Basic Search Engine Marketing and Optimization
Part 1
The first article in a series on basic search engine marketing and optimization techniques.
By Special Guest Writer Andy Beal
Getting Back to Basics (again)
(January 2003, updated by the Editor May 2006) So, 2003 is here and another year beckons. It’s that time, when most search engine optimization (SEO) experts look ahead to the coming months and predict what will come of the SEO industry. It’s also the time when we stare at our computers and try to think of clever articles with cryptic titles so that we can once again declare ourselves as “search engine optimization gurus”.
Well, I must admit to thinking the same thing. While researching the latest trends on SEO and determining the topic of my first article for the year, I came to the following conclusion; The SEO industry is growing at a tremendous rate, with more companies realizing the benefits of this marketing medium.
With this rapid growth come new minds, researching how to get better rankings, all looking for the basic information that will get them started down the road of SEO.
I therefore decided to break with the trend and go back to basics. While I will still endeavor to write articles that touch on complex issues, I want to make sure that those of you looking for the basic information are not overlooked.
To get us started lets review some interesting statistics and set the scene for the upcoming series of articles...
Why you need SEO
If your company owns a website you will be pleased to know that, according to ComScore Networks, US online sales in 2002 leaped to a staggering $74 billion. There were more than 109 million people in the US surfing the Internet on a regular basis. And with an estimated 700 million people worldwide going online in 2003, Internet sales are set to soar to record numbers.
These are all encouraging statistics for anyone looking to leverage online revenues in 2003. One fact you may not have considered is exactly how did those millions of Internet users locate businesses in order to spend their precious dollars. The answer is simple; they used one of the many search engines.
More than 85% of all Internet users arrived at a website for the first time after entering a search phrase at one of the many search engines. Whether their preference was Google, MSN, Yahoo or AOL, they all had one thing in common; they all new what they wanted and they used a search engine to track down the best vendor.
With an estimated 33% of search engine users believing that the number one listed website is the best location to spend their dollars, ensuring that your business holds top positioning in the search engines is critical for success in 2003.
Unlike traditional forms of advertising, such as the Yellow Pages, it is possible to manipulate your positioning on the search engine listings. The process is referred to as “search engine optimization” (SEO) or “search engine marketing” (SEM) and involves changing different aspects of your website to ensure better search engine positioning.
Various factors are involved with any SEO campaign and can range from simple changes to the HTML code within your website, through to making changes to the number of times you mention a product within the page.
Upcoming series of articles
Over the coming weeks, I will introduce you to the principles of SEO and take you step-by-step through some of the fundamentals you should implement, if you desire to increase your online revenues in 2003. The topics we will take a look at include:
Go to the next article in this series: On selecting keywords and search phrases for your search engine marketing campaign.
Andy Beal Andy Beal is president and CEO of
Fortune
Interactive, a full-service interactive marketing agency specializing
in search engine marketing. Considered one of the world's most respected
interactive and search engine marketing and experts. Andy has worked
with many companies such as Motorola, CitiFinancial, Lowes, Quicken
Loans, DeWALT, NBC and Smarter.com.
Highly respected as a source of
search engine marketing advice, Andy Beal has had articles published
around the world, including Search Engine Watch, Search Engine Guide,
Pandia, and SEOToday.
Andy Beal is constantly keeping up-to-date with search
engine news and online marketing developments and has appeared on
CNBC and NPR (National Public Radio) and has been featured in The
Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and many other publications.
Often approaching search engine marketing from a unique, easy to understand
perspective, Andy Beal has also been invited many times by SearchEngineWatch.com
to speak at the Search
Engine Strategies conferences held around the world. Andy has
also received a nomination for the 2006
Fast 50.
More search engine news...
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