How Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Works

SEO Planning

Our Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategy starts off with a plan. What does your company do and what are people searching for that your company can provide?  If you currently have a site, we want to know the basics - where are we starting?  We will request some background information about the company, clientele and current site traffic.  Don't worry, if you don't already have that information, we'll make sure we get analytics installed immediately.  Why would you want to install analytics to your website?  Analytics is a great source of information: we can get a glimpse of who is viewing your site, what pages seem to be of interest, if they are staying long, and from where your site traffic is being driven.

If you don't have a website, well that's right up our alley, afterall we are a Houston based Web Marketing Company.  We build all of our websites in a Content Management System (CMS) and lay out your website with Call-to-Actions leading your customers (or bots) in the right place, no matter what they're looking for.  Finally, we'll optimize for keywords with on-site optimization.  What do we mean by keywords?  It's not what you think is important, but rather what consumers are searching, hence SEO.  This step usually leads to restructuring your page content so the keywords flow naturally.  This is known as organic SEO.

Site Structure

You typically want between 5 - 7 keywords per page, but it's important that you don't over do it.  Search Engines do know the difference.  Content is crucial.  If your content isn't unique, valuable or relevant to your customers or what you're trying to rank for, then you are wasting time.  Content should be short, concise and flow naturally.  In addition to content, make sure you include Call-to-Actions. SEO is bot-driven.  Ever wonder why Ticketmaster started using a "captcha"?  Some of you are asking what the hell is a captcha?  You know, the box that makes you decipher the distorted text to prove you are human.  Okay, so back to my point...Ticketmaster didn't want scalpers buying up all of the tickets by creating a computer program that could run through their website purchasing tickets faster than humans waiting in line/online.  I digress...so the moral of the story is, the bots need to know where to go and how to get there.

External Links

External links are very important.  Just as it is important to have other sites link to yours, it's critical to make sure they're relevant to your industry.  Link with a purpose.  Local directories are a great source.  And no matter what they say, customer testimonials or reviews are essential on your directory listings. Blogs and Forms are also a great source for creating back links. Check out some blogging tips in our blog. Don't forget Social Networking.  Some of our SEO packages also include Social Media Marketing, cause after all, staying in front of your clients as a resource is more influential than as a sales call. You can integrate your blogs on your social networking sites. Find out more Social Media tips in our blog. 

All in all, Search Engine Optimization typically takes between 3-6 months depending on how competitve your market is.  For those of you who are interested in more immediate gratification, there is always PPC.

Pay-Per-Click Campaigns (PPC)

You have more money than patience?  Get going with a pay-per-click ad.  It's just what the name says.  You decide which keywords you want to run ads to appear in the searches and every time someone clicks on that ad - you pay.  See?!?! Pay-per-click.  This brings us back to point one...Your website, particularly your homepage (or where the link from the ad lands) better be appealing with unique, relevant content so the consumer not only clicks the ad, but also stays on your site to find out more and become a new client.

Tah Da!  Full Circle...See the plan?!  Seem like a lot of work?  Relax...Let us take it from here.