Demystifying Search Engine Optimization

That's it. I've had it. After reading an advice column in the WSJ responding to a small business owner weighing alternatives on how to better optimize her website for search engines--including whether to pay the $10,000 to an SEO firm.

I've said this before in prior postings...and I'll say it again. . There is no silver bullet to getting first page rankings on the major search engines--other than the pay-per-click ads that appear on the right side of Google--and equivalent spots on MSN or Yahoo!. .

Unless you're hiring a relative, a girlfriend (or boyfriend), or someone that has pictures of you having intimate relations with a farm animal, paying $5000, $10,000 or even the $40,000 that have been quoted to me for the" latest and greatest SEO Solutions", you're wasting your money... And in deference to the hundreds of 'consultants', 'experts' and gurus that claim otherwise---I'd welcome any comments/replies.... But in the mean time---here's some very practical, proven, and easy to implement steps that integrate a modicum of knowledge i.e. website architecture, the ability to spell, and the compunction to roll up your sleeves and do a little bit of work.

1. key words. duh...incorporate no more than 20 within the text presentation on each of your pages.. If you don't know which key words will be more productive than others, simply defer to your google adwords or yahoo adminstrator page...they do free analysis of your page and display rankings i.e. popularity of various words phrases.

2. make sure you incorporate them into page titles...using hyphens to separate the specific page title is a good idea...if changing an existing page title...i.e. www.jlcgroup.net/client_testimonials.html make sure to do a 301direct...if you don't know what that is,..ask your web adminstator to make sure its done....have him review the various meta tag structures and key words within those tags also...too many is not good...know what the rules are i.e. number of characters/words for each type of tag.

3. This is where it gets important..... SEO is no different than the integrated strategies that you use to promote any kind of business business...e.g. co-branding campaigns, referrals from local partners, a news release every once in a while...a newsletter...telephoning clients to make sure the car they just bought is running smoothly...
so..as far as SEO...this means

i. Links---have a page on your site for 'partners'....provide a brief description of each, and a hyperlink...it works better if they do the same for you...if you're a member of an association, club, professional organization..links to those should be included...links links links...

ii. news releases. write them and distribute them.. you can pay $400 to PR News..or more lyou can use any of the free news release websites...make sure they are well written, appropriate, and don't do it too often....your website should have a section for 'news'...upload the links to that section...

iii. enewsletters are great because if designed nicely, they servce multiple purposes---and i've got one client that published a newsletter that automatically appears when i enter the key word for his company name.

iv. if you are a small on-line retailer....you need complentary approaches to get people to your website...you don't want visitors, you want customers...and you get customers via referral, or via third party credibility (being mentioned in a news story etc)..and via advertising...which brings us to pay per click....call up the people at efrontier...they can help the biggest idiots in the world.....

i just saved you $10,000 on a SEO expert...if you have the money to spend, you can contact me, for the same price, i'll help with ALL of the above. :)