Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your website and web pages
Search Engine Optimization, or (SEO), is an essential skill that every web designer must possess and it is absolutely critical to the success of any website. If no one can find your site, no one can buy your products or use your services. It would be like having a business in a basement that nobody knows about. While it is important to maximize your website's page ranking in search engines, it is equally important to have an effective Call to Action. It is also important to employ other simple marketing strategies 
that will direct customers to your site without them having to look for it. Every Web Design Package we offer comes with a free consultation in which we will discuss those strategies.
With proper Search Engine Optimization, your website should achieve top placement and rankings in search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Our SEO specialist will help your company achieve a high website ranking (and possibly the #1 placement depending on the search term) which will result in more website traffic and therefore more business.
SEO is a Science
In order to achieve Google optimization, Yahoo optimization, and/or Bing optimization, you've got to start somewhere. What you cannot measure you cannot change, so the first step is to see where you place on the popular search engines for different search terms. If you are a paper supply company in St. Louis, you would look at search terms like "paper supply St. Louis", "paper supply" and "ABC Paper Supply Company". While your company's name 
should reach the #1 spot with ease, reaching the top of the results on the other search terms is much more difficult and will be the test of any web designer's skill.
The next plan of action is to make a list of keywords and key phrases for which you would like to have the website optimized. It is usually very easy to be ranked #1 if you have more keywords in your search query (as opposed to a one-word search). Then take a look at your content and make sure that you have these keywords in the content area of your website. Google says, "Content is key!" Regarding website content, we recommend that each page have, at the very least, 450 to 600 words of text to achieve top website ranking. Sounds like a lot of work, right? Like we said, you have to start somewhere.
By the Way...
We can help you write your content. If you would like more information about our SEO copywriting services, please visit our Copywriting Page where we can explain how we create articles and content optimized for top search engine placement.
Remember, your website is a reflection of your business and professionalism to your customers. When visiting your website, they will decide whether or not you seem like a legitimate business and whether or not you seem trustworthy enough to do business with. That may sound like a stretch, but it couldn't be more true. Imagine if you went to Walmart.com and the website looked like a 5th grader put it together. Wouldn't you be shocked? Wouldn't you also be put off by it? If you go cheap on your website's design, you may think you're saving money but you're actually losing money. Check out this great article on Why Web Design is so Critical.
There are many Search Engine Optimization firms that claim that they hold the key to unlocking that coveted #1 position. The truth, in fact, is that no one person knows the exact algorithms that search engines use to position a website where they appear. Organic SEO isn't something that happens overnight and if some firm offers to boost you to the top overnight, it will cost you a pretty penny and it won't last because it won't be organic. What they will do is flood the internet with your backlinks which will inevitably be deleted from those sites that agreed to link to you. While backlinks are important, they have to be done right.
Backlinks Are The Backbone of SEO
Each search engine has its own algorithm which ranks pages differently based on specific criteria. Some people actually think that they can just plug all the keywords into the Keywords META. That may have been partially true in the 90s but people exploited that strategy so much that now Google doesn't even look at the 
Keywords META tag. Some of the modern factors search engines consider are the TITLE, H1, H2, ALT tags, backlinks and keyword density in a web page's content.
Backlinks are now the biggest thing any SEO focuses on. While there are many things the google algorithms take into account, backlinks are one of the most important. Every time another website links to you, Google and other search engines see that as a vote for your website. If other webmasters are linking to your site, it is a good indicator (in Google's eyes) that your content is both relevant and important. It is that very reason why backlinks are so important in achieving top ranking in organic search engine results. Please see our article on Backlinks to learn more.
Pay Per Click Ads (PPC) and What They Can Do For You
Most people have heard of Pay Per Click Ads and for those that haven't, they are the ads you see at the top and to the side of search results on search engines such as Google as you can see 
in the picture to the right. While we would all prefer not to pay to see our website appear at the top of search results, the fact of the matter is that reaching the top of those results organically takes a lot of time. Between then and now, how are people going to find your website? One great way is through; you guessed it, PPC ads. These ads may seem very simple and easy to do, but like most things involving the internet, it's always more complicated than it seems. There is a whole array of things you need to consider when chosing to advertise through Pay per Click Ads. Visit our in-depth article on Pay Per Click Ads to learn more.
Remember...
We can help you aquire quality backlinks as part of our standard Search Engine Optimization service.
Considering this is a service that is ongoing, you may want to consider signing up for one of our Service Plans to guarantee our services at a discounted rate.
