Search Engine Optimization Basics: On the Page and Off
By: Fabiola Grosshan
Submitted: 2010-08-02 05:04:22 | Word Count: 521
There are several ways to bring in web traffic to your site, but perhaps the most efficient and effective way is to optimize your site so that it can be found by search engines. When it comes to search engine optimization, there are so many different paths to take. Whether you’re doing it yourself, or hiring an SEM Company, it is important that the efforts you make are rewarded with increased traffic and return on investment.
Although there are several ways to conduct on-page SEO, the basic component is that you are making changes to the webpage in order to improve its ability to show up in search engines. For this, it is best to target certain keywords and phrases that the search engines can use to index your site. There is a lot of work required for keyword research, so if you do not have much time to devote to learning, you may need to hire help from someone who can provide search engine optimization services for you. Additionally, basic layout and navigation are important for search engines and human visitors alike, so you may need to make changes to the overall web design of your site. There are a lot of ways to improve the ability for search engines to find your site, so be prepared to do a lot of homework.
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Once you’ve been able to modify your site and its pages for search engines to find it easily, you may end up seeking additional help through off-site SEO. Just like with on-site SEO, there are several routes to take, however, the most direct action is to submit your site to the search engines directly. Having done that, you may also want to consider submitting your site to other directories and listings like local listings or professional directories. Keep in mind that you really want to target humans, not just the Google “spiders” that crawl the web. One way to reach out to potential visitors is to get your company’s name and a link to the site out there.
This strategy, called link building, should not be abused by using spam tactics. The key is to target your potential visitors by finding places where it is most likely that people will want to click on a link to your site and placing relevant links to your site there. Think about what your niche is and expand on how you can best target your visitors in that niche. Blogging can be a great platform to get people to visit your site; and participating in community and social networking sites can also help increase traffic to your site as well. If you are willing to spend the money, you can help boost traffic to your site through paid advertisements such as Google’s AdWords. If you go this route, you may want to consider hiring an Internet Marketing company to manage your online advertising campaign.
