A Quick Guide to Search Engine Optimization

For most of the world, shopping almost always starts on the internet. Increasingly, many consumers buy products and services online exclusively. And even if not, they almost always use the internet to research their options before purchasing anything. It’s how people shop now, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. The internet is where everyone comes for ideas, for information, and to buy and sell pretty much everything.

The issue is, pretty much everyone is already on the internet, sharing information and operating online marketplaces already. The internet is now a pretty crowded place, and just about every niche is filled with at least a few competitors. So, with that in mind, how do you compete in such a crowded global marketplace?

Enter SEO

By far, the most common way that most people find what they’re looking for is to search for it using a search engine of some kind, such as Google or Microsoft Bing. The vast majority of searches done on the internet are done via Google – and because of this, many companies, websites, articles and blogs will appear when a search is done on virtually any topic. And, because relatively few searchers go further than the first page or two of results on any search, it’s critical to place as high as possible in the results list of any major search engine.

That’s where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in. Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the process of making changes and improvements to your web presence, to highlight those aspects that increase your placement on various search engines. As part of the SEO process, certain elements of your web pages and overall site are changed to make them more relevant to search engines. Search engines, then use proprietary algorithms to determine how relevant or useful a give page or blog or site is to the search, and ranks the results it finds accordingly. The goal of SEO, then, is to maximize your sites’ chances of being ranked early on that list of results.

How SEO Works

SEO techniques vary according to a number of factors, such as the search engines being targeted, the goals of the site in terms of traffic, and the type of site being optimized. From there, there are a number of techniques that are used to optimize your pages.

One of the first steps in SEO is to understand what keywords are the most relevant to your site, and out of those, which keywords are the most searched on various search engines. By correlating key words that do or might appear on your site with the words most commonly searched on the internet, you can maximize that aspect of your SEO efforts. Search engines use keyword matching as part of their algorithms, taking the keywords you entered in your search and basing part of their search on those words.

But search engines also use other factors to rank pages, and they do this by scoring the relevance of your site in general. One of the ways they do this is to evaluate your page for things like how often it links to other sites, and how often other sites link to it. The logic behind that is, if other sites are linking to yours, there must be some value in the content on your site, and you get ranked better as a result. Likewise, if you link to other sites, and those links appear to be related to the content and keywords in question, then the search engines assume that your pages are acting as indexes for additional information, making them more valuable to the end user because you’re pointing the way to additional information, in essence.

One of the keys to remember in SEO is that nothing beats good content. Your site requires a certain amount of content, and a certain amount of change to that content over time, in order to retain its ranking. And, without good content, even great SEO techniques can only provide so much benefit.

Also, it’s important to understand the relationship between good SEO practices that will get your site results, and bad SEO practices that will get your site in trouble or even blacklisted. And that’s where an SEO consultant like Method SEO becomes very useful; because they can help you walk that fine line between getting noticed, and getting in trouble.

Benefits of SEO

Search engine optimization has a number of benefits, when practiced by someone who know what they’re doing. When you work with a world-class provider like Method SEO, you’ll experience a number of benefits, such as:

• Increase in Traffic – Perhaps the most fundamental and important benefit of SEO is that it increases traffic to your site, which in turn increases customer activity on your site, which in turn leads to increased revenue.
• Better Brand Recognition, Higher Credibility – The simple fact is, most people believe that the higher your site ranks in a Google search, the more relevant and popular that site is, and therefore the more credible it is. Higher search results don’t just get you recognized, they build your credibility in the minds of many consumers.
• Better ROI than ads – You don’t have to necessarily engage in SEO to get people to visit your site. You can invest in advertising, and display that advertising on other high-trafficked sites. But that’s an expensive proposition, and one that will never end. SEO, by contrast, results in organic searches that are essentially free. And once you’ve made the necessary changes to your site, if you continue to maintain your pages and refresh content, you can maintain your ranking much more cost effectively than if you continue to buy advertising.
• Competitive standing – SEO is a very common practice among anyone who is trying to make money on the internet. And you can be sure that your competitors are doing it to. This means that, even if you have a high search engine ranking today, your competitors will catch as pass you on the results page, if you don’t take steps to do something about it.
• Enhanced customer insight – When your customers search for things on the internet, it isn’t necessarily a one-way street. Just as they learn about the sites and pages that have the information and products they’re looking for, so too can you learn about their searching habits. By doing keyword research, you can learn about what your customers are searching for, which leads to an understanding of the types of products and services that they are searching for. This can give you insight into not only what content should be on your site, but what products you should sell with your company.
• Dramatically increase your business – Perhaps the best benefit of all is that SEO truly has the capability to transform your company. Increased traffic leads to more people seeing what you have to offer, and that can translate into not only more sales, but a whole new level of business for your company.

