Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of elevating the visibility of a website by improving the internal and external aspects of the site for the purpose of enhancing the sites on-line presence.  This is achieved through the organic integration of keywords, links, naturally-flowing narrative content, design and interactive elements into a site.

SEO has proven to be an effective marketing tool to drive traffic to your website, increase brand and product awareness and thus improve lead generation.

SEO is an efficient, cost-effective method to reach your specific audience and make them aware of the products and services that you provide.

Since 2003 we have successfully worked with businesses to improve and elevate their internet visibility and market their products and services.
We have successfully taken weak search engine-performing websites and transformed them to top level search engine return position (SERP) performers with increased site visibility.

Improving a website's internet visibility is an import element of any internet marketing campaign but the ultimate goal is to improve the user experience.

We accomplish this by guiding our clients in the development of meaningful and relevant content and through improvements to site navigation and other internal factors that make a website search engine friendly.

In our experience, elevated site visibility and improved user experience has led to measurable increases in relevant site traffic, higher click through rates, increased page views, longer time spent on site, and reduced bounce rates.

We are highly experienced and well seasoned in the art and science of internet marketing, and possess a successful track record in this area.

Is having a website enough to expose you to new clients?

Having a website can expose you to new clients, but what is the value of having a website if it cannot be found [during a search of the internet] when a prospective client searches the internet for your products or services?

Consider:*

• 61% of global Internet users research products online. (Interconnected World: Shopping and Personal Finance, 2012)
• 44% of online shoppers begin by using a search engine. (Interconnected World: Shopping and Personal Finance, 2012)
• Worldwide, we conduct 131 billion searches per month on the web. (Comscore, January 2010)
• 57% of TV viewers use the web simultaneously. (Nielson, 2009)
• 70% of the links search users click-on are organic, not paid. (Marketing Sherpa, February 2007)
• 60% of all organic clicks go to the top three organic search results. (MarketingSherpa, February 2007)
• 33% of all organic click-throughs go to the number 1 position on page 1. (Chitka Insights, June 2013)
• 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results. (MarketShareHitsLink.com, October 2010)
• The average click-through rate for paid search in 2010 (worldwide) was 2%. (Convario, January 2011)
• Businesses with websites of 51 to 100 pages generate 48% more leads than those with 1 to 50 pages. (HubSpot)

The advent of the internet, and the ubiquity of Smartphones and iPads, has brought about the demise of the traditional information and advertising resources available to consumers including the White Page and the Yellow Page advertising directories.

In today's world, there are few opportunities to promote your brand that are not internet related.

Traditional (old age) marketing through referrals (in-person word of mouth), mailers, Yellow Page ads and listings, newspapers and other printed materials, has been replaced by Social Media (on-line word of mouth), E-mails, electronic newsletters, and blogging, etc.

The good and the bad of this paradigm shift:

1. The internet allows any business, especially a small to medium-size business, to cost effectively expand their market reach outside of their immediate geographic boundaries.
2. The internet allows any business to penetrate into your local business area.
3. Good client experience reviews and referrals are available to a broader audience and have a longer shelf life, as are "bad" client experience reviews, but in many cases these "review-sites" do provide the business owner an opportunity to rebut, explain or make good on the error.

The Art and Science of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

How can SEO and Internet Marketing techniques help your website attain higher search ranking?

Every website is unique, and because of this uniqueness, every website presents a different optimization challenge.

Although the challenges may be different, the objectives are still the same: to position a site to rank positively in search results and to engage, inform and woo the viewer into exploring the site.

The Science of SEO

As SEO professionals, the knowledge and insight that we have gained from our years of promoting websites on the internet has allowed us to develop and hone many of the techniques that we apply in the delivery of successful campaigns to our clients.
Of course, the search engine developers (who manage the search results by determining, defining and enforcing their rules of the road) do not provide step-by-step instructions for optimizing websites.
Subsequently, increasing the search ranking of a site does require a certain amount of experimentation to see what works and what doesn't.

At Marin Web Pro, we have developed a strict set of methodologies for testing, monitoring and measuring, in short order, the success or failure of any of the enhancements that are applied to a website.
These methods and practices have helped us improve search results for the majority of our clients within reasonable timeframes.

However, attaining a position on Page One for any given search term can take time.
It is important to keep in mind that there are a finite number of positions available on page one and that, in order to gain a position on page 1, someone already there has to be knocked off.
Many of your competitors may also be competing for the same slot.

The Art of SEO

The art of optimizing a website lies in the ability of the practitioner to skillfully blend and apply the elements of marketing techniques, social media, site and layout design, relevant content, and keyword development, targeting and placement, to create or revamp a site in a way that its audience will find easy, engaging, informative and an overall good experience, while achieving strong search engine presence.

Attaining a top ranking position in search can take time.  It is important to understand the client's objectives and expectations, as well as to have the ability to appropriately manage those expectations, before embarking on an optimization project.  Failure to do so can lead to misunderstandings and disappointments down the road.

Equally important is identifying a client's core products, the target audience, the revenue-generators, and the products that the client is most eager to promote. This information makes it easier to identify and/or develop the channels best suited to promote the client and achieve their objectives.

Below are but a few basic components of our work:

• Create layouts and relevant content around the products and services identified that are both attractive in their presentation and informationally engaging.

• Identify, reward and solicit reviews and client referrals from the client's best customers.

• Identify, reward and solicit reviews and client referrals from the client's best customers.

Perfection in Search Engine Optimization

The perfect optimization combines, in a balanced way, the science and the art of these processes. Too much science or too much art can be detrimental to the intended objective.

The challenge for the prospective SEO client is to identify an SEO professional who posses this level of talent.

The challenge for the SEO professional is to have the client base and reference list that can attest to the practitioner's ability to achieve this level of nirvana.

At Marin Web Pro we have often soared to these heights, and have the client list and references to prove it.

*Sourced from HubSpot: "All of the Marketing Statics You Need."