SEO That Brings The Leads

By Tom Muyer

The first thing we need to discuss in regards to optimizing your website with is "intelligent keyword research". what that means is "what are people typing into Google when they search my category?" There are several great tools out there to find out including Google Adwords Keyword Tool. When you have found out what the keywords are, we need to pick the ones that we think we can rank high for and that are also the best match for what we do. Because if they're not a good match, they will not convert into sales. So you need to get specific about what you want.

Now who are you going after? Can you offer your services beyond your immediate market (town)? If so, SEO might be a good fit for your company. Do you have the kind of website that can truly rank on page 1 globaly? Do you have enough pages that can be filled with quality content? Do you have significant time to implement link building startegies? If you answered no to these, a local qualifier might be the way to go. Here's an example: Global - "lawyer" statewide - "south carolina lawyer" local - "charleston lawyer". The two questions are can I really offer my services globally and can I rank on the top of page 1? Because 91% of leads will go to the sites on page 1, why bother with seo if we can't get there?

Now we'll talk about writing some keyword rich content for the site. There is a density algorithm for keywords, so, too many and you can be penalized for keyword cramming and not enough and you might not reach your ranking potential. So how many is too many of the same phrase? You are probably safe staying around 5% keyword density. So if you have a hundred words on a certain page, you should have no more than 5 keyword phrases. Remember that your content has to read well to humans as well as Google spiders. So, make sure to read it a few times. One rule to remember is: if you wouldn't say it, don't write it.

One of the important elements of search engine algorithms is the amount of links into a website they find, or, "backlinks". The more quality backlinks you have, the better your score. Search engines like Google see these links to your website as a vote of confidence for you site from another. Especially when these links come from websites that are respected in their industries and categories. So, find the websites that will help you rank higher, How do you do this? There are many free "inbound link checkers" so, find out who the high ranking sites in your category are linked to. Start a blog and write quality content daily, comment on other well written blogs in your industry, Sign up with all of the free directories that offer you a listing, and take advantage of the easy free deals like Craigslist, Squidoo, Yahoo Answers, and Wikipedia.

Now, you are ready to evaluate some firms and find the one that is right for you. Intelligent keyword research - check! Geographical strategy - global or local, check! Well written, keyword rich content, check! Quality backlinks pooring in weekly, check! You have now put your website in a great position to be successful and climb the ranks. Once you hit page 1, your traffic will increase significantly and if people like what they see and hang around for a few minutes, your rankings will continue to improve. Remember to always check your Google analytics and monitor your traffic and adjust keywords as needed. Enjoy the new traffic and leads.

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