Article from Power Marketing’s Builder Bulletin Newsletter, March 2011. Sign up to receive Builder Bulletin monthly here.
In a very short amount of time, the Internet has completely transformed the way we do business — from internal processes to attracting job applicants and perhaps most importantly, clients. The nature of that transformation is both incredibly exciting and overwhelming. The Internet presents a landmine of opportunity for business, yet the ground to cover can seem endless. In some ways, it is!
That’s where organic search optimization comes in. The way people shop for goods and services, including their next home, continues to rapidly transform right along with the Internet, meaning the way you market your products must change too. Consumers can easily get information about different companies and products without ever interacting with that company directly, meaning their first impression of you likely won’t come from any personal interaction. That is IF they can find you online at all.
Search engine optimization (SEO) ultimately attempts to drive potential customers to your website, where they are converted into sales. But you already have a great looking website! Sure, but does it contain the right, relevant clues that allow search engines — and subsequently customers using those search engines — to find your business?
Relevance and How to Find It
So what exactly is relevance, and how does it relate to SEO? Here is the Wikipedia answer: Relevance is a term used to describe how pertinent, connected, or applicable something is to a given matter. A thing is relevant if it serves as a means to a given purpose. What does it mean to be relevant? Why do Google and other search engines rank relevance so high in their search criteria?
The answer is so simple it may surprise you. Google and other search engines exist to provide answers to search queries. A search engine’s primary audience is the searcher, not the website owner or the advertiser. When you — as a random Internet searcher — key in a search term and find exactly what you want, Google feels it has done its job. But when you key in your search term and are sent to a page full of links that are not relevant to your query, Google has failed you. A search engine’s raison d’etre (reason for being, in case you don’t speak French) is to help searchers bridge the gap between need and discovery. One primary way they do it is relevance!
The primary tools for achieving relevance are words, sentences, and paragraphs that utilize the right keywords and keyword phrases. The more relevant your keywords and keyword phrases are, the more buoyant your website will be in an organic Google search. The goal is to get your site to float to the top of page one. There are two issues here: The first is the search engine and how it interprets relevance. The second is the human mind and how it interprets relevance. What is the key to opening the human mind? Why does a consumer who is looking for a gas grill key in “barbecue grill” and not “gas grill?” Why does a mother shopping for a child’s car seat key in “safety seat?” … Relevance!
Your goal with your website is to determine and use the keywords that are most relevant to your prospective buyers. Attempt to think like a buyer! Ask yourself what is most relevant? Or you can hire us to do a keyword study for your website so you will know without suspicion that your keywords have traction.
Google is looking for keywords, title tags, body copy, headers and description meta tags that produce the search results their searcher wants. Your job is to think like a customer and give the search engine what it wants: relevance. If you want help with finding your way to the top of search engines call us today, 301.416.7861, or visit our website at www.Power-Marketing.com. Search engine optimization is not an event; it is a process. It takes time and it costs money. An organic listing on page one of Google is rarely free. You don’t have to pay Google for it, but it does cost. You pay for AdWords by the click, but in the long haul, organic search success has much more value.
Source: Survey of hundreds of businesses for HubSpot’s “State of Inbound Marketing: 2010 Report” by Mike Volpe, HubSpot VP Marketing and Adam Blake, MIT Sloan MBA Student
Dominion on the Internet isn’t a one-time event; it’s a well-thought-out online strategy designed to reach your audience and achieve your sales goals over time. Keep reading our Builder Bulletin for more tips about strengthening your SEO and your overall builder marketing strategy. To learn more about the ideas in this newsletter and others, visit our website at www.Power-Marketing.com or contact us at info@Power-Marketing.com.
