The Three-Legged Stool: Content, Links & SEO
by Nicolette Beard
As a search marketing professional in an industry still in it's infancy,
many like myself are called upon to educate companies of all sizes.
(Remember, Google became a public company only 3 1/2 years ago.) This
challenge is complex for a number of reasons: varying degrees of knowledge,
needs and motivations within a company, changes in the search engines'
criteria for relevance, changes within the marketplace, i.e. competition.
But the biggest challenge I face is convincing clients of the critical need
for content.
The Internet is a vast resource of information and ideas. It's estimated
that 40% of all search on a given day is unique. As a marketer and
online copywriter, I believe the
Internet is an untapped pool of new customers just waiting to conduct
business with you. Yet the vast majority of B2B Web sites I analyze, have no
Home page content, site architecture that's impossible to navigate and
Web site copy that hasn't been updated since 2002.
The Home page content is the single greatest factor in having the search
engine robots crawl and index your Web site. Developing a theme and
sub-themes describing who you are and what you do and using keywords that
real people search for is the next step. The word count should be between
300-400 words on the Home page and 250 words on the interior pages,
depending on the search engine.
If a company can't invest the time or energy to develop a unique selling
proposition answering critical questions a typical visitor might ask, then
they probably deserve the trickle of business their Web site receives.
The company that maps out new pages while it's site is in development with
the mindset of staying current will win the search engine wars. Why? Because
people are lazy and fickle and if you give them what they want when they
want it, you're ahead of the game and most certainly ahead of your
competition.
Where's the Link Love?
The Internet is a vast, interconnected resource; it lives and breathes on
links. You know those little blue underlined bits of text (aka hyperlinks).
And links connect to content, usually interesting, fresh, unique content.
This is known as being "link worthy."
The question every Web site owner needs to ask is, "Why would someone link to
me?" It's humbling actually. Kind of like going on that first date and not
knowing what you have to offer.
If a Web site has limited content, few Webmasters will link to it. And
without incoming links, the search engines devalue your presence. This is
where SEO (search engine optimization) comes in.
Each incoming link is considered to be a "vote." Some have described it as a
popularity contest. (UGH, back to dating again.) If one Web site has 2,000
incoming links and another has 200, which Web site has more value in the
search engines' eyes? The more perceived value, then the more likely your
pages will appear in the search engine results. Plus, don't forget all those
links are designed to bring in traffic too.
Because the information highway moves so fast, we delude ourselves into
thinking that creating selling Web sites should be too. The reality is that
developing a Web site that meets the needs of your customer and the demands
of search engine technology takes a great deal of forethought.
When companies realize that the Internet is not about technology, but
instead is the 21st Century's #1 communication tool, then developing
valuable content will become as common as asking, "How may I help you?"
As the needs of my clients become clearer, I continue to develop and
offer services that help them understand and implement the latest Web site
Marketing strategies including creating online content,
technical writing and developing
link-building campaigns employing ethical SEO tactics.
If you're confused by search engine marketing, high
rankings, link popularity and this whole Internet Marketing "thing," you're
not alone. We all started that way and it's why we recommend the
Small Business Guide to
Search Engine Marketing. It's the best way to get up to speed fast,
short of hiring us, of course!
If you prefer to collaborate with our team, then go to
How We Work.
