Search Engine Marketing Done Right

Part 1: Order of Operations

By Pandia Guest Writer Steve Winkler

(April 2003) Having difficulty obtaining fair ranking in Yahoo? Are you puzzled with why you cannot find your site through a search on AOL?

Whether you are a newbie to marketing online or you’re a seasoned veteran these problems may perplex you. Read on to see that it may not be a lack of effort or intellect but a simple and easily corrected error in your marketing syntax.

Proper SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is not open to interpretation as fine art is, rather it is a function of the proper application of rules and features to standard information. Just as in the world of Mathematics, if you do not follow the rules to achieve an answer the answer that you do get will perhaps be wrong.

Search Engine Marketing leaves little to be subjectively analyzed; rather proper SEM universally speaking is properly executed with an Order of Operations on many levels. As you may already know or may have yet to find out; the attempt to reinvent the SEM “wheel” may prove futile.

The correct answers are available to you, if you seek them so please read on if you would like to make sense of one small piece of SEM. I’ll share with you the three crucial steps in properly executing your next SEM or SEO campaign.

Applying Optimization Techniques

The order in which optimization techniques are applied can be a crucial step in determining how quickly and how well your website obtains positioning. If you are doing your own optimization work or have hired a professional specialist to help, pay close mind to the use of simple logic in the application of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques.

There is a logical process in which you should apply techniques. Through experience here is a process that may prove beneficial for you.

1. Determine your Keywords
2. Incorporate Keywords into page titles
3. Apply Keywords to text
4. Apply pertinent supportive alt tags
5. Design supportive Meta Tags

The aforementioned format is fairly universal however there are additions, exemptions and modifications that need to be considered when submitting to various sources. A good way to ensure universal compatibility is to target specific pages to specific sources.

While ultimately the content of the site will determine your ranking possibilities Inktomi, AltaVista and Google do index based on emphasis on varied criteria. Understanding these discrepancies and optimizing accordingly you can capitalize on great ranking from multiple sources.

Begin With The End In Mind

Here is a multiple-choice question to get you thinking.

To achieve a ranking in AOL which of the following should you do?

1. Send your site to AOL for review
2. Wait for spider to visit your website
3. Submit to Google

Most already know that the answer is letter c) Submit to Google, as Google provides results to AOL. Though they claim results “enhanced by Google” you can see that in virtually all situations the first 10 results are identical between AOL and Google Searches.

For many people this had solved their previous ranking woes within AOL, for others with poor Google placement this was not a prosperous change. For the most part it has been a great change for many search sites and portals to either incorporate or to utilize the search services of a specialist such as Google as it has enabled a consolidation of information.

However you will notice discrepancies between the various Google-powered portals from time to time, which is the result of the use of different filters or standards.

There have been great pieces published on the relationship between providers of search engine results and the sites using them so I will not expand on the relationships themselves any further, but I recommend that you research this hierarchy and always begin with the end in mind.

Begin your optimization process from the bottom level of each major source of information, i.e. focus on the provider of search engine results. If your ultimate positioning goals include AOL, Iwon, Netscape and Yahoo make sure that you have followed every rule that Google, the search engine results provieder, has established on their site for compliance.

Once these rules have been met you are 99% compatible with their search partners, however dependant upon content and respective rules search results from these result fed sites may differ.

Submit

Last, but certainly not least we have the submission aspect of your search engine optimization. I pondered whether or not it was necessary to include such an obvious aspect of SEO but it is crucial that it be presented as the last step of the process.

Too often I have heard the frustration and confusion of those who say “Steve, I’ve already submitted to all of these major search engines and I’m still not listed, how is it that you can do this differently?” Clearly it is the Order of Operations that was not considered in their processes, and to little surprise the reason why most people using submission as their first plan of attack have little to no success.

Submission prior to optimization is much like entering a motorcycle race with a bicycle. Giving due respect to the web designers of the world for their continual strive for new and efficient use of technological resources they nearly all fall short as the prime choice for your Internet Marketing.

Naturally their main focus is to conceptualize and produce a website that meets the needs of their client. SEO and SEM typically base their work on websites that have already been built.

Your SEO provider should be more proactive by working as a liaison between your company and your web design firm to ensure that their design does properly incorporate all of the proper techniques. This works in a similar fashion to the relationship between the architect and the builder. Both have distinctly separate tasks but work in unison to create a pleasing result.

If at First You Don’t Succeed....

As the saying goes, “If first you don’t succeed. Try, try again.” If you choose to venture into the world of SEM or SEO on your own, allow time and do not give up. More than likely -- unless you are versed on the latest and greatest rules of the major search engines and can keep up with these -- your SEM or SEO will have an element of chance as part of the equation. Exercise patience and make small changes and allow time for these changes to populate through the databases.

If you have questions or concerns do not hesitate to hire a professional to help as a professional can help you avoid many pitfalls and common mistakes which are often inadvertent yet potentially dangerous.

Go to part 2: How many clicks does it take?

Further reading:

On the development of search engine marketing strategies
Rank Rage - on search engine spam
2003 Search Engine Marketing Buyer's Guide
How to find the right keywords when optimizing Web pages for search engines
Using metatags in search engine optimization

Steve Winkler is the Business Development Manager of the www.KeywordRanking.com team of Search Engine and marketing professionals.

Steve Winkler has experience in demographic based marketing, interactive marketing programs and business efficiency consultation. Click here for more information, a free ranking report or a free in depth consultation. He can also be reached via email: swinkler@keywordranking.com

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