In part two of How Much do You Know About SEO we will be looking further at some of the methodology behind a quality SEO campaign, the differences between SEO and pay-per-click, and the fact that SEO is not magical by any means of the definition. Read on for more info on how much you really know about SEO.
Point Four
Use the KISS – Keep It Simple Silly – Method for Listing
How many search engines do you think your target market is actually going to use? Watch, you will see businesses promising to list your site to some insane number of search engines. These sorts of businesses are offering something less than reliable or even less than necessary. Remember that almost 85% of all search results come from a single search engine. As long as your site has incoming links coming from other respected sites or from directories you will find that your site will appear just fine. In fact, only four search engines carry more than 90% of all web traffic. How much good does it do for your site to be listed on some search engine located out of Kazakhstan that specializes in ethnic dishes and gets a grand total of ten hits a day?
Point Five
SEO is NOT the same as Pay-Per-Click
Do pay-per-click campaigns pay off? Yes and no. A well-designed and executed PPC campaign can indeed generate a degree of traffic and sales. The trouble with them is though that they tend to generate low conversion rates as well. Also, when you stop paying for the campaigns the benefits end then and there. On the other hand, a well-designed and executed SEO campaign will tend to produce much more consistent results. It is true that SEO can take a bit longer to begin producing, but the benefits continue long after the project is paid for. Keep in mind that we have seen properly optimized sites are excellent at producing SEO based results. With only a few tweaks here and there after the site is up – usually by adding new content – you will find an SEO campaign much more reliable in the long run.
Point Six
SEO is NOT Magic! (Didn’t we mention this already?)
It doesn’t take having the moon in a certain alignment with the planets, no chants, no burning herbs – even if some of us have felt the need to howl at the moon after yanking out hair when working on a site! Businesses that tell you that their SEO practices are top secret or part of a special formula are full of it. The Internet has been built upon cooperation and team work, and there is not one single thing you can’t learn from it as long as you have both the money and the time to do so. A quality SEO company will step you through their process and will answer your questions openly and honestly. If you step into a meeting with a company that promises SEO results but doesn’t offer to instruct you on their process you might want to reconsider their services. There are some technical aspects that you might not understand, but with a decent overview you should be able to understand the basics of the process.
Stay tuned for our third installment in How Much do You Know About SEO where we will discuss DIY SEO and more!