What is Search Engine Optimization?

You have probably heard the term 'search engine optimization' or SEO, but do you know how you can improve your search engine ranking?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is comprised of a number of best practices, strategies and techniques that are used to increase the number of visitors to your web site by improving the placement of your site on the search results page of a search engine, such as Google, Yahoo or Bing.

If I pay for SEO services, can you guarantee me the first place position?

No, and frankly, you should avoid any company that will because they are not being honest with you. Your ranking is dependent upon many things: what you do, what you don't do, and the search engine's ranking algorythms. In addition to all that, your ranking is also dependent upon what other companies (who are targeting the same keywords as you) do for their SEO practices. Since a good portion of this is out of any SEO specialitsts control, any reputable SEO company will not guarantee you the top position.

How can I improve my search engine ranking?

Search engine optimization is a complex subject. Rankings are based on complicated algorithms that the search engines use, and change frequently. It is said that Google changes their algorithms 500 - 600 times per year. Some are major updates, like Penguin, Hummingbird, Pigeon and Mobile, which fundamentally changed how Google ranked and presented their results. Others are small changes that a user might not notice, but could actually significantly impact your web site's ranking.

Because of the constantly changing nature of search engine results, keeping up on optimization strategies is a complex undertaking. Your content, keyword or keyphrase selections, keyword density (how often your keywords are repeated throughout your copy), title tags, meta descriptions, incoming links and frequency of content updates all contribute to your search engine ranking, and in order to get to that desired first page of results it takes someone trained in SEO.

How much does SEO cost?

Honestly, it depends on a number of things. How big is your site? Has it been optimized before? Might we be trying to undo prior penalties imposed by Google? How competitive is your particular type of business, from a SEO perspective? How optimized are your direct competitors? I know of some companies in town who charge $2-10K per month for their services, but I can promise you I do not! If you are interested, please don't hesitate to contact me about your business SEO. I will do a preliminary analysis of your site and provide you with a quote before we proceed with any work.

Can I buy a top ranking?

No. The best you can do is purchase advertisements (eg. Google Adwords) that appear at the top of search results pages and may help you connect with potential customers. Besides purchasing ads, which tecnically falls into the category of pay-per-click marketing, not SEO, the only way to improve your ranking is through the process of search engine optimization.