Search Engine Optimization for CEOs

Many Non-Technical senior executives ask Internet Marketing companies to provide bottom-line explanations of what they do and why it is important using terms that are quantifiable and readily understandable. To that end, this article provides straightforward answers to a complex subject.

If you are one of these executives, the first thing you need to realize is that Search Engine Optimization [SEO] is a misnomer! People don’t optimize a search engine… rather; they make changes to a website that helps search engines crawl, index and rank pages more easily. This article is intended to give you some insight into 1) what your Internet marketing people are spending money on, and 2) what they should be spending money on.

This document will make you, the CEO / President / COO / CFO / EVP or other non-Marketing decision making executive, as knowledgeable as you need to be about Search Engine Optimization. It also provides questions to ask your Internet Marketing team to ensure your Internet [or online] business model is on the right track.

SOME INTERNET MARKETING FACTS:

• Recent industry analysts state that between 78% - 84% of all traffic to a website comes from search engines.
• Consumer Research shows that shoppers rely on Search Engine Results [41%], Print Ads [10%], and TV Ads [9%] in reaching decisions in the buying process.
• Even with millions of results being returned, the fact remains that over 93% of searchers don’t look beyond page 2 results.
• Between 68% - 72% of searchers believe Natural [unpaid] results produce the most relevant information.
• B2C companies surveyed in 2004 indicated website-based leads were 62% more profitable that other forms of media.
• Paid Advertising [Pay-Per-Click] is the fastest growing segment of Search Marketing. It is easier to pay your way to being shown on high ranking search result pages rather than make changes to your website content and work your way “up” to the top of the list naturally or organically. However, the per-click expense of some keywords can become a barrier to a company utilizing the PPC model only.
• 72% of searchers who use a search engine to look for a specific product or service will purchase or request more information from that company… only if they easily find what they are looking for when they land on your website.
• Search engine algorithms are highly protected and they can change without warning. SEO professionals can only surmise, extrapolate and interpolate the weighting of components used to gain high ranking. This is why successful SEO is as much an art as it is a technology skill. Anyone who states that they or their company has a special relationship with a particular search engine, thus getting preferential treatment for their clients, is not telling the truth. Search engines NEVER offer any kind of privileged treatment to any company or individual in the form of sharing inside information about their search algorithms! Beware of individuals or companies making these outrageous claims.
• The vast majority of websites focus on what they are selling or presenting rather than what the website visitor is looking for when they land on the site. Forward thinking web designers opt for the WIIFM approach [What’s In It For Me]. Some industry spokespeople site examples where websites that conform to the WIIFM methodology, out-perform those that don’t by 20% – 30%! It is worth reviewing your site with the visitor in mind.

THE MOTIVATION AND DIRECTION [Ensuring we are on the same page…]

So this brings us to the reason why companies MUST subscribe to implementing search engine optimization techniques to their websites. It is about creating revenue, adding members, obtaining subscribers, building brand awareness, customer service, creating loyal customers, etc.! You have to decide if one of your Internet marketing goals is to build relationships or not. Some marketing quarters will tell you it is not about developing long-term relationships. Think about it… when was the last time you wanted to purchase something and started your search by saying “I want a relationship with the company who sells to me”? Didn’t you really look for the product color, size, cost, or a meaningful description of the service? Other schools of thought subscribe to the adage that focusing on only the immediate sale is extremely shortsighted! The point is consideration MUST be given to this issue when analyzing your Internet strategy

CEOs need to ask their marketing staff what immediate message is conveyed to a potential customer who lands on their homepage. Is the information focused on the Company or the visitor? Are they trying to develop a long-term relationship with the visitor or not? Did they provide data or a process that can be used by the visitor to make a purchase decision and take action? Pick any competitor’s website and tell the marketing staff they have 11 seconds to determine the primary message being conveyed. This will be an eye-opening exercise and make them look at your website with a different perspective. Hopefully one that converts visitors to clients!

Now that we are on the same page regarding important baseline info about most websites, let’s take a deeper look into the things that one can do to make their web pages rank higher in keyword search engine results. Remember, Search Engine Marketing has enormous potential to generate revenue because it actually has the ability to reach your potential buyer at the precise moment when the buyer is interested in and looking for your product.

