Dear Marketing Coach,

I’m considering search engine optimization for my website, but I’m not sure if it’s something that is really worth spending money on. Can you tell me what kind of results should I expect and how long it will take before I see the effects of SEO?

When it comes to search engine optimization, exact results can vary greatly, which is why so many business owners have a hard time justifying the cost of SEO services amidst budget cuts and company lay offs. However, if your website hasn’t already been optimized then you should expect to see an improvement in the quality of traffic you receive (which can be measured by an increase in qualified leads or sales), an increase in traffic from search engines, or if you hired a skilled SEO professional you will hopefully get both. Although exact results may vary, SEO campaigns can be measured for success using an analytics tool so it is pretty easy to determine the return on your investment, which we all know is what matters most.

Keep in mind that there are a few things you can do to contribute to the success of your SEO efforts. First off, SEO should be seen as a long-term investment in your business and not as something you do once and then you don’t have to worry about it again. Even if your budget doesn’t support a full-blown SEO campaign, it is a good idea to come up with a 6-12 month SEO plan in order to achieve your goals. With SEO, best results are obtained by first optimizing your website and then focusing on off-page optimization, such as link building, and content creation, which should be done on an ongoing basis as part of your marketing efforts. It is also important that you set proper expectations because SEO results don’t happen overnight. Depending on the competition surrounding your target keywords, and how well your site was doing in the search engines before you started your SEO campaign, it can take more than 6 months before you see a significant increase in search engine rankings. But don’t despair, you should start to see some initial results within a month. But if you are really eager to get a boost in traffic, consider launching a pay-per-click campaign while you are waiting for your SEO efforts to kick in gear.

Do you have a question for the Marketing Coach? Go ahead, just ask! Email thecoach@pomagency.com or leave a comment to have all of your marketing questions answered.

How is a website optimized to make it “search engine-friendly”?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a website from search engines. This process focuses on 3 main areas of optimization: On-Page, Site-Wide, and Off-Page. When a website is optimized to make it more “search engine-friendly”, the focus is strictly on the On-Page and Site-Wide optimization, meaning the SEO enhancements are made to the actual website. Other external factors also influence search engine traffic and rankings, which is when Off-Page optimization comes into play.

On-Page and Site-Wide optimization techniques ensure that your website is fully accessible to search engine robots so your web pages can be rapidly indexed and appropriately ranked. On-Page optimization concentrates on improving the “search engine-friendliness” of a specific web page whereas Site-Wide optimization addresses the more technical issues that affect the entire website. On-Page optimization includes writing keyword-rich page titles and meta tags for every web page, adding keywords to the content on the site, and weaving hyperlinks throughout the content to link to other internal web pages. Site-Wide optimization identifies and resolves issues with site maps, 404 error pages, page URLs, directory structure and file naming systems.

If your website doesn’t use proper On-Page or Site-Wide optimization tactics, then search engines probably won’t be able to find all of the content on your website. This can result in your site missing out on opportunities to show up in search engine results, which limits your site’s exposure to potential customers on the web.

Do you have a question for the Marketing Coach? Go ahead, just ask! Email thecoach@pomagency.com or leave a comment to have all of your marketing questions answered.