Developing an effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategy is an important consideration for any business owner looking to create a profitable online presence.  When properly executed, a successful SEO strategy will drive highly targeted organic traffic to your web site for months or years to come.  Also known as natural or non-paid traffic, organic search engine results are very desirable due to the limited ongoing costs associated with obtaining those potential new customers. Therefore, a well-executed SEO campaign will continue to yield financial benefits to your business long after your initial investment is made.

An effective search engine optimization strategy takes many factors into account, including keyword usage and placement and the relevance and quality of backlinks pointing into a web site.  A primary challenge with trying to obtain top organic search results is that ranking factors continually evolve and change over time. This is because Google and the other major search engines continually tweak their ranking algorithms in an effort to keep savvy online marketers from “gaming” the system and developing an unfair advantage. Not only are new ranking factors, such as site speed, added on a regular basis, the weight afforded to each factor is frequently adjusted making some criteria more valuable and others less so at any given time.

Not surprisingly, it is nearly impossible to accurately predict what factors are going to be afforded the most weight in the coming months and years. However, there are a couple of key things to remember that can make the process of developing a successful search engine optimization strategy much easier. First, Google (and other search engines) have two primary customers: web searchers looking for information and the advertisers who want to be found by those users. Therefore, their primary concern is to return quality and relevant search results that provide online searchers with the information and resources they need. For this reason, developing great content built around sought-after search terms (keywords and keyword phrases) is one of the most important building blocks for an effective search engine optimization campaign.

Another key factor to keep in mind is that the search engines give more credence to “authority sites” – and tend to rank those sites higher in organic search results. The number, quality and relevance of incoming backlinks from other sites is how the relative importance of any given site is determined.  In other words, the more other sites refer to and link to your content, the more credible your site will appear in the eyes of the major search engines. Guest blogging and submitting high-quality content to article directories (that then gets picked up by other online publishers) are two main ways of building these all-important Internet assets. 

It takes a lot of time and effort to succeed at search engine optimization. Therefore, many business owners find that working with a professional SEO firm can greatly reduce the ramp up time it takes to achieve solid traffic results. Without question, finding the right company to provide this service can save tremendous amounts of time and greatly add to your bottom line.

There are many advantages to choosing a custom web design service for your company’s online presence. Your web site is one of the most important marketing decisions you will make, so it is important to make the right choice from the outset. Although a customized web site will cost more upfront than a pre-designed template, there are a number of distinct advantages to selecting this option. In fact, working with a professional web design company can translate into a great long-term investment for your business.

Here are 3 Great Reasons to Consider Custom Web Design over Pre-Designed Templates

1.    One-of-a-Kind Design. It goes without saying that your business and your brand are unique. With custom web design, you can convey that originality via a professionally crafted and imaginative web site. Unlike the many cookie-cutter templates on the market, a customized solution created just for your business won’t be duplicated all over the Internet. Instead, your web site will enhance and reinforce your marketing efforts by conveying a distinctive look and feel that is uniquely your own. This will increase customer recognition of your company and its products and services – and will help build greater trust and credibility with your potential clients. The end result is a more robust bottom line for your business.

2.    Better Search Engine Optimization.  As more and more people are taking their search for information, products and services online, the importance of this aspect of web design is becoming increasingly important.

Most reputable design firms are familiar with search engine optimization (SEO) techniques and will leverage that expertise on your behalf. This technical know-how is invaluable in terms of delivering highly targeted organic search engine traffic to your web site. On the other hand, if your site is poorly constructed from this standpoint – as is often the case with pre-designed templates - it can negatively impact its overall performance for years to come. In most instances, the amount of traffic your site receives is directly proportional to its overall success. It is very difficult to convert traffic that isn’t there into loyal customers!

3.    Design with Future Growth in Mind. Another great feature associated with hiring a professional web design firm is that they can help plan for the future growth of your company from a technological standpoint. This is great for many start-up operations working on limited marketing budgets. While it is important to establish a web presence as soon as possible, many young organizations are unable to invest large sums of money right out of the gate. However, by working with a professional web designer, you can quickly establish a near-term web presence that can be expanded as your business grows and prospers. In this sense, the web design firm you select is a true partner in terms of the long-term success of your business.

Although having your web site professionally designed will cost more at the outset, the long-term benefits of doing so make it a worthwhile investment in your business.

Quality web design can mean the difference between success and failure for your online business efforts. Whether your business is primarily “brick-and-mortar” or completely “click-and-order” (or somewhere in between), there are a number of ways that effective web design can help make your operation more profitable. Therefore, it is a good idea to keep these factors in mind before you launch a new website or revamp one that already exists.

