Consistency pays dividends.

SEO is kind of like cleaning your house, in the sense that if you only do it a few times a year, you'll wind up with nothing but a big mess on your hands.  Consistency is key, and we are here to help.  We can tell you everything that needs to be done, how to do it, and even help you do it.

If your website isn't listed number one on Google then the real question is, why aren't you getting started today?

See www.seoannarbor.com for more information.

What is SEO and how does it work?

What is SEO?
SEO is the process of optimizing your site so that it appears prominently in Google and other search engines when people search for related keywords.  There are a few major things, and dozens of minor things that need to be done to successfully optimize a site.

How Does it Work?
One of the first and most important steps is taking some time to consider what keywords and phrases you are trying to optimize.  As a business owner or decision maker in your organization, you probably have some idea of the types of things that your potential customers might be searching for.  However, some terms are searched for more than others, so it is important to do some research and focus on the terms that are the most popular.  In other words, you don't want to spend a bunch of time and money optimizing phrases that hardly anyone is searching for.

Also, there may be some additional terms that people are searching for that you didn't think of.  We have tools and procedures that we can use to develop a list of the most popular search phrases for your industry, so that you are optimizing the right terms.

Once you have identified your target keywords, we work with you to optimize/create your site.  This involves making sure that your site includes your desired keywords, and doing it in such a way that Google considers your site relevant for those specific phrases.  There are dozens of things we do in this regard, including optimizing page titles, header tags, and making sure that your keywords appear in the text throughout your site.

Getting Connected
Once your site is ready to go, another key aspect of SEO is gathering inbound links to your site.  Why is this important?  Inbound links is one of the key ways in which Google decides to rank your site.  It is kind of like a popularity contest.  When Google looks at your site versus one of your competitors, one of the things it will do is look at the content contained throughout the sites to make sure that it pertains to the keywords (see previous paragraph).  However, all things being equal, if your site has no one linking to it and your competitor has 200 people linking to them, then your competitor will be listed higher than you.

Obviously with a new site you are starting off with ZERO inbound links, while your competitors may already have dozens or hundreds.  Even if you have an established website, chances are it could benefit from obtaining additional inbound links from other relevant sites.  In order to facilitate this we go out and seek other relevant sites and get them to link back to your site to boost your rankings.  It ends up being a little more complicated than that, but that is the basic idea, and gathering reciprocal links is a key aspect of optimizing your site.

How do I know if I need SEO?
Simple.  Go to Google and type in some keywords and phrases that a potential customer might search for.  If your business isn’t showing up in the results at the top of the first page then you need SEO!  Make sure that you aren’t simply searching for the name of your business.  For instance, if you are a plumber and your business is called “John Doe and Sons”, don’t simply search for “John Doe and Sons”.  The only people who are going to search for the name of your business are people who already know about you.  The whole point of SEO is to attract potential customers that don’t already know who you are.  So instead search for “plumber ann arbor” or “clogged drain ann arbor” or other combinations of the services you offer and the location that you offer them in.

Check adwords keyword tool

Once you've developed your list of key words and phrases and gotten the big picture with Google Trends, you're ready to find out what the millions of internet users are actually searching for in your subject area. One of the best ways to do that is to use the Keyword Tool offered by Google's Adwords. Because it's offered by Google, and because Google is by far the most-used search engine, you get up to the minute results showing every imaginable search term. It even includes mis-spellings and words you may not have thought of. Most importantly, the results show what people are actually searching for rather than what you may think they're searching for. This is truly helpful ... we think it's better to be rich than to be right.

Right?

For most topics, the keyword tool will give you a huge list (around 800 results). You can sort the list by most searched, local searches (this is the one we use most often, because it shows what people in the US are searching for), and several other very helpful criteria. It's easy to download this list into Excel or some other data management format to help you collate the results.

So how are you ever going to optimize your site for 800 words and phrases? You're not. Almost nobody has the resources to optimize that many terms, and the good news is that most of us will do very well by focusing on the top ten or so words and phrases (more about that in a future post).

By the way, opening an Adwords account is free. Just Google "Adwords." You'll find the Adwords site in the organic listings at this address: https://accounts.google.com/  Pretty neat, huh?

At this point you should have a better idea of which keywords to use, based on the amount of traffic that each one is generating.  Another tool to evaluate what keywords and phrases you should use is the Traffic Estimator within Google Adwords.  We'll talk more about that in a future post.

