Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Everyone knows that the key to a successful business begins with location, location, location. Location is even more important on the internet. What kind of location are we talking about? Top search engine rankings for your website in the ever coveted Google search results.

The #1 position in Google has quickly become one of the most coveted spots on all of the Internet. Why? Because Google has quickly become the dominant leader in search engine traffic. Google claims nearly 70% of all search engine traffic right now. On average, the #1 position in the search engines gets 42% of the visitors. Now ask yourself "How important is it for my website to rank at the top of Google?" Your answer should be a simply stated "Very".

About Search Engine Optimization:

SEO is the most complex form of internet marketing and also the most rewarding. Optimizing websites is a skilled trade that when performed with precision and accuracy can deliver amazing amounts of traffic to your website. Having a #1 position in Google for a competitive keyword is similar to having a billboard in Times Square. But the best thing about Search Engine Optimization is that your website is accessible to searchers at the very moment that they're interested in your product, even if it's 2 a.m. on a holiday or while they're at work. What other form of marketing has such a broad reach?

Search engines rely on several sophisticated factors to determine how relevant, reputable, and noteworthy a site is. An in depth understanding of the search engines is extremely important to SEO, but knowing when and where to take action is the true key to success in SEO. A talented search engine optimizer knows how to correctly balance on-site and off-site factors in order to achieve results. Here are just a few good examples of factors that influence how Google and the other search engines choose who comes up on top and who doesn't:

Key Search Engine Ranking Factors:

• Good: Keyword use in title tag, headers, and body text
• Good: Keyword included in domain name
• Good: Keyword included in url
• Good: Keyword included in text of inbound links
• Good: The more inbound links, the better
• Good: The more popular the referring site, the better
• Good: Inbound links from authority sites in your field
• Good: Page Rank funneled to landing pages
• Bad: Outbound links to Non-Reputable or Spammy Sites
• Bad: Lack of content or content not indexable (i.e. Java, Flash)
• Bad: Improper use of redirects
• Bad: Use of curse words or hate language
• Bad: Keyword stuffing

The list above has some of the most important factors in the Google algorithm, but those are just the tip of the iceburg. No one really knows what the Google algorithm is, but there are at least 1600 known factors that have been determined to be accurate by the SEO community. Google makes changes to the algorithm constantly (average of 9 changes a week in 2007) in order to make their results more relevant and combat search engine spammers.