Search Engine Optimization (SEO): An ever-evolving, multi-method process that works to raise your placement in search results.
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Marketing is a changing industry. In the lifespan of Mustang Marketing, we have seen the rise of the computer, the disappearance of typesetting and the invention and evolution of the web, just to name a few things.
With each change we have seen resistance. Not everyone was ready to jump into the digital world or thought they would ever need a website; today, you would be hard pressed to find a company that does not have a use for computers or a website.
The latest resistance from marketing departments is regarding SEO. I blame that resistance on two factors: a checkered past and a lack of understanding.
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A Checkered Past
Have you ever clicked a page from a search and found a list of links, or clunky, almost unreadable copy on the topic you were searching for? These early SEO techniques—gobbled, auto-created sentences surrounding key search terms and names to bolster their visibility—have caused many to resent the concept, but these techniques are a thing of the past.
Google, in an effort to make their search engine the best it can be, constantly changes their search algorithm to not only reject these methods, but punish sites that allow them—resulting in many sites loosing rank and visibility.
Current SEO methods are all about optimizing you site’s content to best convey your message in a clear, concise, easy-to-use structure, and put content throughout the web that is relevant and desirable, with links back to your site. Google is even looking at a sites design as a factor in its algorithm.
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A Lack of Understanding
I am surprised at how many times I use the term SEO, and get asked what that means. Even with the one-minute explanation and people nodding there heads in agreement, I find that many still don’t get what today’s SEO really is.
Studies of Google’s search results have shown that the first listed result gets 34.35% of clicks, followed by the second result at only 16.96%, third at 11.42% and fourth at 7.73%. By the time you get to the bottom of the first page (tenth position) the click rate is 2.71%.
In order for a search engine to understand your page, they use a computer to crawl through the contents. How this computer sees your site is very different than the pretty pictures and perfectly aligned columns that you may love about the page. Instead, it looks for things like title tags (the text in the header of your web browser), meta content (hidden page descriptions), <h1> tags (code that identifies the pages main headline), alt tags (coded descriptions of images), etc., etc…
The search engine will also look at all the other sites they have crawled in the past, and see how your site is linked with them. For instance, if you had an article in the Wall Street Journal that linked to your website, search engines see that as a very relevant link and it will help your SEO. If you have a link on Joe’s Blog that goes back to your site, it will help as well, but not with the same pull.
To add another twist, search engines will also look at what word is linked to your site, helping your page’s optimization for that term. For instance, if the Wall Street Journal had an article on SEO, and they made SEO link to mustangmktg.com, the term “SEO” is being optimized for our site.
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When we engage a client in SEO, we begin with an audit of their site and their current placement in search engines for their desired key words. Using our findings, we begin with onsite optimization, making the site easy for search engines to read and understand. From there, we implement a content strategy to keep up-to-date, relevant content on the site, making it more dynamic, and adding pages for search engines to index. We also tackle offsite SEO, submitting content to be picked up by others and linked back to us.
This is an ongoing process, and your site will not change overnight (plan for at least a six months). However, when the changes start to happen, and your site is higher in results for your keywords, you will understand why this is worth the investment.
—Chris Barrett