Over the last few years SEO or search engine optimisation has augmented to a great extent and there is little doubt that today it holds a prominent position in the marketing world. Although it is a fact that still there are some people who needs to be explained about the basics and benefits of SEO, online marketers from both small as well as large firms have now really begun to comprehend and appreciate the importance and worth of adopting natural optimisation.



Having reached this stage and status, it is now time that we should look beyond SEO and into the future responsiveness and priorities. There is little doubt that as of now for many website owners as well as online marketers SEO would remain a life-long commitment. I am sure that most of the genuine SEO experts would agree with me on this issue. But there are others who are of the opinion that SEO is a one-time solution for the websites. To tell the truth nothing can be further away from the truth.

The Crucial First Three Months

Like in any other venture, even in the case of enterprise-level SEO endeavour the first phase of the project is the most crucial. I say this because the first phase involves basic keyword research, planning the website structure as well as information architecture. Without any fool-proof keyword target or planning there can be no effective website optimisation and despite all endeavour you will not be able to draw traffic, let alone increase the conversion rate of your site.

While optimising a website for the search engines, we normally integrate the keyword research in the Web content on a page-by-page basis. Such page assortment and keyword assignment offers a roadmap to the content developers while creating an optimised Web page. However, while designing a website or re-designing it, many people often overlook the importance of incorporating keywords into the Web content. In doing so, they also neglect the aspects that could have helped them to include data architecture and drive targeted audience to their sites.

Another important aspect is working together as a complete team. It is necessary to work in tandem with the Web design team while they are in the course of creating the sitemaps and wire frames. If we don't do it, it would require several changes while executing the recommendations of the optimisation team.

In addition to the above-mentioned activities, optimisation of the Web pages as well as drawing a reciprocal linking strategy are vital during the first three months of working on a search engine optimisation project. While the first three months of the SEO endeavour are crucial as they set in motion the entire optimisation process, the subsequent three years will enable the website owners and online marketers to reap the benefits of their SEO efforts. During the next three years they will not only achieve high page rankings, but also drive targeted traffic and also increase their site's conversion rate.

Go In For Minimum Three-Year SEO Contract

Personally I am of the opinion that the SEO contracts should be for a minimum of three years. My statement may raise many eyebrows, but the fact is that to get the right results ? i.e. dominate the page rankings ? one needs time. I stress on this because SEO is a very complicated and time consuming process and one cannot expect to reap the benefits of search engine optimisation overnight.

Here I will give you an example of what we are doing. Right now we are spending most of our time to optimise pages for a large website with multiple business lines. Already it has taken us about six months to complete around 100 optimised pages that have been approved by the client. This client or the site requires at least 200 to 300 more optimised pages for each of its business line to completely rule the page rankings, especially for the more difficult categories. At this pace, it would take us more than three years to complete the assignment.

Now the question is whether there is any value in doing this? Well, when just a small number of pages and new links help a website to get results, increasing the volume of optimised pages should necessarily translate into even better results or more pages getting high rankings.

Now I will give you another reason why I think that SEO efforts should be continued for a minimum of three years. I am sure that you would agree if I say that establishing reciprocal or other links to a website abiding by the search engine guidelines consumes considerable time. Linking to good paid directories, direct requests to other sites, press releases and link baiting ideas do not happen overnight or just after three months of completing the content and optimisation arrangement.

Normally, we work for websites having hundreds if not thousands of pages. This may give the impression that only large websites require three years to be optimised. Hence, many may ask me, ?Why should a small website need three years? to be optimized??

Here I would like to bring content campaigners like Jill Whalen into the picture. According to Jill, 20 odd pages are not enough to establish value or influence on any specific subject, particularly if there is any competition between the keywords with other sites. Therefore, a small website should also plan and add new optimised pages every month not only to update the site, but also enhance its apparent influence on the subject. This will also bait other webmasters to seek links with your website.

Briefly speaking, if your website has 20 pages and you still want to have a permanent number one page rank, be sure that there is a wide gap between your wishes and reality. No matter how focused you may consider yourself to be, there will be new competitors in the market with new ideas and will push you out of your position. These competitors will compel you to raise your limit and unless you do so, you will be lagging behind. According to me, this is one of the strongest SEO strategies that one can adopt.