Search Engines, SEO, Optimization, Blah Blah Blah...

Man, we have all been bombarded with phrases like search engines, search engine optimization, SEO & online marketing for almost a decade now.

• How do you sort through all of this information?

• How do you know what will work best for you?

• How can you make the major search engines work for you?

• How much technology is behind search engine success?

• What kind of budget do you need to compete?

• What should you look for in a partner that can secure position on the search engines?

Sorting through everything you read and hear can seem like a real challenge and major gamble. After all, in order to gain competitive position on the search engines like Google and Yahoo demand both time and money. Many businesses are designating the search engines and other online vehicles as their primary marketing strategy and focus.

Every business is different and every target market is different. The key is to figure out the most efficient and effective search engine strategy for your business. The first thing you need to understand are the basic components of your current condition. In other words, you need to understand where you are before you start investing your time and money. What do the key elements look like at the starting line. Ask yourself questions like these:

1. Is my website user friendly? When I do get productive positions on the search engines, will these visitors see what they are looking for in an attractive, well configured page?

2. How large is my site? Do I have 5 pages being seen by Google & the other search engines or do I have 500?

3. Has attention ever been paid to making these pages friendly in the eyes of the search engines? In other words, Have I ever tried to apply SEO or other search engine optimization components?

4. Have I placed "conversion" or "call to action" elements on important web pages? Is it clear what you want the visitor to do once the see the material they have been looking for?

5. Do I have a "usable" analytic package in place? How am I measuring success on the search engines now as well as going forward?

6. What other methods do I have in place? Ex. Blog, social media accounts, etc.

Although all these questions could be answered in great detail and ultimately, that may be a good idea, there is one, very strong, common thread that runs through all these answers and will help you achieve more success on the search engines. Don't take this advice lightly or simply poo poo it because it will help your efforts on the search engines more than you can imagine.

Common sense... thats right, applying your own common sense to everything you do to advance your rankings on the search engines will act as a filter and remove techniques that could hurt your strategy or simply won't work. If your marketing provider asks you a question, or implements a new component, always ask yourself... does this make sense to me? Chances are, if you answer "no", it's not the best answer.

Think about what the search engines are doing, looking for, designed to achieve. They have one function only. Search engines are created to produce the most relevant and related results for the keyword the search engine user enters. As simple as this fact sounds, it is so often overlooked in hope of discovering a short cut, new trick or technique. If you understand that optimizing your web pages for the search engines revolve around common sense and there are no real closely protected secrets, you will be more free to make progress and gain better rankings on the major search engines.

Once you learn and understand the basic elements the search engines consider in their ranking process or algorithms, take one step back and evaluate your new page or existing pages with common sense in mind. Is this content relevant to the targeted keyword? Does the "title tag", description tag, image tags and most importantly, the content reflect this targeted keyword? Is there enough information on this page and is this information helping the visitor at all? Is it easy for the visitor to move forward and take the next step through your sales funnel?

This is just a taste of how you should be using your common sense to secure better positions on the major search engines. For more information, stay tuned to this blog as I will expand on this concept in my next post. Another helpful resource and suggestion would be to read this whitepaper on the basics of search engine optimization and inbound marketing in general. Just click on the image below: