 I
have been doing SEO (search engine optimization) since 2001. When
I started, it was to find an online marketing solution for a local
Minneapolis music college where I was the webmaster / designer.
The Minneapolis college was on their second website and had received
no qualified leads from the web. Within 2 ½ year the vast
majority of their enrollment came from the web. |
| What does your campaign look
like? |
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The
SEO (search engine optimization) is a small part of an
overall online marketing strategy. A company must
keep a constant and updated presence where ever possible
on the web.
There are many ways for a company to do
this:
- Pay-per-click
- Paid inclusion
- Blogs
- Forums
- Social Networking Sites i.e. (MySpace.com,
Facebook.com)
- Viral Techniques (U toob & consumer
passed mail)
- Local Directory’s and Search
Sites like the Minnesota Business Directory or City Search
- Classified ads (Craig's List, Back
Page)
- E-commerce sites need to get products
into the online shopping portholes
The Items listed above also add to your
link back status which can directly help your rankings in
some of the major search engines. |
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You need
a web master/marketer, not just an SEO expert!
Despite what you may hear from other SEO firms, you do need a company
that knows code, design and provide all the latest 3rd party online marketing
options available. |
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Example:
You run a cleaning service that specializes in cleaning area
rugs. You are also well versed in all areas of the business.
Your SEO firm is trying to move you up in rank for “area
rug cleaning service Minnesota” (401,000 results in Google).
Google spiders visit your site and place your site at #3 for “cleaning
service MN” (2,020,000 results in Google) but “area
rug cleaning service Minnesota” is no-where in the first
50 pages. This is a huge opportunity to capitalize on a much
broader cross section of your business. The problem is your
SEO firm has your home page geared up for "area rug cleaning
service" and the increased traffic to your site does not realize
that you can fulfill their needs because your SEO is incapable
of modifying pages properly to inform your potential new customers
of your broader range of services.
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Some Intelligence to live by
1) Patience (you do not control the
search engines or when they decide to look at your
site).
2) Do not try tricks
and schemes for ranking. You may
be blacklisted for these techniques.
3) Learn up-to-date information
of each search engine and what their
recommendations and rules are.
4) Use geographic
options in your marketing plan whenever possible.
5) Focus on quality content
and intelligent organization
of the content on your website pages. |
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