What is SEO?

With the ever-growing Internet marketplace, it is important that your website can be found by consumers. How you ask? The answer can be answered simply with 3 letters SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Now you may be asking yourself what is so special about SEO and why your website would need this type of service. Allow Vizergy to help you answer those two questions.


Search Engine Optimization by definition is the practice of modifying a website by manipulating onsite and offsite elements in order to improve the traffic a site receives from a search engine. To apply this to your website, ask yourself the question "Where does my site show up when I perform a search for my markets top keyword phrases?" Do you show up on the first page of the top 3 search engines (Google, Yahoo and MSN)? Do you show up anywhere in the first 3 pages? These top 3 pages are essential for any website owner to show up in as it is only a very small percentage of Internet users that go past page 3.

Unfortunately, it is not as simple as selecting certain keywords and your website will rank for them, due to the many additional factors that have to occur before you show up for the more competitive keywords on your site. One thing to keep in mind is whether you have ever had a company perform this type of service before. The SEO techniques used may be outdated or they may have used undesirable techniques that could now have a negative impact on your website. Some of those techniques include: hidden text, keyword overuse in any element of your site (one version of "spamming"), or doorway pages. If any bad techniques were used they must be removed, then the search engines have to come back to your site to verify that the changes have been made so they can determine if they should include your site back within their result listings. Once your site is "cleaned up," your websites content needs to be updated to support the appropriate keyword phrases. Relevancy to your market is one of the biggest determining factors to whether a search engine will position your site as a result of your selected, targeted keywords. Once the hard part is out of the way, a successful link building campaign needs to be started for your site. Minimally, this should focus on the most competitive phrases on your website. Consider links to your site like this, every time another site adds a good keyword rich link back to your site, it's like receiving a vote for relevancy to that term, although this is a simple explanation to the importance but helps describe what it can do for your site.

As to the other important question, "Why does my site need SEO," the simplest answer is that your competitors are using SEO to help improve their online market share and the traffic they receive from search engines. Your website can also be your top sales channel, as it can reach a broader marketplace than a traditional brick and mortar business. If your website is optimized properly, individuals all over the world can find your website if they need your service. Why wouldn't you want to take advantage of SEO, as the majority of web traffic is driven by search? If your site cannot be found, then you are missing out on the incredible opportunities that would be available to you through search.

Lastly here is a checklist to determine if your current site is not search engine friendly.

1. Does your site have a Session ID?


2. Is your website built using frames?


3. Does your website URL contain 2 or more dynamic parameters? e.g. http://www.yourwebsites.com/?pid=1020&content=231&color=12


4. Do you have to sign in to get to your content?


5. Is your website built in flash?


6. Is your page content built into an image?


7. Does your website have hidden text?


8. Do you have multiple domain names pointing to the same website?


9. Unique title and description tags?


10. Absolute home page links?