Check Google Trends

A good way to get a rough idea of how many people are searching for a particular word or phrase is to use Google Trends. Trends allows you to enter up to five words or phrases (separated by commas). Your results will show the relative number of people searching for each word or phrase.

Suppose you sell floor coverings and you're trying to decide whether to focus this month's online advertising on tile, plank flooring, bamboo, or carpet (we realize this example probably seems excessively simple if you're in the business, but we don't sell floor coverings!). You just type those words into Google Trends and you'll know which of them is being searched for most, which second, which third, and so forth. You'll have a good general understanding of the online trends (we're pretty sure that's what they call it "Trends").

There are a few things to keep in mind both about the value of Google Trends and about its limitations. Trends shows results for the entire English internet (though it does break those results down by geographic region), not necessarily for your city. It's more of a butter knife than a scalpel. It's also true that just because lots of people are searching for a particular term doesn't mean they're going to find your website. We'll talk more about how to become successful by avoiding the most searched-for terms, but for now we'd just like you to keep in mind that Trends is more of a tool for getting to know the big picture than it is for developing a detailed keyword list for your website.

One neat aspect of Google Trends that can be helpful for websites dealing with hot topics or current events is that it shows spikes in searches and correlates them with major news stories. That can be very helpful if you're researching when to emphasize certain words and phrases and what information to correllate them with to take advantage of surges in search numbers.

Once you've got an idea of the big picture, it's time to go to step 3: the Adwords Keyword Tool.

Developing a list of keywords

Nobody knows your business as well as you do! You spend every day working in your field (we hope!) selling your particular brand of widget and interacting with vendors and clients. So it's likely that you have a detailed understanding of the most active topics and subject areas and where the most exciting new trends can be found in your line of work. This is a good thing - it's what brings you success.

Usually.

In SEO, however, this specialized knowledge can be a handicap. We've found that our clients, even when they are great business people, tend to focus on trade language, insider topics, and those aspects of their business that are most relevant to them at the moment. They often neglect simple words and concepts more likely to appeal to the average consumer.

That's why research is so important - it helps you find out what actual consumers are looking for. Once you know the keywords and phrases being searched with the highest frequency, you can make sure you speak to your potential customers in a language they understand.

The first step in doing your keyword research is to come up with a list of words and phrases that relate to the thing you're offering or trying to sell. If you're selling used cars, you might include words like "used cars," "vehicles," "one owner," "low mileage," "economical," or "certified." If you're a veterinarian, you might want words like "vet," "dog," "cat," "animal hospital," or "pet care." If you're selling laxatives, well .... never mind.

You get the idea, right? The point is to come up with a healthy list of words related to your business. Get help from your employees. Ask your friends. Troll related websites. Take a few shots at it. When you have a list that seems fairly complete, go on to step 2: "Check Google Trends."

It all starts with research!

In real estate, its location, location, location!  In SEO it is research, research, research!

The first step in any significant SEO project is to determine what keywords you are trying to optimize.  Even if you think you have a pretty clear idea, it is always worth spending a little extra time up front researching and planning your approach.

Why?  Because all of this SEO stuff takes time, so you might as well get it right the first time.  Plus, you may not be as aware as you think you are of all of the various terms that people are searching for.  There are tools available to help you with this, so there is no reason not to take advantage of them.  You may be surprised at what people are actually searching for, and there is no sense in missing out on opportunities.

One place you can go (it actually may be the best place) is to Google Adwords program. The "keyword" tool they supply can tell you most of what you need to know when you are trying to decide what words to focus on.

Location information

Make sure that you include relevant location information on your pages if that is pertinent to your business.  For instance, while you might be happy to sell a widget to someone from Albuquerque, if the vast majority of your business comes from Ann Arbor, then make sure you include “Ann Arbor” along with your keywords and phrases.

If your business is more regional in nature, then make sure you include all of the cities, towns, and counties in the location description.  That way someone searching for Webberville Widgets will be more likely to find your site.

Including dozens of locations on each of your pages could possibly clutter up your site, but there are ways to do it where you can minimize the impact.  Try placing this information “below the fold” – that is at the very bottom of the page where it usually says “Web Design By ….” and the color changes from the color used in the content area to the background color of the page. Who cares if it is cluttered down below – very few people will ever scroll down to see it, but the search engines will take notice, and that after all, is the goal!