One way quality web design can make your online venture more profitable is by making your website more visible to search engine spiders. There are a number of ways this can be accomplished by optimizing your site “behind the scenes.” One way is to incorporate targeted keywords into your title, “meta” and “alt” tags. Another is to develop an intra-site linking strategy which makes it easier for search engine spiders to find and index all of your web pages. When done correctly, effective search engine optimization techniques such as these can lead to more and more free (organic) web traffic coming to your site over time. This, in turn, creates more opportunities for you to convert those first-time visitors into satisfied repeat customers.

Another important aspect of effective web design is how well it appeals to and engages human visitors. The reason for this is quite simple: for a business to exist at all, it must have a steady supply of new and repeat customers. Therefore, your website must be designed in a way that grabs your prospects’ attention and holds onto it long enough for them to take action. After all, what is the point of having a website if the vast majority of your potential customers hit the back button within the first few seconds of landing on it?  It is really hard to make a sale to a prospect who has already left!

Good website design can also improve your bottom line by helping your site appeal to a wider audience. This can be accomplished by offering a value-added, content-rich layout enhanced by strong aesthetic appeal and intuitive navigation. The goal is to create a visually rich and welcoming destination that is easy to use and understand. As with other types of design, a simple and consistent approach is often best. For example, you may want to select only 2 or 3 complementary colors and use them consistently throughout your entire site. Same goes for font choices, formatting and text size. Using a limited number of options repeatedly is much more appealing than a random hodge-podge of choices that don’t follow any pattern. Without question, these and other bad design choices can be distracting – and can result in lost sales opportunities.

Remember, the key to effective web design – and a profitable online venture - is to stay focused on providing the type of products, services or information your potential customers are seeking. Keeping these basic principles in mind can help maximize the profitability of your own online business efforts.

By now you’ve probably heard about the Yahoo/Bing Search Engine deal.  So what’s that mean for Joe User?

Basically, it all boils down to the fact you’ll need to start paying more attention to Bing.  Google still dominates the market and will for some time.  However, Bing is gaining traction with this deal and could gobble up some search market share over the coming months.

That said, I’m recommending to clients that they don’t make an abrupt strategy decisions just yet but instead address the merger with a measured approach.

From an organic search engine optimization standpoint, I am keeping a closer eye on their Bing search rankings and making some site changes that will specifically help their Bing placements.

Most of our clients use Google exclusively for pay-per-click marketing for reasons explained in my earlier post, Pay-per-click Marketing – Where to put your money?  However, I am considering splitting some PPC campaigns between Google AdWords and Bing on an experimental basis.  I’ve read some anecdotal evidence where others have had better success with Bing than Google.  I’m curious if it will translate for our client base.

In summary, pay attention to Bing but don’t go change everything just yet.

P.s.  SEOmoz published a great blog post, Top 10 Things the Microsoft/Yahoo! Deal Changes for SEO, that explains the implications of this merger more in depth (and perhaps more eloquently) than I have. 

Unless you are living under a rock you’ve probably heard about Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing.   

There’s a lot of buzz about it for several reasons.  First, it’s a Microsoft product and anything with the name Microsoft affixed to it gets a lot of press.  Second, there’s been a lot of gamesmanship between the big three (Google, Yahoo and Microsoft) ever since Microsoft tried to buy Yahoo.  Third, Microsoft has spent a kazillion dollars on marketing for Bing. 

So what does the introduction of Bing mean for your search engine optimization efforts?  Is it a game changer? Should you revamp your strategy on the account of Bing? 

The simple answer is: not yet.  According to Reuters/StatCounter, Bing did make gains in search engine popularity in June.  However, it’s still way behind Google.  Assuming the surge in popularity of Bing is related to having a great product and not the marketing blitz (which is a whole other conversation), it’s still going to take a really long time for Bing to overtake Google at the current pace. 

I just reviewed our June inSITE reports for our search engine optimization clients.  Without crunching hard numbers, traffic to our clients’ sites referred from Google looked about the same.  Additionally, Bing remained in third place among search engine referral traffic.   

However, for the WRIS site Bing was ahead of Yahoo (but still behind Google).  I have no idea what that means.  Perhaps, people looking for web design or SEO services are more apt to try Bing?  Whatever the reason, I found it interesting.  I’m looking forward to next month’s data to see if the results stay the same or change. 

So in conclusion, don’t change your search engine optimization strategy just yet.  But definitely keep an eye on Bing.