Get found online

Creating Optimized Web Content for Search Engines

By Rebecca Wicks

Last week I had a conversation with a client about the ongoing need for new content on their Website. Before you think, she’s a writer, of course she’s going to say that, here me out.

Fact 1: Studies show 85 percent of all initial Website visits originate from search engines.

Fact 2: People tend to trust and prefer the organic or unpaid list that appears on a search engine result as opposed to the list of relevant advertisers that appear (normally to the right of the screen).

Problem: How do you appear and stay high on that merited “organic” search engine list?

Answer: Current relevant content.

The magic equation each search engine uses to determine the rank order Websites appear in is continually tweaked by the search engine companies. But one thing is for certain; the number of relevant key words and key word phrases plays a central role in all of them.

For example, if you enter the key word phrase “Purple boat rentals in San Francisco” a search engine will go through and find Websites with those exact words. The more the site has those key word phrases the higher it will be ranked – extra points for being in the exact same order.

SEO or Search Engine Optimization

The process of figuring out the best key word phrases to include in your Website and integrating them in it is called SEO or search engine optimization. Also, the more current the content the better. Search engines don’t want to send you to content that was put up 10 years ago as the probability of it being irrelevant is more likely – the company may have gone out of business, or the business may have changed.

Who does SEO or Search Engine Optimization Matter For?

If you’re Intel, you don’t really have a problem with getting found on the Internet. Search engine optimization is a marketing tactic most relevant for small to medium-sized businesses who are looking to come up high on Google, Yahoo or Bing searches.