Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Is SEO Something Your Company Should Be Doing?

Ever since the Google Panda and Farmer updates of 2011, many companies seem afraid to talk about search engine optimization (SEO). Some websites took SEO too far and were punished for it; now others are now reluctant to consider SEO all. This is a huge mistake. Attracting new prospects with search-engine-optimized content is an extremely cost-effective, long-term marketing strategy.

Consumers today count on the search engines as a starting point when they begin research into products and services. Sometimes, these consumers do not even realize they have begun a journey towards a purchase; they have simply searched for a solution to a problem and will need time to understand what product or service they should buy.

Consumers in the research phase can be converted to sales over time, but your company must connect with them early to build brand awareness and begin educating for the sale. Optimized content on your website can address problems and questions that are common for those who fit your ideal customer profile. If this content ranks well in the search engines, you will have a chance to find new prospects early and develop them into advocates for your brand.

For example, an office manager in a medical practice may struggle with scheduling issues for years before coming to grips with the fact that better
medical office software can be purchased to solve these issues.
When that office manager is ready to buy, she may have already formed a relationship with a specific brand, and she will be less susceptible to considering another brand's offers.

In order to ensure your company appears high in the results for a particular search query, you need to apply the right SEO on your web pages. SEO strategies make it clear to the search bots which questions your site answers for searchers. This involves putting the right tags on various page elements and providing a sitemap that makes it easy for the search bots to find how all the content is connected.

SEO never neglects the needs of human searchers. The search engines have become more sophisticated about how they evaluate websites, and they look at visitor behavior to determine whether a site truly adds value. If your site covers questions searchers ask with good information in an engaging manner, visitors will respond to your content in ways that convince the search engines that your site has value. When other sites start linking into your site, the search engines will take notice, and your pages will appear higher in the search results.

Your SEO content on your website will persist for years. As long as the information is useful for searchers, the search engines will keep sending traffic. This traffic will be highly focused on your offers. With a good funnel in place on your site, you will have a system that keeps generating new customers for years to come.

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