A company that specializes in search engine optimization (SEO), understands algorithms from search engines can be used to improve the quality or volume of traffic to a given web site. In general, the sooner that site appears in the list resulting from a search, the greater the number of “hits” it will receive via the search engine. This process may target various types of search that include local and image searches, and vertical search engines that are specific to a particular industry.

Making a web site searchable mainly involves tailoring its HTML coding and content to remove any obstacles to search engine activity that exists, and increase the sites' relevance at the same time. To be successful with international markets, complete SEO may also require registering a top-level domain name in the chosen market, professional translation of the page text, and web hosting that includes local IP addresses. Many Internet programs use back-end systems that alter both meta-data and visible page content to make a page more relevant to search engines, and this is based on the way in which previous visitors arrived at the original page.

Why you need SEO

Attracting visitors to your site is essential today, and researchers tell us that 72% of the adults in America use the Internet on a regular basis—including 92% of those with college degrees and 94% of those earning $75,000 or more annually. They have also discovered that more than 187 million people use well-known search engines to find the information they need and want. Savvy marketers know that the “cost per lead” with internet advertising is far less that the cost per lead related to the traditional Yellow Pages. Small and medium-sized businesses in particular are beginning to devote more of the advertising dollars to being “found” online by potential clients and customers.

While studies show that web searchers scan a list of search results from top to bottom as they look for relevant information, this is not an automatic guarantee of an increase in sales. Successful Internet marketing often involves the following:

- Using paid advertising with search engines and other sources,

- Creating a first-class home page that is both engaging and persuasive,

- Dealing with various technical problems that may prevent search engines from crawling and indexing the site, and

- Establishing programs that will analyze the owner's successes and improve the page's conversion rate over time.

Finding the right advertising and marketing group

Look for an organization that has invested a substantial amount of time and energy into studying the major factors related to successful search engine placement, and can apply that expertise to your organization's web site. Ideally, they will have a full-time SEO staff, perform ongoing research, and provide a history of placing sites in effective search-engine positions. In addition, their web site design will be creative, accessible, and innovative, combined with SEO services, advertising design, and full-service video production. If a marketing group is truly interested in helping your organization, they will also communicate your message in a way that is clear, compelling, and cost effective.