Category: Search Engine Optimization

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Best Organic Optimization Plan

From my over eight years of experience with websites and organic optimization, I have found what I consider the best organic optimization plan of attack.

  1. Strong initial and comprehensive keyword research
  2. Good use of source code optimization to include unique title tags, and a meta description
  3. Strong keyword density in h1 and h2 tags in the site’s source code
  4. Inclusion of well-written and engaging keyword dense content with keyword dense anchor text links in the content
  5. Integration of a blog with well written keyword dense blog posts published a minimum of three times per week
  6. Monthly creation of a feature article that is syndicated on various article sites and archived back on the parent website
  7. Quarterly press release on new topics, services or interviews and distributed via PR Web.

With this organic optimization plan you are bound to build “web authority” and over time improve your organic placement.

This process is not rocket science, but must be done carefully and by a knowledgeable team with a strong focus on optimization. I know from experience, as I have performed this process, on a number of websites that this is the very best organic optimization process and will provide results in the long run.

To find out more about our organic optimization services if you need help with your own web visibility, I invite you to review our code optimization process, blog writing services, and press release writing program.

Remember improving your organic search engine position takes time, but this process WILL work for you regardless of what business or service you promote.

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Proof Blogging Helps Your Organic Placement

You know I was surprised by a customer yesterday. He called to chat about our organic search optimization services. He told me that he had done a Google search on best organic optimization and that my site was placed highly.

In fact I checked it out after our chat as I do not optimize on that keyword phrase and the optimization business is very competitive on the Web and he was right my site was placed but in position 41. What was even more interesting was that it was not my website that had caught his eye, but my blog post titled “What Should You Expect to Pay for Optimization”.

He found me and liked what he saw from a web search that had returned my blog and then followed links from my blog into my website and then picked up the phone to call me.

You never know how a client will find you, but this is clear proof that topical blog posts that are keyword dense will place organically on search engines and act as entry points for prospects to find you and purchase your services.

Now he thought my placement was great, but I had never even optimized for that phrase and think that actually number 41 is low relatively, but I got the phone call not someone else.

If you want to get blogging working for you, now’s the time to visit our blogging services page to review our program and then pick up the phone to call me to chat about your needs and how we can work to bring you leads too.

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Finding Your Website in the Google SERPs

Google is king when it comes to web searches. Nearly 84% of web surfers start on Google for their first search. So, it shouldn’t surprise you to know that your website’s position in Google or the Google SERPs (search engine results page) is crucial to your online success.

Just how do you find out some of the key information that impacts your website’s organic placement in Google search results? First, it is important to know that Google has over 150 different factors that it uses to determine the SERP or your organic placement. Some of these factors are the age of your domain name, the number of pages from your website in their index is another, and another is the number of websites linking to yours.

Tips to See Where You Stand

To find out which and how many sites are linking to your website use this in the search query box in Google link:yourURL (ex. link:McCordWeb.com).

To find out who and how many sites are linking to you in Yahoo enter this search query: linkdomain:yourURL (ex. linkdomain:McCordWeb.com).

Microsoft has disabled both of these queries in their search engine recently and so you will not be able to identify results in Live.com or MSN’s searh engine using either of these queries unfortunately.

To find out which pages and how many pages Google has in their index for your website enter site:yourURL in the search query box (ex. site:McCordWeb.com).

Checking your website out this way will at least get you started in evaluating where your website is. I also recommend that you select search phrases as well and every 30 days or so monitor your site placement in the organic results. It is not unusual to see a small fluctuation in position but if you fall completely out of the results a careful review of your website, terms you are using, and tactics that you have tried for placement is definitely in order.

Your PageRank on Google

PageRank is a trademarked term that Google uses to identify organic position factors of a website. It used to be that websites rose and fell on their PageRank, but not so now. Nearly a year ago, Google revealed that the PageRank indicator that it used to show (as a green bar in a graph from 1 to 10 from the Google Toolbar) and that some webmasters used as a measure of Web visibility and authority, was not refreshed on a regular basis. Google is now concealing true PageRank results mainly to cut out manipulation from webmasters. As a result of these developments the webmaster field is widely divided on the importance of PageRank. I for one consider PageRank just one more measure, like a ranking in Alexa – just not something to get spun up on or to hang your hat on as a measure of real importance. In fact, I don’t even monitor PageRank for my own site or for clients at this time as I used to when it really meant something.

Although there are some factors that you can review, there are some that you cannot review, one of those being TrustRank. Google determines the TrustRank for a website based on many different factors. This appears to be a measure that is becoming more meaningful in organic placement and is affected by the age of the domain and the informational content on the website.

If Google leaked out what impacted their SERPs, businesses, in an effort to achieve top placemenet, would work to “scam” the system; which Google hates. What determines real organic page placement on Google is one of their most highly guarded secrets and truly a secret to their success and popularity on the Web in regards to providing the best quality results for a search.

So How Can You Know What Impacts Placement on Google Exactly?

Well, you really can’t unfortunately. I however, have found that by reading Google’s patent disclosures you can get a snap shot of the technology they are actively introducing that will impact their algorithm for search placement. I also follow the blog of Matt Cutts, the voice to my industry from Google. Matt is a search engine algorithm engineer who speaks for Google to professional webmasters and search engine optimization professionals. Although his blog has many mundane posts, periodically Google will use him as a mouthpiece on an important topic or thrust in the search field. Review Matt Cutts blog and see what you think.

Another key way to understand what impacts placement on Google is to be constantly testing new tactics and approaches and to watch to see what others are doing in the industry. I’ve tested a number of tactics and have found some highly workable and others to be highly touted yet ineffective in regards to impacting organic placement. By watching industry forums I also glean trends and tactics that others are trying or find interesting new approaches to test on my own website for further evaluation.

Regardless what anyone tells you, there is simply no silver bullet or special recipe to get placement on Google. Placement is achieved by many factors working together with quality content, search engine friendly web design, and savvy persistance.

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What Can You Expect to Pay for Organic Optimization

I am going to provide a simple answer to a very complex question, but I do get asked all the time “how much does organic search optimization cost?” Typically for a site that is 10 to 25 pages, you can expect to pay $1600 to $2800 for organic code optimization (this is an estimate).

Prices will be higher if new content needs to be created for your website, but it is important to understand that organic code optimization is not inexpensive. Some SEO firms will additionally charge you for link programs, monthly monitoring and reporting, and additional tweaking, but the bulk of the work revolves around laying hands on the website’s source code.

Improving organic optimization takes time. Results are typically not immediately apparent. Organic optimization does not stop with updating and improving the keyword density and source code, promoting your website with a blog, press releases, and article syndication keeps the push on and will improve overall results.

Another big thing to remember is that no firm can guarantee results on any engine – no way, no how! If you find a firm who does, you should be careful and proceed cautiously. The key to Google’s, Yahoo’s, and MSN’s search algorithm is such a highly guarded secret. If the key to placement was divulged, SEO firms would work to exploit the key to garner placement for their clients. So only Google, Yahoo, and MSN know what exactly they are looking for in regards to placement. Here’s one tip, Google looks at over 150 different factors alone to determine where a website falls in the organic results.