SEO for the Crafting CEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. If a small business owner wants to sell on the web, she will have to spend some time thinking about this topic. The following should help demystify what it is and why it is important:
1. Search Engines
Google is the most well known and well used of the engines on the web (at least in the United States). Yahoo is also very popular. When a person logs into these sites and types in a word or string of words, the "engine" goes out and (very very) quickly reviews all the website material it has stored on its vast number of servers and comes back with the list of sites that have those words on them. An it is not uncommon for the search to come back with millions of hits.
2. Keywords
These are the words that are searched for and are used to determine what sites the searcher should see in the results. These keywords determine if a website will ever see the light of day. These keywords are so important that an entire advertising industry has been built around selling advertising space on search engine results pages. Every day marketers bid on relevant keywords in the hopes that their ad will be on the top of the right hand column.
3. Page Rank
A website owner who uses her site to sell her products knows that in order to sell, she needs traffic. This is no different than owning a traditional brick and mortar location. Whether in the real world or the virtual world, warm bodies through the front door will lead to a higher probability of sales.
And, in both cases "Location, location, location" is still the means for success. The best location for search results is on the first page and preferably "above the crease." To be "above the crease" goes back to the old days of newspaper publishing. You know you have made it when your story is right at the top next to the main headline, not on the second half of the page below the crease. (why? Like I have said before --- internet uses hate hate hate to scroll.)
To be on the top of the list in the number one spot is the coveted position for any website owner. That is the page rank. The farther down on the page coupled with the number of pages a consumer has to "flip" through, the harder it is to get a buyer through the front door.
4. Determining Rank
Google uses an algorithm (read: very long algebra equation) to determine which sites get the top spots. Although Google is very secretive about this formula, it is possible to focus on particular factors that can improve a site's ranking.
Keywords - certain words are searched for every single day by computer users from around the world. Google keeps a record of every word or string of words that users have typed into its system. Google uses this data to help advertisers bid on keywords through its Keyword Tool. Another site which can be helpful is Google Trends which shows keyword popularity over time.
Links - inbound links (the links that are found on other sites that link to seller's site) help determine where a site will rank as well. If a site has many other sites linking to it, then the thought process is that the site must have value. If a very high ranking site (example: Oprah.com) links to a site, additional "bonus points" are granted and the site's rank goes up. However, using linking farms (websites that take advantage of this factor) will be penalized.
Bloggers use this linking practice quite often in Blog Rolls by listing other blogs they recommend. Google gives these links credence but it can also tell when a link is part of a roll. Higher ranking "points" are given to links that are found within content. A link to a site is always better when found in a post than in a blog roll. However, a website owner should not turn down a linking opportunity regardless of the location.
Titles - an often overlooked factor are the page titles given to every page on a website. The title is the name that appears on the very top of the screen above the web address box. Keywords that appear in a page title will definitely get higher billing than others. Because this is usually something that should be coded in html, it often remains the default title of "home" that the software generates. Website owners are not aware of this or they forget to change it.
On Etsy, many shop owners do not realize the importance of this factor when they are filling out the Shop Title under Appearance in the Shop Setup. Instead, they write "Welcome to My Shop" or "Beautiful Loveliness." These phrases do not help them to attract customers through Google or Yahoo. A better strategy would be to describe in concrete terms what exactly they sell. They should consider what a buyer might type in a search to try and drive business to their specific shop page.
Meta-tags - once a very important factor in determining rank, but now has little impact on final placement. Too many webmasters took advantage of this component and "stuffed" their tags with important search terms that had nothing to do with their site. They wanted to drive traffic to their site and they did it unethically. Google began using other methods insure accurate search results.
5. SEO for the small business owner
By having a cursory understanding of what SEO is and how it factors into selling on the web, internet entrepreneurs can incorporate these elements into their web design and content. It should be seen as just another part of the overall marketing plan. Google and Yahoo will help a businesses attract new customers, but this process has limitations and parameters that must be considered and managed. Focusing on strong and relevant content, creating keyword appropriate titles and developing linking opportunities with other higher ranking sites will help move the website up the ranks.
Stumble It!
