Need For Search Engine Optimization
hi there
I am having a query regarding search engine.
Everybody who owns a website is very much concerned about website's search engine optimization, he personaaly wants his site to be at top for targeted keywords. But I want to know Is search engine optimization really needed? And what is the output after you optimize your seacrh engine
Re: Need For Search Engine Optimization
It depends. If you want your site to be seen by as many people as possible, be relevant within the search engines, and use your site to make money--then yes, it is needed. It's the only way to compete, since everyone else is doing it. As search engines evolve to stop blackhat techniques, it may become more of a moot point--but a little optimization never hurts.
Re: Need For Search Engine Optimization
Quite a number of local search ranking factors means that you need not only to have address on all of your pages, but also the most specific address information you can provide.
Apart from simply mentioning the address on your site, you may as well use your location-specific landmarks on your site. Though the description of visual driving directions patent doesn't relate to local search, I don't see why it can't be used for it either.
Providing your location identifiers both to your site visitors and the search engines is vitally important, if you have a shop or provide services in your local area. However, specifying your location is also important even if your customers are not restricted to a geographical location. This will allow you interest those people that prefer to have business with people from your location.
Though there may be a temptation to include your physical address for the search engines, you'd rather focus on providing it for your visitors. It increases your credibility greatly, especially if you have a specific physical address and a phone number.
As a side note, you can add your site to Google Local Business Center (discussed at Cre8asiteforums), but don't expect throngs of visitors from this.
Re: Need For Search Engine Optimization
While there is an opinion that the majority of the site's traffic can come from the general queries, it has also been reported that on a properly optimized website 33% traffic can come from both general and geo-targeted search queries (the last 34% being from direct referrals). Thus, it is highly beneficial for a local business to adjust their website to their location.
As much as location-targeted traffic is an important part of overall search engine traffic, so is the traffic, coming from Google Local, Google Maps (including traffic from the spot above organic results on the SERPs) and other local search oriented online services. So it is also important to cover these resources in your local site marketing strategy.
In the semi-recent post by Bill Slawski, Local search at Rest, and Local in Motion, there are sixteen reasons why it is unlikely that Google Local will be able to replace other local-oriented resources. The most common being unawareness of local businesses of the opportunity to reach a new market of highly targeted customers from their own location. However, those sixteen points can be taken advantage of by applying them to your local website and business.
That being said, once a local business can get into Google Maps (and it doesn't have to own a website), it has a chance of appearing on the #1 spot above the organic results for a general phrase with a geographical location. While it is certain that Google Maps and Local are not used as much, it is yet another way to get more visibility among the potential customers. It has been reported that a business, listed on the #1 Google Maps position got a lot of contacts.
While it is obvious that site promotion for general phrases will help your geographical site promotion, your local site marketing will also help general site promotion as well, so it is a win-win-win situation, for your overall results, local traffic and your local customers.
Re: Need For Search Engine Optimization
It doesn’t matter how much you optimize your site rankings in Google if your website isn’t fully optimized to meet your visitors needs and convert them. You are simply pouring money down there drain if you don’t optimize your website - many of visitors from search engine will simply leave if their needs aren’t met
There are no ‘hacks’ or ‘dirty tricks’ with website optimization that can jeopordize your website’s performance. Unfortunately in the search engine optimization world, there are many ‘black hat’ companies that claim they will help for cheap, but often have long lasting damaging results in search engines.
Website optimization is often way cheaper than expensive search engine optimization campaigns. In fact, leading web analyts like Avinash Kaushik firmly believe that in order to start optimizing your website, you need just 10% of your SEO budget. Because of that, website optimization often gets you a way better ROI than search engine optimization (this great book discusses this principle too).
There are way fewer people who can consider themselves website optimizers than search engine optimizers. I like to consider myself as one of the few, along with people like Bryan Eisenberg and Chris Goward.
Re: Need For Search Engine Optimization
Whether Google Local and other local search initiatives will be popular and bring customers to local businesses depends not only on Google et al, but also on the businesses, who use local search to their advantage, and also savvy Internet marketers, who promote local search by explaining the benefits of local search and providing local (SEO) services to their customers.
Thus, it is a matter of being early to adopt very efficient techniques to get more local customers - thus, possibly, gaining a fatal advantage over your rivals - and capturing your local market.
One more thing about local customers is that you not only get more customers, even from a single area, it is that, while providing value to them, you'll inspire them to talk about you and recommend you to their family, friends and such, thus building a strong community of customers and a strong business brand.
Website optimization affects your visitor when they arrive on your website and how they convert for your goals. Search engine optimzation has an effect on the visitor before they get to your website.
There are way less website optimization cowboys out there! There are still way too many search marketing firms who just take your money and don’t do much (apart from great firms like ClientSide and evisibility).
Once you optimize your website, you should THEN, and only THEN engage in search engine optimziation with a reputable history of results. Not the other way around - if you do, you will be wasting your money because of reason #1 above.