Take Control of Your Business' Future:
Search Engine Optimization
In an ideal world your company's site would have been created with a Search Engine Optimized way from its inception. This means that it was designed with the intent that it be maximally "findable" when people search for it using search engines. More than likely, your web designer did exactly that, using their "best practices" and all the the tools and knowledge that they had at the time.

The problem is that over time the goal posts have been moved, the Search Engines (and here I'm talking about the big 3: Google, Yahoo! and MSN) have changed the way their Search Engines derive their search results, known as SERP's (search engine result pages). In fact these algorithms will continue to change over time, to be refined so that the search engines continue to produce ever more useful results for the web searcher. Does this consign you to an ongoing and expensive campaign of constant Search Engine Optimization? The answer, as usual, depends on a number of things, questions that only YOU can answer for your company.

Are you in a super-competitive industry that derives a majority of its actual sales or at least business leads from the web? Then the answer is probably Yes, you will need the services of a Search Engine Optimization/Search Engine Marketing expert. If, on the other hand, you don't yet derive a significant portion of your company's business from the web but you intend to increase that business then there's a lot of good news for you: There are affordable, "one time expense" type approaches that you can take to start your company on a sustainable, long-term program for a healthy "web future" for your company.

Here is the short list of Things to Do:
1. Have your site analyzed for its Search Engine Optimization, then fix it up.

Is your site a few years old? A lot has happened in terms of "web years", if your site is a few years old and hasn't been updated in the interim you may be better off starting fresh, keeping your existing URL (it has value called "aging") and creating a new, SEO-friendly design and a bunch of fresh content for the Search Engine Spiders to feed on.

2. Integrate an RSS Blog feed in to your existing site.

Its like having a mini-Content Management System integrated in to your site and its really easy and affordable to do. Of course first you'll need a blog, so get yourself over to www.blogger.com and sign up. Take the time to get a Google account first, it makes the whole experience better and actually more beneficial to you. Then get over to www.feedburner.com and set up a feed. Then all you have to do is integrate the Javascript code into your sites' HTML and away you go! Head hurt yet? Give us a call at 949-722-6119 and we'll help you set it all up.

3. Make sure you're listed in Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps and Superpages free listing

I will publish a future blog detailing this process, its fairly detailed but totally do-able, yes, by you (well, we can help...)

4. Link to other websites with whom you share overlapping interests.

Quality inbound links from "authoritative" web sites will grow in importance while a large number of meaningless, out of context links will actually diminish in importance. Simply put, go for Quality backlinks, not Quantity.

5. Publish articles in authoritative places on the web.

This is a big part of your new ethos, not "Publish or Perish" but "Publish and Flourish!". There is NO WAY I can overstate the importance of this one, your future literally awaits, to be written by you! Everyone has a story to tell about their business, reports from the trenches, success stories, obstacles overcome, people you've helped in unique ways, its all grist for your writing mill! The first place to publish is of course within your company's site. Your company related blog, with an RSS feed to your site, is second. Once you've got in the rhythm and feel ready for a wider readership contact your industry's leading xxxxx and offer to provide your articles to them. Publications have an undying need for fresh voices and fresh content. There is a place for you!

6. Make sure you have a sitemap.xml and urllist.txt installed in your site.

This is pretty technical, better let us handle this one for you. I will, however, go in to this in more detail in an upcoming post

7. Get a Content Management System for your site.

This is the way things are going and in a few years there will literally be NO standard HTML websites being created. In fact the website you're reading right now is a Content Management System of sorts.

8. Educate yourself about the Internet and how business such as your fare there.

Well, this one seems obvious but bears repeating. We've all seen the incredible, amazing growth of the Internet and the growing part it plays in nearly all of our lives. It's safe to say that its not going away, ever.

Seems like a lot, doesn't it? Well, not to worry, there are people known as "web professionals" who are willing to help! We are exactly such people and can be reached at www.seansloan.com. Love to hear from you!