Bookmark this on Delicious
del.icio.us ---
Google ---
reddit ---
StumbleUpon ---
Yahoo MyWeb ---
1. Search Engines
Google is the most well known and well used of the engines on the web (at least in the United States). Yahoo is also very popular. When a person logs into these sites and types in a word or string of words, the "engine" goes out and (very very) quickly reviews all the website material it has stored on its vast number of servers and comes back with the list of sites that have those words on them. An it is not uncommon for the search to come back with millions of hits.
2. Keywords
These are the words that are searched for and are used to determine what sites the searcher should see in the results. These keywords determine if a website will ever see the light of day. These keywords are so important that an entire advertising industry has been built around selling advertising space on search engine results pages. Every day marketers bid on relevant keywords in the hopes that their ad will be on the top of the right hand column.
3. Page Rank
A website owner who uses her site to sell her products knows that in order to sell, she needs traffic. This is no different than owning a traditional brick and mortar location. Whether in the real world or the virtual world, warm bodies through the front door will lead to a higher probability of sales.
And, in both cases "Location, location, location" is still the means for success. The best location for search results is on the first page and preferably "above the crease." To be "above the crease" goes back to the old days of newspaper publishing. You know you have made it when your story is right at the top next to the main headline, not on the second half of the page below the crease. (why? Like I have said before --- internet uses hate hate hate to scroll.)
To be on the top of the list in the number one spot is the coveted position for any website owner. That is the page rank. The farther down on the page coupled with the number of pages a consumer has to "flip" through, the harder it is to get a buyer through the front door.
4. Determining Rank
Google uses an algorithm (read: very long algebra equation) to determine which sites get the top spots. Although Google is very secretive about this formula, it is possible to focus on particular factors that can improve a site's ranking.
Keywords - certain words are searched for every single day by computer users from around the world. Google keeps a record of every word or string of words that users have typed into its system. Google uses this data to help advertisers bid on keywords through its Keyword Tool. Another site which can be helpful is Google Trends which shows keyword popularity over time.
Links - inbound links (the links that are found on other sites that link to seller's site) help determine where a site will rank as well. If a site has many other sites linking to it, then the thought process is that the site must have value. If a very high ranking site (example: Oprah.com) links to a site, additional "bonus points" are granted and the site's rank goes up. However, using linking farms (websites that take advantage of this factor) will be penalized.
Bloggers use this linking practice quite often in Blog Rolls by listing other blogs they recommend. Google gives these links credence but it can also tell when a link is part of a roll. Higher ranking "points" are given to links that are found within content. A link to a site is always better when found in a post than in a blog roll. However, a website owner should not turn down a linking opportunity regardless of the location.
Titles - an often overlooked factor are the page titles given to every page on a website. The title is the name that appears on the very top of the screen above the web address box. Keywords that appear in a page title will definitely get higher billing than others. Because this is usually something that should be coded in html, it often remains the default title of "home" that the software generates. Website owners are not aware of this or they forget to change it.
On Etsy, many shop owners do not realize the importance of this factor when they are filling out the Shop Title under Appearance in the Shop Setup. Instead, they write "Welcome to My Shop" or "Beautiful Loveliness." These phrases do not help them to attract customers through Google or Yahoo. A better strategy would be to describe in concrete terms what exactly they sell. They should consider what a buyer might type in a search to try and drive business to their specific shop page.
Meta-tags - once a very important factor in determining rank, but now has little impact on final placement. Too many webmasters took advantage of this component and "stuffed" their tags with important search terms that had nothing to do with their site. They wanted to drive traffic to their site and they did it unethically. Google began using other methods insure accurate search results.
5. SEO for the small business owner
By having a cursory understanding of what SEO is and how it factors into selling on the web, internet entrepreneurs can incorporate these elements into their web design and content. It should be seen as just another part of the overall marketing plan. Google and Yahoo will help a businesses attract new customers, but this process has limitations and parameters that must be considered and managed. Focusing on strong and relevant content, creating keyword appropriate titles and developing linking opportunities with other higher ranking sites will help move the website up the ranks.
Stumble It!
Bookmark this on Delicious
Labels: blogging techniques, search engine optimization, searching, SEO, technology
posted by 3bagsfull at
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
