1. Creating a web
site means people will find it.
Think of a search
engine like you would a phone book directory - with a twist. For $100 anyone
can get a telephone business listing in their area. However, if you want to
have a high visibility ad such as "MARBURY & MADISON: JUSTICE FOR
ALL," you need to do something extra with your site. With phone book
directories, you simply buy your way to the front. However, with search engines,
you have to spend some time and effort to correctly optimize your web site.
Optimization does NOT include simply editing meta tags. That technique worked
back when Clinton was president. Today, you must try other techniques.
2. Submitting my
site to search engines is enough.
No it isn't. Sure, your web designer probably submitted your site to Google,
Yahoo!, or MSN ... but where is it ranked? Are you in the critical top ten
results or are you number 134 for "Florida lawyer"? In fact, if your
web site has been on the Internet for more than two or three years, most search
engines have already included your web site in their directory. Search Engine
Optimization (SEO) helps to achieve high results and make sure your web site is
ranked in the top ten for your keyword phrases.
3. All search
engines are equal.
The top three search engines are Google, Google, and Google. Either through
their web site or affiliated web sites (Yahoo! and AOL), Google serves over 80%
of ALL search engine results. Note that a distinction should be made between
search engine portals and the database companies that provide search engine
results. Some of the popular search engine portals and directories include MSN,
Ask Jeeves, Yahoo!, AOL, Netscape, Hotbot, Lycos, Excite, etc. However, nearly
all of these portals share search engines results provided through third
parties that own the databases and search engine technology, such as Google,
Open Directory, Inktomi, Overture, FAST, and Teoma. Search engine portals and
directories mix and match databases to produce their own unique set of results.
In any event, all of these secondary search engines total for the other 20% of
results.
4. You can
optimize for all search engines.
There is no holy grail. However, there is Google. Since Google serves nearly
all of the search engine results, if you optimize for Google you will be
essentially optimizing for nearly all of the results. Techniques that work well
for Google generally will work well with other search engines, too. Note that
the number of results served by Google will probably decrease in the near
future, once Yahoo! begins using the Inktomi database of search engine results.
5. I don't need a
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) specialist.
I can grill a mean sirloin, but nothing beats the fresh taste of a 12-ounce
Outback Special with a Bloomin' Onion. On your own you can probably achieve
decent search engine results for a few keyword phrases. But remember: your
competitors are trying to do the same thing, with many of the same words. A SEO
specialist knows the little quirks and tricks that can make a big difference
and give you the edge. If you pay them a one-time fee of $2500 to $5000 to
correctly optimize your web site, and that optimization leads to a new client
each month, is that not worth the price?
6. Quick fixes
like jump pages, cloaking or hiding content will increase my rankings.
While unethical tactics do not hurt anyone like a weapon of mass destruction
(WMD), search engines view these techniques just the same. Each search engine
company has its own team of inspectors that regularly ban web sites that use
these spam techniques. Use these techniques at your own peril. They may help
you in the short term, but eventually you will be caught and your site banned.
7. Software can
automatically optimize my web site.
Can your cruise
control on your Honda Accord drive you to Atlanta? You will need to hand code
each page of your web site to achieve optimal results. You will need to edit
the meta title tag, meta description tag, meta keyword tag, and include those
same keyword phrases several times in the body text of that web page.
8. Link
popularity is key - at all costs.
We encourage clients to create reciprocal links with related companies; we do
not recommend creating spam links to artificially boost your web sites rating.
Further, you should never link your site to spam sites, or sites that contain
thousands of web sites in a database.
9. A good SEO
specialist will guarantee top three results.
No firm can do this - if they're honest. If a SEO firm guarantees a top
listing, then they are trying to sell you advertising. Every search engine has
a set number of listings and areas of the web site page that they reserved for
advertisers. If you want to buy advertising, then buy advertising. Simply visit
Overture.com, Looksmart.com, or Google.com and sign up for their advertising
programs. SEO entails editing your web pages code, text, and altering the
design to achieve high rankings without the need for advertising.
10. I should submit my site to 1000+ Search Engines.
We're sure you've received an email claiming to submit your web site to all
search engines. However, can you even name 500 web sites off the top of your
head, let alone 1,000 search engines? These companies simply register your web
site using an automated computer program. This does not achieve desired results
and can actually hurt your web site's ranking as the search engine may reject
your listing as spam. Further, there's no need to submit your web site to 1,000
plus search engines as almost all web traffic comes from a handful of search
engines (80% from google.com).
Peter Boyd and PaperStreet Web Design have extensive experience developing, redesigning and optimizing law-related web sites. Our expertise can save you time and money while increasing your firm's client base. Contact us and we can redesign your web site to impress clients and get profitable results. Peter Boyd can be contacted at PaperStreet Web Design, http://www.paperstreet.com or 954.523.2181.
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