By Michael Cohn
Nowadays, search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential part of a successful business, no matter what you do and what you sell. Your content needs to be optimized and your search engine rankings needs to be as high up on the page as possible.
The many benefits of SEO
When SEO first came onto the scene as an important building block for a business' success, it was mostly about how high that particular business ranked on the search engines pages. Of course, at the time, the way to get into that position was by ensuring that the keywords and key phrases were effective. However, SEO has become more complex than that over time. SEO is very much a part of brand awareness, marketing strategy, etc. The digital portion (of which SEO is a part) is just as important as the other parts of your strategy as a business owner (or as someone who is a part of a business in any significant capacity).
One really effective way to build brand awareness is by gaining exposure online. The simple truth is that the more you get your content out there, the more other people will recognize your brand and all that you have to offer them. Not only will you get your content out there but you will reach the right people at the same time.
Strong conversion rates
When it comes to optimizing your content for the search engines, it doesn't always have to cost you money. There are many times in which you can get away with spending very little or no money at all. Additionally, it is safe to say that you will probably experience more conversions from your organic search engine results than if you went about it in different ways. You aren't paying for the search results. You are putting in a good amount of time and effort but you are not paying to achieve the rankings that you are getting. That is more valuable to other people who are searching than you may think.
Organic exposure is better than paying for it
Many people are strongly in favor of pay-per-click (PPC) ads. However, that is certainly not the only way to go. You don't necessarily have to pay for it to achieve favorable results. This goes back to the concept that organic results are valuable and you can get a lot of mileage out of them.
The issue with PPC ads is that just because you pay money to advertise your business and your products and/or services, it is not a guarantee that you will get business from those efforts. So, in essence, you may be spending money and getting absolutely nothing in return.
Keeping your mobile device users in mind
Your business should not only cater to people who sit at their desk, working on their computer. So many people have switched over to communicating online exclusively using a mobile device of some kind (SmartPhone, tablet, iPad, etc). You need to make sure that you keep those people in mind at all times as well when you are optimizing your content online. Many people do everything online on their mobile devices. You should constantly be thinking in terms of making sure that your website (and all of the content in your website) should be mobile friendly. That is a must.
If your SEO strategy is what it should be, that means that you will do (or have done) a few things to make that happen. You probably don't want to have two separate website designs, one for the PC and one for the mobile device. That just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The second thing that you will want to do is to identify the differences between the way that people search on a PC and on a mobile device.
Look at what your competitors are doing
You should always keep in mind that people will always search for what you are offering online and once they find what they feel is a good fit for what they need, they will act relatively quickly based on the impression that they get. It is important for you to always remember that you have stiff competition. Except for in a few rare exceptions, every business owner has competition. That is decidedly true whether the business owner wants to believe it or not (it is surprising and almost amusing how many business owners have actually convinced themselves that they do not have competition).
Sadly, what most people do is actually not that unique. The way that you acquire an edge is by promoting your products and/or services in a unique, memorable manner that nobody else has come up with.
You can save money
As was previously mentioned in this article, you can save a great deal of money if you approach SEO in this way. If you went another way and used traditional marketing, you would certainly pay for it. Of course, nothing in life is totally free. You will have to spend time and effort. Why would you mind that since you are making an investment in your own business? Marketing your content in this way is effective for several reasons. You can reach a large number of qualified people and you don't have to deplete your budget to do so.
Your online efforts will pay off
The fact is that everyone (well, at least, almost everyone) goes online using some sort of device. SEO is directly involved with that effort. Nowadays, people don't have a lot of time or a lot of patience for much of anything. They want their information quickly and effectively so that they can get what they need and so that they can solve (or allow someone else to solve) their problems for them. Instant gratification is the way of the world.
Since you are going to make a tremendous effort to ensure that you business is a raging success, why not do it in the easiest, most effective way possible? Marketing is a critical part of your business' success. SEO is an essential part of marketing.
Conclusion
SEO isn't going away any time soon (or ever). The fact is that you have a responsibility to your business to optimize your content so that people who are searching for what you are selling will find you before they find anyone else who is offering the same thing. The majority of people who are looking for a particular product or service turn to the Internet to find what they are looking for before anything else. You want to be the one whom they choose first.
Michael Cohn is the founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of CompuKol Communications. He has over 25 years of experience in IT and web technologies. Mr. Cohn spent a significant amount of time at a major telecommunications company, where his main focus was on initiating and leading synergy efforts across all business units by dramatically improving efficiency, online collaboration, and the company's Intranet capabilities, which accelerated gains in business productivity. He also reduced company travel and travel costs by introducing and implementing various collaboration technologies.
His expertise includes business analysis; project management; management of global cross-matrix teams; systems engineering and analysis, architecture, prototyping and integration; technology evaluation and assessment; systems development; performance evaluation; and management of off-shore development.
Mr. Cohn earned a Master's degree in project management from George Washington University in Washington, DC; and a Master's degree in computer science and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.
