Many times
a client only looks at the bottom line when it
comes to the performance they are getting for
their investment into Search Engine Marketing.
They often only look at the selected keyword
phrases that they are paying for, without
fully realizing what other residual effects
they are receiving.
When a site gets properly optimized, (SEO) it
is being transformed into a thought-out
navigational pattern to information. This is
the same pattern a search engine spider looks
for. Don't forget, the easier you make it for
a spider to index your site, the better your
chances are for getting your site a higher
placement in the search engine results page (SERP's).
While W3C validation is something all sites
should strive for, it is not required for
better rankings. Does it help? Probably. Yahoo
engineers have stated that whether a site is
W3C compliant or not makes no difference to
how it ranks. If it has relevant content, it
will get ranked.
Another element when optimizing a site is that
through proper naming of page titles, file
names and placement of content make the site
all the more relevant to the spider. Although
Google places less value on Meta Tags, they
are still used as part of the algorithm, and
should not be overlooked.
After the site has coded properly, the game
then goes up to the next level. Search Engine
Marketing is used to drive traffic to the site
through various means. Press releases,
articles, blogs, RSS/XML feeds, Directory
Submissions and User Groups all can bring
targeted traffic to a site.
Here is where the collateral benefits of SEM
begin to appear. Let's say that you have been
doing a series of press releases where once a
week, you talk about a new color of widget. In
each press release you also list the other
colors of widgets that you have for sale. Even
after only the first release gets sent, you've
already created a valuable In-Bound Link to
your site for your Red Widget, but since you
included the other colors of the widgets as
well, they all pick up IBL's as well.
An even greater demonstration of a collateral
benefit is ranking for keywords and phrases
that you aren't targeting. Keeping to our
widget example, if your site copy talks about
the different uses of widgets, the available
colors that they come in and the best way to
preserve your widget, you've just created a
multitude of various phrases that your site
can get ranked on.
Example site copy:
We sell the highest-quality widget available.
Our color selection ranges from red to purple,
black to white and can be used in your home or
for industrial needs. The widget is the most
versatile tool on the market. Pick one up
today!
From this one paragraph, here are the possible
phrases your site could get ranked on:
high quality widget
red widget
purple widget
black widget
white widget
home widget
industrial widget
widget tool
widget
This is
only a tiny sampling of the potential your
site has. Remember, each page gets ranked on
it's own, so that's why it is so important to
make sure every page you have on your site is
optimized.
Even your contact/about page is critical
because if you have a brick-and-mortar
business, by listing your street address, you
help the search engines geo target your site.
Most search engines are already trying to
focus your search results regionally. While
it's not a major factor yet, it is something
to be aware of.
In conclusion, the next time you start
checking Google to see where your site ranks
for it's keyword phrases, don't forget about
all of the hidden keywords/phrases that are
embedded in your site's copy. You would be
surprised at how many of those forgotten about
terms end up at the top of the pile....
-To your online success!
Paul Bliss
www.seoforgoogle.com