In today’s bad economy, Dallas business owners are turning to search marketing for solutions with their online advertising.  What is search engine optimization or SEO?  It’s the ability to get your site ranked on the organic or natural search in search engines like Google.

It’s been proven that the ROI is substantially higher with online marketing verse traditional media.  We like to educate people on the process and remove the mystery that’s involved in SEO.  A competent SEO practitioner is more than a web designer; they’re people that are involved in current search marketing trends.

The web moves so fast that web designers from five years ago may or may not be sufficiently up to date with current trends.  Anyone telling you that SEO is a set it and forget it type of process is not dealing in the latest/greatest best practices.

Like any form of advertising you simply don’t set an advertising campaign and forget about it.  You need to look at online marketing as an investment in your business which will yield you some type of return based on what you put into it.

There are both on page and off page factors that go into SEO; but by far backlinking gives you the biggest gains.  On page factors are keywords that go into your title, description and content; whereas off page factors are links.  You need to be very careful when it comes to the subject of backlinking because if you get caught trying to manipulate the system with paid links your site could get banned from the search engines.

Backlinks are the real work of a SEO firm and the process of building them is long-term.  There are reciprocal links, one way links, external links and internal links.  The most valuable link is a one way link that comes from article marketing, blog comments, forum posts, social media, video sites and online press releases.

Since there are over 200 variables that go into the search engines algorithm there are many factors that effect ranking.  However, since the web is based on websites linking to each other all around the globe the emphasis is placed on links.  You will want a comprehensive strategy for doing white hat linking; preferably one that’s based on generating good content. This is an on-going process and it shouldn’t involve paid links because that’s against Google’s terms of service.

White hat SEO involves a team of people

Concepts like link farms and other black hat techniques could get your site de-indexed from Google.  You need to deal with a SEO firm that has a team of people not a one person show because legitimate backlinks must be built by a team of people specialized in this field.  The practice of link building is labor intensive so it doesn’t make sense to have localized labor doing this as it is cost prohibitive.

There shouldn’t be any waiting list on building your site as most SEO firms are global or national and they operate as global teams.  The most time consuming part of the process is keyword research and this is why SEO experts in the U.S., U.K. and Australia are in high demand. Designing websites these days is very straightforward; the real work is in the research and backlinks.

To save money you can even build your own site or hire someone at a nominal fee to do this.  Again, the real efforts that go into search engine marketing is strategy and this includes developing programs for creating link bait.  You should also work with an SEO firm that can source content for you as this can be a time consuming affair.

Use your commonsense and deal with people that don’t make you wait; the more you look at this as a practical investment that involves a team of people working on your business for the long haul; the better off you’ll be!

In the old days people would go to the phone book to look up a business; now people go to Google, Yahoo and Bing. The amount of people searching on the internet is growing at a rate of 50% a year. Statistics tell us that over 80% of all consumers will look up a business online prior to driving to the location.

It’s evident now that if you own a local or national business and you’re not online then you will get left behind!  Clearly your presence on the internet has a lot to do with whether or not a consumer will show up at your business.  You need more than web design to make this happen; you need a real search engine optimization strategy!

What can DFW businesses do to rank better in the search engines?

Search Engine Optimization Tips for Business Owners

• Get a blog so you can create information about your business (this will get indexed in the search engines).

• Do keyword research with tools like Market Samurai and locate the traffic for your industry.

• Have a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Friendfeed.

• Join bookmarking sites like Digg, Technorati, Reddit, Stumbleupon, Propeller and Delicious.

• Submit your website to directories like DMOZ, Yahoo, Local.com, Insiderpages and Hotfrog.

• Make professional videos with Animoto and leverage those with Tubemogul or Traffic Geyser.

• Get an autoresponder so you can build a long-term relationship with your prospects and customers.

• If you can outsource SEO services then ensure that your experts only use white hat techniques for backlinking.

The key to ranking your business in the search engines is based on your ability to create relevant content.  You will want to put your keywords into the title, description and utilize your keywords within your content.  Don’t over optimize as you might get a penalty from the search engines.  Simply create valuable content for your audience and utilize your keywords within the content.

If you would like a free site evaluation contact us by opting into our site at Search Marketing Dallas.  You will find that it is much easier to rank your business locally for search terms because the competition is typically less.  The key is to be patient with the process as it takes time to rank in the SERP’s for competitive industries.

Lastly, stay away from the two extremes in SEO which are people that promise guarantees or people that sell you on the cheap one time charge.  The truth is that the business of search engine optimization is all about building and this takes a team of people working in your behalf for the long-term.  Remember, this is an investment into your business.

Word of caution about SEO firms promising guarantees

SEO is a science but not an exact science; so people promising guarantees on 1st position rankings are simply misrepresenting the facts! As discussed, there are over 200 factors that go into the algorithm and Google is constantly changing things!  This is why good content relevant content and solid link building overtime is the best practice in the industry!

Your team of search engine optimization experts are your partners and just like an attorney or CPA they become an integral part of your business.

Your ability to rank will be based on the implementation of a well designed strategy and the collective efforts of a team which can get you ranked!  It’s important that you like and trust the people that are working on your search marketing because this will be a ongoing process!

Local DFW businesses are discovering the power of the internet and the value of high rankings in the SERP’s.  Start the process of optimization as soon as you can and pick a SEO partner that strives to communicate.  The function of search marketing is not something that you simply turn on or off; your relationship with an SEO firm should be on the level of a trusted partner!

Are you ready to take your business to the next level?  Call us today at 214-884-5919 and get your free site evaluation!

Happy search engine rankings!