Search Engine Optimization

SEO Image Submission, link popularity, paid placement, Google dance... You've heard the terminology, but what does it really mean? Click here to learn more about terms.

Put simply, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of making your website easily accessible to search engines, so that the content is made readily available to searchers. From SEO News Net:

"More than 80 percent of Web users find the sites they're looking for by using a search engine, according to both Forrester Research and Georgia Tech's GVU Center User Surveys. Every single day, 57 percent of Web users search the Internet, making search the second most popular Internet activity after e-mail (according to Statistical Research, Inc.)."

Given the importance of the web for communicating with new and existing customers, SEO has become a hot topic for web service providers and site owners alike.

With increased awareness comes fly-by-night businesses and spammers jumping on the bandwagon with unbelievable deals. (I'm sure you've received them; "Pay just $4.95 a month and be submitted to 15,000 search engines without lifting a finger!)

At the other end of the spectrum you'll find agencies happy to charge $40,000 per year to help you appear in the top ten listings for choice searches.

After looking at a wide range of SEO service approaches, BizWonk developed it's own methodology. Key concepts for the BizWonk approach are:

SEO should be -part- of an overall marketing strategy. It does not replace traditional marketing, and shouldn't conflict with it.
SEO is a mix of science and art. Keeping up with changing technologies and search engine industry consolidation is part of the picture, but only part. Understanding what motivates potential customers, and what the company wants to achieve through the site, are both crucial for success.
Cheap approaches can hurt you. Spamming engines using automated submission methods for five bucks a month can get you blacklisted. Same for posting on link farms. You are probably better off doing nothing and having low rankings than doing the wrong things and getting blacklisted.
Optimization takes time. Sure you can pay for inclusion, and even buy ads to appear at the top of the screen. But having engines determine that your site is a useful source of information for the end user who runs searches takes a bit more effort.
One size does not fit all. Refer back to the first two bullets; SEO should be part of an overall strategy. Since every company has different challenges, different business models, different goals, etc., canned SEO packages simply don't make sense. SEO providers who push a set list of services at a set price are more focused on what THEY do than on what YOU do.
Pricing is part of the picture. We understand that cost always plays a role in decision making, and that's why custom approaches are so important; you purchase only the services which make sense for your situation and your budget. We can help prioritize activities so that you get the biggest bang for the buck. Our prices are also competitive. So... you buy only what you need, and get a darned good price for the service.

To sum it all up, SEO is like a race between the tortoise and the hare; slow and steady wins in the end. Rushing things and cutting corners simply does not pay.

To learn more about our customized SEO packages, drop us a line by clicking here.