Every business wants to be the first result on a search for their keywords on Google. And why not, the top result can get as high as an 80% click-through rate. The problem is, for any given keyword, the search engine might return many millions of results, but only one can be number 1. For a keyword with significant competition, a small business is likely competing against large businesses with seemingly limitless budgets to devote to their search engine campaign.
So, how does a small business compete?
With years of research and practice, we have helped our clients acheive that coveted "Top Spot" on Google. Not through "black hat" SEO practices that will get your site banned, but with proven techniques, and yes, hard work.
Search Engine Optimization
SEO That Makes Sense
Keyword Analysis and Strategy
One of the biggest mistakes we see from business owners, and the source of much frustration, is targeting the wrong keywords. Targeting keywords that are too general and you will never befound; targeting to narrowly or specific and no one will search for you. We find effective keywords that your likely customers will likely search.
Keywords are just a starting point, this where the real work begins. How you use these keywords will determine your search engine results. We work with you to develop strategies centered, not around keywords, but around your business, your customers, and your unique selling proposition. We show you how to leverage your business' strengths and reach more cusotmers at the time they are looking.
Local Search
Maybe the most important development in search over the last five years is the focus on local. The idea is that most people are interested in products, services, and information that is close to them. A local search strategy is key to your customers finding you at the time they want your services.
Our strategies for reaching a local audience help your business to get more local visibility.
On-Page Optimization
Optimizing your Website means more than cramming as many keywords into your content as possible, it is about making every page of your Website friendly to Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines. Fancy design and perfect keywords mean nothing if your site can't be indexed by the search engines.
On-Page Optimization includes:
- Friendly URLs - if your site relys on URLs that include symbols such as '?', '#', then the search engines will not include those pages.
- Propper structure - a Webpage is a document, it needs to include headings and sub headings so the search engine understands the relationship of your content.
- Propper HTML coding - studies show Websites that validate are preferred by Google.
- Text based navigation - navigation that works with Javascript disabled is important, as search engines don't use Javascript
- Image and link attributes - properties embedded in links and images that are read by the search engines to identify the content
Remember, these On-Page optimizations aren't just for search engines, they improve your user experience.
Before hiring a firm for your SEO campaign, examine their site to make sure their site follows these guidelines.