Strategy Writer News October 2009

Tips and techniques for electronic marketing

Why is search engine optimization important for your website?

According to an iProspect study, 62 percent of Internet users click on one of the top 10 results from a keyword search. Nearly 90 percent conduct a new search if they don't find what they want after looking at the first three pages of results. Bad news if your site or your client's site is on page 10.

Studies have repeatedly reported searchers are far more likely to click on an organic result than a paid listing, making SEO a critical function for any business expecting to compete on the Internet. Every time your site is omitted from the first three pages of a search, you're missing out on potential business.

Make a commitment to improve your website's visibility by investing a little time to explore SEO and focus first on quick improvements like page titles, keywords, meta tags and meta description. Your site won't skyrocket to the top 10 rankings, but with a consistent effort over time you can elevate where your site appears in a search.

What's the best length for SEO web pages?

According to the white paper "Top 10 considerations When Planning a Web Site Redesign," each page on a search engine optimized website should contain 200 to 500 words of text-based content.

Make sure none of the elements you want search engines to crawl (headlines, body
copy, navigation) is a graphic image or flash-based.

Source: www.MoreVisibility.com

A little known fact: Location can influence organic search engine rankings

Organic search engine results can actually vary in position depending on who is doing the keyword search. "Several things can account for differences in search engine position results," says SEO guru Ed Taylor. "One factor is the Google server (data center) that is accessed. Google has many data centers around the world and they often have slightly different rankings." Another factor affecting the results you see in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) is the location of your PC. According to Ed, this is especially evident on searches Google deems of a local nature (i.e. a dentist).
In the case of local searches, very often the Google Map setting will appear with a group of listings specific to the local area.

Ranking differences can also result from the searcher's computer settings. Computers logged into a Google account often display different ranking results that than those that are not.

These results are influenced by the Web sites the searcher has visited in the past.

To view search engine results uninfluenced by your browser history, clear the cookies and cache, then do your search.

Source: Bob Bly, www.bly.com

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About Strategy Writer

By finding a copywriter who understands search engine optimization and how to integrate it from the beginning of the project, you'll save hundreds or thousands of dollars.

SEO should be applied as part of your initial web content project, not sold as an add-on service. The only time to pay extra is after your site is up and running and you need outside support to boost and maintain your site's ongoing optimization. Otherwise, you should expect optimized content when the content is written.

Ask for a FREE estimate on a current project or for a free website audit.