This is an article written by a business owner for other business owners and CEOs. It explains Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) in layperson’s terms. It won’t make you an expert, but it will give you some insight into what you’re spending your money on, what you should be spending your money on, and just as importantly, what you shouldn’t.

But before launching straight into an explanation of SEO, let’s talk a bit about search engines. Approximately 75%-80% of website traffic comes through search engines. What’s more, research shows that most people don’t look beyond first 2 pages of search results. This means if your website doesn’t rank in first 2 pages of major search engines, it’s only receiving 20% of its rightful traffic… and revenue. (And remember, being ranked number 1 when you search for your company name or web address doesn’t count. You need to rank highly for words your customers use at search engines.)

The biggest concern for search engine companies like Google, Yahoo, etc., is finding content that will bring them more traffic (and thus more advertising revenue). They do this by using complex algorithms to determine whether a site is useful and should be included in their search results.

This is where SEO comes in.

SEO is art of ranking in search engines. Nothing more, nothing less.

SEO means creating your site such that search engines consider it useful. The two main weapons in your arsenal are:

·Keywords ·Links to your site

KEYWORDS

Figure out what words your customers are looking for at search engines, and use those words at your site. By frequently using keywords that are important to your customers, you tell search engines what you do. These keywords are used in your copy and in code behind page. Generally speaking, more you use keywords, more relevant you are to searches in that field.

Keywords in Your Copy

The use of keywords in your copy is easy to understand. But it’s not easy to do. You can’t just pepper your site with a meaningless array of words. The trick is using most important keywords a lot without compromising readability of your copy. It’s a balance between writing for search engines and writing for your reader.

TIP: If you find this too time consuming, a website copywriter can take care of it for you. And if you know your keywords already, it should cost you no more than normal web copy.

Keywords in Your HTML Code

The use of keywords in your HTML code is harder to understand, but it’s easier to do. There are four main places these keywords are used:

·Keywords ·Description ·Alt ·Title

Selling hype or setting unrealistic expectations is one of LEAST intelligent things you can do to build long term client relationships. Instead of scrambling to outdo next self proclaimed SEO guy's claims, why not try something more in nature of a soft sell.

By teaching your prospective clients truth about SEO process actually will:

--Enhance your reputation as a professional

--Diffuse those competitors who ONLY sell hype

--Increase new sales

--Generate increased referral business

--Establish long term client relationships

--Establish tremendous client loyalty

--Firmly establish YOUR CREDIBILITY in both community as well as industry as a professional who knows how to get results.

In other words, teach people TRUTH about process and you'll already gain some immediate advantages because you are educating prospect by offering them some facts but even more important, something that is EASY to believe. Something that blows away old misconceptions.

Most people are tired of hearing a lot of sales hype.

Try de-mystifying SEO process and help your prospects to understand what search engine optimization (SEO) can do for their business. It's really just a simple, old-fashioned principle.

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More SE visibility = more success for client More client success = more referral business for you

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Most of time, your clients will sell your services better than you can ever sell yourself.

Every time you help someone achieve success, it is literally impossible for your business not to benefit as well. Okay, here are some real simple tips:

A. Educate your prospect by telling them truth.

Try using some of following points when speaking to your prospects:

--Explain to your prospect, that your job is not just building a web site. Designing a web site is relatively easy, but this is only 50% of job. Explain that your effort continues long after launch of site.

--Teach them about a few of ways your service differs from traditional Web developer. Your true objective entails more than just concept or design.

--Your skill is positioning their web site squarely in front of their ideal target audience. Once you get them positioned for maximum exposure, it's your aim to keep them there, right in limelight.

--If you're presenting to a group of 2 or more, ask them name of their favorite search engine. Don't be surprised by their reply but 98% of time, they'll name one of MAJOR search engines. This is a great way to begin teaching them something they may have never heard before.

--Since there are only a "handful" of search engines that everyone uses (the major ones), this is where we place our best promotional efforts. You can demonstrate where their traffic will come from if other clients give you permission to use a couple of their reports as samples.

Ask your prospect, "Did you know that "HITS" are irrelevant?

"That's right, hits do not matter because a HIT is NOT a visitor." You can then explain that each HIT is really an action from server. In other words, a hit occurs for each and every element downloaded. The number of HITS to a site, are nearly always larger numbers, but this does NOT mean you had any great number of visitors. Teach them about importance of unique visitor sessions.

Why is this important?

In explaining this difference between a HIT and a VISITOR, you have taught your prospect a truth that could work against next competitor who comes along behind you and only talks about HITS (which is what many do).

Why do so many competitors talk all about HITS?

Simply because they are BIG numbers which sound impressive particularly if you have no intention of providing customer with detailed reporting. Teach your prospect truth, that important numbers to watch are actual visitor session counts, not just hits.

Help your client to understand what it is you do.

Does your prospect see your "behind scenes" service as VITAL? If not, they need some understanding! Explain, "the reason" that business owners hire you, is to ensure their web site is built and launched properly very first time".