The following is a quick tutorial of the key ingredients found in all good and effective Search Engine Optimization [SEO] programs. This advice will help you and your Marketing Team avoid wasting money and get quantifiable results from your Internet Marketing budget.

Remember, SEO is where understanding the technical [science] part of what search engines are looking for in their algorithms combines with the [art] deliverables re: making tweaks to the website that will increase and maintain high rankings in their results. These deliverables are found in things you see and changes in code and words behind the web page that search engine spiders see and use to rank the page. Keep in mind that the “driving force” for search engines e.g., Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc. is delivering “relevant information” to the person searching on a keyword phrase.

KEYWORDS [Picking and Using the Right Ones…]

Let’s start with the most basic ingredient of any Internet Marketing program. You must figure out what words prospective clients are entering into search engines to locate your type of products or services. It is not what the CEO or other executives think… it must be proven which words are actually being used in recent searches. These keyword phrases must be thoughtfully grouped and integrated into pages within the website. Placement of these keywords in the page copy, headings and code behind the page are essential to obtaining high rankings.

Keywords Found in the Page Copy

Placing keywords strategically within the page copy is critical to obtaining high search engine ranking. Writing for a website is NOT like writing any other marketing copy. It is not a brochure, press release, catalog or pamphlet. Page relevancy will be determined by the search engine spider returning your page content to the algorithm for analysis. Generally speaking, the use of keywords and variations of specific phrases tells the search engine what you feel is important about your product or service on that particular webpage.

It is important to have a website copywriter create the text for your pages. Even the placement of certain keyword phrases within a paragraph can have a positive or negative effect. Specially trained Internet copywriters have the ability to write for search engines as well as making the page text easy for the website visitor to read and understand. You cannot just “stuff” a page with keywords and expect it to rank well or read well. In fact, search engines have algorithms that can detect unnatural language patterns. If detected, they might penalize your site in the form of decreased rankings, and in some extreme cases they may ban your website from their database. The message here is to choose your words carefully and use them appropriately!

Keywords Found in the HTML Code

Placement of keywords behind the visible page comes with very specific guidelines. Namely, inserting the right Page Title, META Description, META Keywords and Headings within the HTML code.

• Page Title: 10 – 12 highly searched keywords found within the page content. The Title is one of the top components search engines look for using their ranking algorithm… pick them carefully.
• META Description: +/- 24 words describing the page content. Use short statements i.e., “snippets” that include the primary keyword phrases. This information is often found as a short descriptive statement in the search engine results.
• META Keywords: 1 – 2 and 3 keyword phrases. 48 words maximum. Make these words specific to the page content. Don’t repeat too often.
• Headings: H1 – H2 formatted and bold keywords above the paragraphs. These are like the main subject titles found in textbooks. They should also contain keyword phrases.

Note: Not all search engines value META data equally; however, it is used in some degree by their ranking algorithm and as such… remains valuable.

LINKING [Making Sure Quality and Quantity Match]

This section discusses the importance of the link (sometimes called a hyperlink, or web link). A link is a connection from one website to another. Although a simple concept, a “quality link” is one of the primary components behind successful (high ranking) websites.

A link has two ends – called anchors – and a direction. The link starts at one website (source) anchor and points to another website (destination) anchor. This link may be attached to any web resource (i.e., an image, a video clip, a sound bite, a program, a webpage document, a point within a document or webpage, etc.).

Other than the proper use of keyword phrases as described in the keyword section above, a site’s having a significant quantity of quality inbound links is one of the most important components in obtaining high search engine rankings. Inbound links are the ones that originate on another website e.g., 1) a directory listing your company, 2) a supplier’s website mentioning your products, 3) an organization listing your name and URL with a link back to your website and 4) a company who sells or markets related, but not competing, items, etc.

Links within your website from one page to another, even though recognized and counted by the search engines, do not have the same value [or positive impact] as those coming from another website. However, inserting a well-placed, highlighted link to another page within your website using keywords that are found on that page will help increase relevancy on both pages. By including between two to five of these outgoing links on a page you are telling the search engines that there is more relevant content on the primary subject matter found on the originating source page.

Incoming links are often referred to as “votes” for your website. Search engines consider these votes as a method of validating the relevancy of the data shown on the page within your website. More is better, but the law of diminishing return does apply at some point. Obtaining the highest quality inbound links is the key to high-ranking consideration.