Mr. Cohn is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Michael_Cohn/404898
Nowadays, search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential part of a successful business, no matter what you do and what you sell. Your content needs to be optimized and your search engine rankings needs to be as high up on the page as possible.
The many benefits of SEO
When SEO first came onto the scene as an important building block for a business' success, it was mostly about how high that particular business ranked on the search engines pages. Of course, at the time, the way to get into that position was by ensuring that the keywords and key phrases were effective. However, SEO has become more complex than that over time. SEO is very much a part of brand awareness, marketing strategy, etc. The digital portion (of which SEO is a part) is just as important as the other parts of your strategy as a business owner (or as someone who is a part of a business in any significant capacity).
One really effective way to build brand awareness is by gaining exposure online. The simple truth is that the more you get your content out there, the more other people will recognize your brand and all that you have to offer them. Not only will you get your content out there but you will reach the right people at the same time.
Strong conversion rates
When it comes to optimizing your content for the search engines, it doesn't always have to cost you money. There are many times in which you can get away with spending very little or no money at all. Additionally, it is safe to say that you will probably experience more conversions from your organic search engine results than if you went about it in different ways. You aren't paying for the search results. You are putting in a good amount of time and effort but you are not paying to achieve the rankings that you are getting. That is more valuable to other people who are searching than you may think.
Organic exposure is better than paying for it
Many people are strongly in favor of pay-per-click (PPC) ads. However, that is certainly not the only way to go. You don't necessarily have to pay for it to achieve favorable results. This goes back to the concept that organic results are valuable and you can get a lot of mileage out of them.
The issue with PPC ads is that just because you pay money to advertise your business and your products and/or services, it is not a guarantee that you will get business from those efforts. So, in essence, you may be spending money and getting absolutely nothing in return.
Keeping your mobile device users in mind
Your business should not only cater to people who sit at their desk, working on their computer. So many people have switched over to communicating online exclusively using a mobile device of some kind (SmartPhone, tablet, iPad, etc). You need to make sure that you keep those people in mind at all times as well when you are optimizing your content online. Many people do everything online on their mobile devices. You should constantly be thinking in terms of making sure that your website (and all of the content in your website) should be mobile friendly. That is a must.
If your SEO strategy is what it should be, that means that you will do (or have done) a few things to make that happen. You probably don't want to have two separate website designs, one for the PC and one for the mobile device. That just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The second thing that you will want to do is to identify the differences between the way that people search on a PC and on a mobile device.
Look at what your competitors are doing
You should always keep in mind that people will always search for what you are offering online and once they find what they feel is a good fit for what they need, they will act relatively quickly based on the impression that they get. It is important for you to always remember that you have stiff competition. Except for in a few rare exceptions, every business owner has competition. That is decidedly true whether the business owner wants to believe it or not (it is surprising and almost amusing how many business owners have actually convinced themselves that they do not have competition).
Sadly, what most people do is actually not that unique. The way that you acquire an edge is by promoting your products and/or services in a unique, memorable manner that nobody else has come up with.
You can save money
As was previously mentioned in this article, you can save a great deal of money if you approach SEO in this way. If you went another way and used traditional marketing, you would certainly pay for it. Of course, nothing in life is totally free. You will have to spend time and effort. Why would you mind that since you are making an investment in your own business? Marketing your content in this way is effective for several reasons. You can reach a large number of qualified people and you don't have to deplete your budget to do so.
Your online efforts will pay off
The fact is that everyone (well, at least, almost everyone) goes online using some sort of device. SEO is directly involved with that effort. Nowadays, people don't have a lot of time or a lot of patience for much of anything. They want their information quickly and effectively so that they can get what they need and so that they can solve (or allow someone else to solve) their problems for them. Instant gratification is the way of the world.
Since you are going to make a tremendous effort to ensure that you business is a raging success, why not do it in the easiest, most effective way possible? Marketing is a critical part of your business' success. SEO is an essential part of marketing.
Conclusion
SEO isn't going away any time soon (or ever). The fact is that you have a responsibility to your business to optimize your content so that people who are searching for what you are selling will find you before they find anyone else who is offering the same thing. The majority of people who are looking for a particular product or service turn to the Internet to find what they are looking for before anything else. You want to be the one whom they choose first.
Michael Cohn is the founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of CompuKol Communications. He has over 25 years of experience in IT and web technologies. Mr. Cohn spent a significant amount of time at a major telecommunications company, where his main focus was on initiating and leading synergy efforts across all business units by dramatically improving efficiency, online collaboration, and the company's Intranet capabilities, which accelerated gains in business productivity. He also reduced company travel and travel costs by introducing and implementing various collaboration technologies.
His expertise includes business analysis; project management; management of global cross-matrix teams; systems engineering and analysis, architecture, prototyping and integration; technology evaluation and assessment; systems development; performance evaluation; and management of off-shore development.
Mr. Cohn earned a Master's degree in project management from George Washington University in Washington, DC; and a Master's degree in computer science and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.
Mr. Cohn is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Michael_Cohn/404898