Things to look for in an Outsourced SEO Provider

Assuming you’ve decided to outsource your SEO campaign, what should you look for in a SEO company? There are a lot of SEO providers out there, so let’s look at just a few of the criteria for choosing a good SEO provider:

• How do they do their research? Research of keywords and other elements is absolutely critical to SEO success. If your SEO candidates can’t explain how they do their research, and how their method adds value, they probably won’t be very good.
• Can they help you with content? These days, simply doing keyword optimization isn’t enough. The SEO provider needs to be willing to help you create good content, and ideally create and refresh that content on an ongoing basis.
• Will they give you a complete analysis of your competitors’ sites? If you don’t know how your site is doing relative to the competition, and you don’t know which sites are doing the best in your industry segment, how will you judge the success of your own SEO efforts? And if your prospective SEO provider can’t give you that breakdown, they probably aren’t right for you.

Why Choose Method SEO

Method SEO can answer yes to the questions above, and go further than that. Method SEO works with your company to completely map out an SEO strategy that is based on your goals, and your company’s current situation, taking into account all of those factors.

Method SEO takes the time to craft an SEO strategy that’s based on keyword optimization, an effective link strategy, dynamic content and other factors that increase traffic to your site and grow your business. Method SEO has taken the time to analyze the market, and we’ve implemented SEO campaigns for customers all over the US and world.

Method SEO does just that – follow a pre-defined method to SEO, combined with a unique, customized approach for each customer. Method follows a standardized approach, modified for customized goals. As a result, we save time in implementing an SEO program for your company, while achieving the best possible return on your digital marketing dollar.

SEO Services from Method SEO

Method SEO is one of the top SEO providers in the US, and we got there by providing the most effective SEO services in the market. Some of our services include:

• SEO Consulting – Starting with a detailed analysis of your website, Method SEO will put together a complete view of where your site is from an SEO standpoint. After that, we’ll work with your to put together a plan that will identify a strategy based on your companies’ specific needs. We’ll then implement that plan, providing your company with constant updates on status, backed up with real data and metrics.
• SEO Analysis – Good SEO starts with solid SEO analysis, and Method SEO has mastered great SEO analysis. We know that search engines use hundreds of metrics to rank sites, and our analysis takes that into account. Method SEO goes the extra mile in our analysis, to understand not only the keywords that matter to your company, but the keywords and metrics that matter to your industry. Plus, we look past simple keyword analysis, and look at your industry as a whole, to understand who your customers are, and what they’re looking for, so that you can do more than react – you can anticipate.
• SEO Management – Once the auditing and analysis has been completed, the work doesn’t stop. SEO is changing all the time, and simply optimizing your site one time won’t keep you where you need to be – it’s an ongoing process, and you need to stay on top of your SEO if you want to keep those page views coming. Method SEO lets you offload that work to experts who will keep you where you need to be – at the top of the searches your customers make.

Method SEO provides the services above and more, and our mission is to provide our clients with the very best SEO services in the country. When you hire Method SEO, you get a team of experts who bring years of experience and knowledge, who are committed to just one goal – making your company successful.

Method SEO works with your marketing team, your partners and your vendors to create a holistic strategy that emphasizes your strengths, and eliminates your weaknesses. We create lasting relationships with our clients, because we take the time to understand their industry and market, and provide ongoing insight and value that our clients can use for long term success. After all, success doesn’t come without a commitment and a lot of work. Method SEO made that that commitment a long time ago, and we’ll bring our skills to making your company successful as well. We let you focus on your business, while we focus on getting your business noticed.

We think Method SEO is the best SEO firm in the US, we’d like to show your company why we say that, and we look forward to proving it to you.