Some people might recommend using Link Farms or FFA [Free For All] linking schemes to build your website’s higher placement. Don’t fall for their pitch! Search engines regard these methods of building incoming links as “illegal”. Google states: “…avoid links to web spammers or ‘bad neighborhoods’ on the web as your own ranking will be affected adversely by those links.”

Remember, creating inbound quality links is an ongoing process. It really never ends. Internet marketing teams must invest time in this activity or outsource it to reliable Internet marketing sources. Thinking this is a one-time activity will surely cause the webpage to drop in ranking as time goes by.

QUESTIONS FOR THE CEO [and other Decision Making Executives]

So what questions can you ask your team that will make you feel comfortable investing in these Internet Marketing initiatives? The following are only a few examples of areas where you can ask questions that will make your team focus on what is important for a successful Internet Marketing program:

• Have we compared the keywords used in our web pages and PPC campaigns with input from client surveys and in-house knowledge bases? Did we take this input and match it against what Google, Overture and WordTracker keyword programs say are highly searched terms? Have we targeted keyword phrases that will drive quality traffic?
• Have we designed our website with the visitor in mind? What statements are on our homepage [and others] that makes the visitor know that they are at the right place? Have we considered “what’s in it for them” when they look at our data, products, services? Have we made it easy for visitors to buy or at least communicate with us?
• Have we built “call-to-action” [CTA] statements within the website and PPC ads? Will these special statements help convert visitors to buyers? How did we determine the “hot buttons” to push to get visitors to take action? Are your offers based upon facts or subjective input? How do we know the CTA statements are working? How have you tested these offers? Do we measure the success of conversion on the website?
• What steps have we taken to ensure that we can quantify all website activity? Can we measure visitor activities while on the site? Can we tie the pre-buying activity to a purchase? Can the purchase be connected to the path [and keyword phrase or PPC ad] the visitor took to land on our website?
• If you feel like producing an atmosphere of immediate creativity within your Internet marketing team ask them what they would do if the Company “found a way” to increase their Internet budget by 100%. Have them brainstorm and come up with a “wish list”, it should not take too long IF they are “on top of their game”. You might be surprised at what they know and don’t know!

If your Internet Marketing team cannot answer these questions to your satisfaction it is highly recommended that you immediately retain the services of a professional Internet Marketing organization. It is no disgrace to hire people who make their living helping companies rank higher in search engine results, convert more visitors to buyers and generate revenue using the Internet. In fact, it is unacceptable not to!

SUMMARY AND BOTTOM-LINE FACTS

Keep in mind that it is highly unlikely that one person can create a website, select the proper keywords, prepare the copywriting and develop the statements that will convert visitors to buyers! It usually takes a team of people, and it is critical to follow the processes mentioned above in order to secure high placement within search engine results. Your website must contain the right keyword phrases as they are the foundation of your online business model. These keyword phrases must be used in sentences that make sense and relate to the visitors as well as the search engine spiders that are reading, indexing and ranking your website. You have two “masters” to serve.

Relevant inbound links are extremely important. Quality and high-ranking sites pointing to your website will increase search engine ranking. Relevant sites linking to your web pages will result in a site [or page] that search engines feel deserves to be ranked high in the page results. You can never have too many quality inbound links.

Finally, stay involved. Ask your team the hard questions. Make sure you don’t leave the creation and maintenance of web page content to chance. Highly successful websites are based upon delivering quality [and relevant] content. This can be in the form of product descriptions, services, and information. Stuffing thousands of pages on a website that never get read works against you.

Make sure each person on the Internet Marketing team [in-house or outsourced] demonstrates their abilities and understanding in creating and implementing search engine optimization and other Internet marketing techniques or don’t let them do it. Be sure to hire Internet Marketing professionals to do the job if you don’t have the capabilities in-house. Too much is at stake to leave this part of your business to chance!

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About the Author: David Zeiter is a fifteen-year veteran in the Internet Marketing arena. His focus is on assisting clients in creating website direction and content that not only appeals to the site visitor but, also delivers high rankings in search engine results. His approach ensures that website visitors convert to customers using profiling characteristics and identifying their buying motivations. He is the Vice President of Business Development for Prime Visibility in Bethpage, New York 11714. David@PrimeVisibility.com – 866-774-6381 x30 – www.PrimeVisibility.com