Most companies with an online presence recognize the importance and value in search engine optimization (SEO). The days of being able to rely on just search engine spiders finding a website and ranking it highly, without some degree of optimization, are long gone. With the degree of influence that search engines like Bing, Yahoo and especially Google have in driving targeted traffic to a website (studies put 90 percent of all search engine traffic going to only the top 10 websites returned in a search query), placing highly in a search engine’s rankings can no longer be left to chance. More traffic equals more customers and a drop to even the second or third page on a search result could mean visitors slow to a trickle. Smart website owners employ SEO to provide the boost needed to both achieve and maintain top their website’s top search ranking.
As search engine algorithms have evolved and become increasingly complex —to the point where Google is now incorporating powerful artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities in its search engine— it has become more important than ever to invest in professional guidance when it comes to SEO. Further complicating the issue, there are now many different elements to SEO than there ever were and an effective search marketing campaign often makes use of more than one at once. Expertise in working with search engines, the ability to measure and analyze results, a full-scale, strategic approach to SEO and access to proprietary tools developed through a decade of experience are needed to make the most of any investment in search marketing.
The do-it-yourself route doesn’t work anymore for business website design. Visitors know an amateur effort when they see it and they expect that a legitimate business will invest in a high quality website, designed and coded by professionals. The same thing holds true for search engine optimization. Not only will amateur attempts at SEO risk alienating visitors (one common mistake is inexpertly loading a page with keywords in content that doesn’t make sense to visitors or is totally irrelevant), but it seldom has the desired effect with search engines. In fact, with the advanced algorithms being employed by Google, using the wrong approach to SEO can actually result in worse performance when it comes to search results, opposite the intended result.
A digital marketing agency represents an investment in quality, effective internet search marketing. Companies like this will offer professional SEO services with full-scale search marketing campaigns, incorporating multiple elements: keywords, on and off page SEO, local marketing, the use of social media and others. Online visibility and increased search engine rankings will result from the strategic and full-scale approach, resulting in a high return on the investment for the campaign.
About the Author:
Kelly Hunt has built a reputation for SEO expertise, through his association with a leading SEO agency and numerous articles and postings. To contact Kelly with a question about SEO or Internet marketing, please call 1.877.405.6613, write 1001 W. Southern Ave., Suite 118 Mesa, AZ 85210 or send an e-mail to: kelly.hunt@theseoagency.com.