: e-mail zach@seo.cc for sample - blog does not allow post of code

Meta Description Tag – this tag should be used to provide a brief description of the page at hand in proper sentence format. Try to create one to three sentences which include the different variations of the keywords being targeted on that particular page. In many cases this description is what is displayed below the page title in the search engine results pages.

EXAMPLE: e-mail zach@seo.cc for sample - blog does not allow post of code

Meta Keywords Tag – in this area list the keywords in which you have decided to focus that page of your website on. Long extensive keyword lists are not going to work favorably towards your website. Try keeping this keyword list down to a maximum of ten keywords per page. Separate the keywords with commas and keep them all lower-cased.

e-mail zach@seo.cc for sample - blog does not allow post of code

Images – pictures on your website speak an advanced language to web users as they speak to a user’s vision. These pictures currently cannot be read by the search engine blindly, but you the web page owner can make these pictures speak. The strategies to make pictures speak include proper file names to describe your picture and proper alt tags (alternative information to appear in case the picture does not load); an alt tag should be a brief two to five word description of what a particular website photo is.
Example of Image ALT Tags
ALT Tags on a Linked Image: e-mail zach@seo.cc for sample - blog does not allow post of code

ALT Tags on a Non-Linked Image: e-mail zach@seo.cc for sample - blog does not allow post of code

Site Map – structure of your website and all the web pages that comprise your current website, this information helps the search engines guide their computers through your particular website and tell the search engine what information it may want to index. Write your site map as an outline of your website with each page title hyperlinked to that page.

Social Media – involves using platforms to create dynamic data for the search engines to find information about your website from what they may consider to be relevant resources. The most basic form of this media is creating a blog and this is becoming a large factor in search engine optimization success. A blog is the most basic form of website social media and allows for a website publisher or owner to write dynamic content to either point relevant information to their current website or to a relevant source of website information.
Examples of Social Media
Blogs
MySpace.com
Digg.com
Yelp.com
FaceBook.com
FatWallet.com
LinkedIn.com

Website Address Relevance – when you are on a particular website and you click around onto various sections or pages you want to be sure the information describing your page is relevant to the information the user will find on each page of the website. If you need to re-name a corresponding page, the page being re-named for relevance should have a “301 re-direct” placed on it – this allows for the old page to be forwarded to the new home of the information.

Dependant on the code being used on the websites 301 permanent redirects can be different.

In conclusion, Search Engine Optimization is a continuously evolving method to creating a website to be relevant to a search engine. Methods of Search Engine Optimization mentioned above are only a fraction of current methods being put into play, other methods are currently always arising in the marketplace and we make it our job to stay on top of the rapidly evolving Search Engine Optimization marketplace.

We are holding three weekly educational seminars this week on Online Marketing and have limited space available for Thursday - May 22, 2008 at 4:00 PM EST & Friday - May 23, 2008 at two times 11:00 AM & 4:00 PM EST.

Please RSVP to Zach@seo.cc.

Please forward this on to any colleagues you know that may be interested in our services.

Microsoft Yahoo Deal - Quickly Fading

Based on a May 8, 2008 article in the Wall Street Journal titled "Microsoft Looked at Facebook as Yahoo Bid Crumbled," it is quickly become apparent that Microsoft's patience is growing thin with Yahoo, and rightfully so. With the continued failure to come to a reasonable deal with Yahoo - Microsoft executives seem to be seeking alternatives from Yahoo to find partners to help there audience reach grow. Currently Microsoft had approximately 563.2 million visitors on their web properties in March, up only 7% from the same month last year - and they want this number to grow.

So here is what the current situation looks like:
1) Microsoft is talking to Facebook off the table to see if they would even consider a complete sale.
2) Google is looking into a marketing partnership with Yahoo - but looking cautiously.
3) Yahoo and Time Warner continue to stay in talks.

Yahoo should seriously consider committing to a deal (sooner rather than later) or let their employees' focus on the companies continued growth - either way I am sure the Yahoo executives have only successfully created a stir within their own community.

