Adam

What SEO Means to Your Business

And if I leave a breadcrumb will a spider find it?

So you’ve got a really unique product, exceptional customer service, a clever newsletter sent out monthly, and a blog that’s timely and smart … but no traffic to your site.  These days it’s pretty easy to set up a website and register a domain – my then-middle schooler designed one several years ago.  There are lots of templates and tips, and anyone who’s willing to play around a bit can be up and running in an afternoon.  Then what?  Put your feet up and wait for people to come flocking?

SEO is Key

If you actually want to grow your client base, and sell more – products or services – you need to think not only about how the site is designed overall, but about how each element works with the next to generate interest and capture traffic.  The internet is a far cry from the linear Dewey Decimal System and information needs to be strategically presented to ensure that it shows up first – and often – when folks are looking.  That’s where SEO in Irvine CA becomes KEY!

Search engine optimization (SEO) or Search Engine Optimizers (also SEOs) can be difference between brilliance and broke; seen and unseen; and first and last!    SEO – and it’s not SEO optimization – is a conglomeration of techniques and buzzwords – like outbound links and meta keywords and trackbacks and breadcrumbs — designed to help search engines find and rank your site higher than the myriad of other sites out there.  It’s a constant, fluid process that can’t be measured overnight, but rather over the long haul.

How?

For  example, let’s say that you were to go to Google, or any other search engine, and type in “fish-patterned dog collars.”   The search engine uses an algorithm – or complex formula – to determine which sites it’s going to display and in what order.  The algorithm is never spelled out exactly, but good SEOs, and smart business owners, know that it looks for specific code, keywords, tags, and descriptions, and plugs them in to determine what shows up on page one (of 563,000 results in this case), and what’s relegated to page 25.  So of course you assume that if it’s near the top of the list, it’s going to have specifically what you searched for – and sometimes it does .  But in reality, it’s mostly about how well someone understood the way that searches work and subsequently, how well they designed the content to take advantage of that.  Think of it from another angle.  How often have you queried, clicked on the first link, and found that it didn’t even have the content that you were interested in (like just now, in the case of this dog collar)?  It happens … but once you’re at that site  that doesn’t have the thing you were looking for, you dig around a bit … and they have you!  A lot of logic, a bit of creativity, and a smidge of craftiness.

Take the Path to Success

The right SEOs can define the buzzwords and apply the techniques as they’ll best work for you, and ultimately get you to the top of the list.  After that, you can rely on your awesome product, outstanding communication, and superior services to keep clients and customers happy.  Why do it alone! Contact Us today for information on how to get started.

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Why You Need a Sitemap

Think of Google as millions of spiders crawling the internet with their only means of movement is through hyperlinks from one web page or one website to another.  These links are the way in which Google, as well as most other search engines, identifies you and indexes you.

These links are one of the reasons why, early on, it is so important to have relevant sites link to you.  It helps Google identify and crawl you quicker.  Until then it doesn’t know that you exist.

However, having Google recognize your homepage is only half the battle.  Ideally you want Google to thoroughly crawl your entire website.  In most cases you will have a link on your homepage to your “Contact” page or your “About Us” page, but what about those pages that are deeper into your site, that might not have any direct links to it from your homepage.

 

These pages need to be indexed as well but there is no clear pathway for the “Spiders” to crawl.

This is why Sitemaps are so important.  They give the crawlers instant access to all of your pages. People often as us how to improve SEO on WordPress?  Luckily there is a simple plugin to allow you to do this automatically and in the format that Google desires.  For WordPress, “Google XML Sitemaps“, is one of the best options.

First: Set up your Google Webmaster Tools account

 

Second: Install the Google XML Sitemaps plugin

This way, each time you create a new content page, Google will index it almost immediately and people will be able to find you.

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What to Look for in a SEO Company

What to Look for in a SEO Company

A Real SEO Company isn’t a “here today, gone tomorrow” company, nor is the company run by people fresh out of SEO boot camp. You need people who are highly skilled and knowledgeable in SEO techniques to improve your webpage’s visibility. What’s the point in having a website if Internet users can’t find you?

Let’s face the facts, competition on the web is tough and some web-based companies don’t survive. They may have their own in-house webpage team, and these people may know a little about search engine optimization. But if they’re not an expert and if they don’t stay extremely current with SEO changes, these web pages will not maintain rank in the search engines.

Real SEO Companies have all the tools and skills to take your website to the next level and help you realize your website’s potential.

Here is a list of items to consider when choosing your SEO Company;

1) Assess the service of the SEO company:

As with any other company, service is usually the key dimension that one should look at. There are lots of ways of pre-assessing the service of an SEO. The most obvious would be to ask for referrals and check the SEO Companies organic search result positions. If they cannot rank themselves, how will they rank your website?

2) Organic web optimization takes time:

In hiring the services of an SEO company, it is important you understand that search engine optimization takes time. If a company promises to deliver unreasonably fast results, they are probably creating a fool out of you. Search engine optimization requires research and usually requires time.

The normal Organic SEO process takes around 30 days or so. No effective ORGANIC SEO efforts can be done in a week or two.

3) No guarantee: 

Search engines use several different algorithms and their spiders can vary. An SEO company which promises to make a website #1 on Google Search may be suspicious. A legitimate SEO will be straight-forward and honest and should tell its clients that no single company can give a guarantee to the top spots in search engines. Remember that web optimization is not an exact science.)

4) Reports:

A good SEO will be able to tell its clients details in connection with standing of their websites. They will be capable of tracking the developments of their clients rank of their keywords, links, and analytical data. The best approach is to use a client log in so clients can log in 24-7 and see real time results.

 5) Recommendations:

A testimonial is the most powerful tool in proving a company’s worth. A satisfied customer is a good indication of the potency of the company’s operations and will provide credible information about its ethics.

6) Cost of Services:

The price of services of an Irvine SEO company should never be the main factor to consider when hiring a firm. Yes, it is important to take into account the costs but one should look at the big picture. You need to also avoid, companies that offer unreasonably low prices with the promise of exceptional results.

7) Some other Comments:

Make sure that that Newport Beach SEO Company is primarily involved in web optimization and does not address it as a sideline. WEBSITE PLACEMENT takes effort and perseverance. A paying customer deserves to obtain results.

Take into consideration these standard tips when selecting an SEO company and pick the best one that suits all your needs.

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