The Dynamic Landscape of Marketing

Target marketing continues to evolve – from the early days of Radio Marketing to today’s transition to Web Marketing. All forms of marketing are perceived to be effective; the main cornerstone of your marketing must be a strong marketing plan. Many educated marketing firms will acknowledge all forms of media are structured to complement each other – whether you choose to embark on a direct mail marketing approach, e-mail marketing, magazine marketing, online marketing, radio marketing, television marketing, or web marketing – or one of the other many ways to reach out to your marketplace.

Marketing ideas are endless and can have many objectives, but all must reach out with one established goal - communicating and persuading your target market audience. Today’s marketing audience is bombarded with marketing messages which makes it more important than ever to identify your market audience. The beauty of marketing is regardless of the medium your marketing representative should be able to shine a light on the potential audience you will be hitting through your market approach.

Ways of identifying your audience through different mediums may include - but are not limited to the following:

Direct Mail – through mailing addresses database searched you can narrow down your audience to specifics as to a person’s marital status, income level, proximity to your practice, family size and any other demographic specifications you may want to work into your program.

E-Mail Marketing – talking to your current prospects? Already have e-mail opt-ins? Talk to this audience as they might be your most ripe prospects. Don’t violate their trust through daily e-mails, but try to reach out on either a weekly or monthly basis. Grow the seeds you have already planted and nurture them into All Star clients.

Magazine Marketing – targeting a specific community? Be prepared for the long-haul one impression in magazine marketing will not break the barrier of reaching an audience eyes. Readers will take time to adjust to your presence in the magazine, but once seen numerous times it will hopefully trigger the subliminal mind when they see your marketing somewhere else.

Online Marketing – somebody searching for you? Want to be found when your audience is searching for what you do? Target your audience on the major search engines – Google, MSN, and Yahoo – they all hit different audiences that habitually use and trust the medium for providing answers to their questions. Search leads are highly qualified and furthest down the buying cycle than all mediums. Online Marketing can be targeted to pitch your services on a time schedule or specific to a geographic location on a map – which creates a highly relevant audience. This medium is the most flexible and impactful form of direct marketing when it comes to response and measurement of user behavior interactions.

Radio Marketing – can you hear me now? Identify your audience based off of listening demographics, talk show or music genre audience. Radio marketing can be real precise in nature but varies from easy listening to sport’s radio talk – learn your audience and target with a radio representative who understands your market. Be prepared to market in this medium for the long-term as prospect turnaround could take months to years.

Television Marketing – ever wonder why a 30 second spot ends up looking like a ripple from throwing a pebble into a lake - and quickly disappears? Try the 30 minute to 60 minute approach of educating an audience as to what you can do to make their life better. How working with you as a person is going to make them feel more confident and feel better in their daily life. Become their resource for information and the professional in their field.

Web Marketing – your website speaking to your audience? Make sure your website is concrete in form when it comes to speaking to various personas; the web is not a one shot draw. The days of having an online brochure are in the past, you need something to make you stand out from the crowd – web videos, surveys, e-mail list, user participation – you name it. What makes you remember a website? Do people remember yours? Today’s market is full of online brochures, produce a website that speaks to people and reap the rewards – connect with your audience and make them remember you.

Here at SEO.cc – we understand the marketing world is very complex. It is very important to reach out to a professional and make sure your marketing strategy with multiple prongs and fits into your budget for a long-term approach and strategy which makes potential clients feel as though you are the source to helping them obtain the best results for what they are looking for.

To help you reach your goals with Online Marketing we are offering three free Online Marketing seminars this week:

1) Thursday, May 15 @ 4:00 PM EST
2) Friday, May 16 @ 11:00 AM, or
3) Friday, May 16 @ 4:00 PM.

If you choose to join - we will provide you a free ranking analysis of your website - for those who attend. Please RSVP by contacting us at Zach@SEO.cc, with your date and preference, space is limited. Sign up today or have your office manager join us!
Hope you are having an awesome ’08!

Thank You,

Zach Hoffman
SEO.cc – Search Engine Operator, CEO
Zach@SEO.cc
Toll-Free Contact: 866-999-4SEO(4736)