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So you launched your website. All the blood sweat and tears finally pay off with a shiny new site, and you can’t wait for the world to see it. The problem is, no one is actually seeing. Where is all the traffic? Where are all the leads? What we’ve all come to realize is that building and launching your site is only half the work. In order to truly generate traffic that will make a difference for your organization, you need to apply Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tactics.
In its most basic form, SEO is the art and science of getting your particular website listed highly in the search results from search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. In most cases, the higher your site appears in the search results, the more traffic you will drive to your site. And if you’ve truly optimized the content and keywords on your site, it will be the kind of traffic you want.
So what can you do to make sure your site is getting its fair share of traffic via the search engines? You can focus on these key things:
A Thorough Understanding of Your Customer's Needs
All too often, many organizations spend their time and resources building sites and selecting keywords based on their perception and internal view, pushing that out to the customer. The more effective method is to design and build from the outside in. This can be accomplished in many ways, but the most effective is to ask your best customers. How did they find you? What was it about your particular offer that made them want to buy? If they searched online, what terms did they use?
Additionally, when it comes to keywords, there are many free tools available, including Google’s keywords tool. These can help you understand how customers are searching for products or services and whether or not your site is using keywords effectively.
Armed with this knowledge, you’re ready to start discussing content.
Quality Web Content
When it comes to your website, the old adage remains true. Content is king. If you truly want your site to get traffic, you must provide useful, information rich pages. If you have a true understanding of your customer’s needs, you are now in a position to write helpful content that addresses those needs.
One of the most important things to remember is that your homepage must have some relevant content that includes your keywords. Search engines don’t read images, so a graphic rich page or one with flash is less likely to help you in the search rankings. As you begin to fill out this content, choose three or four of your most important keywords and focus on them when you write content for your home page. But be sure to avoid jargon. Use plain language, and leverage your knowledge of customer needs to make your copy sing.
In the early days, almost everybody focused on Meta keywords on their site for SEO. However, the major search engines use the Meta keywords very sparingly in ranking your site, and most of them don’t use this tag at all.
The Title tag and Description tag are critical if you want to appear relevant in search results. The Title Tag should be shorter than 80 characters, and must contain the keyword phrases you identified in your customer and keyword research. Remember to keep these focused and streamlined. You do not want to cram the title tag full of multiple keywords.
Additionally, keep your site’s title tags unique and relevant across all pages. Be sure that any words you use in the title also appear in the content on the page.
Your Description tag also plays a key role in getting people to actually click through to your site. This is the information that is actually shown just below the page title on your search result. If the description tag isn’t compelling, the odds of someone clicking your link from the search results go down dramatically. Be sure to include a call to action and clear description about what is one your site.
Going Social
If you don’t have a blog, you’re missing a large opportunity to engage with customers and potential customers. If you do venture into the blogsphere, it is critical that you have a solid content strategy. Avoid posting your sales pitch at all costs. Instead, use compelling content and provide real value in what you are posting. Engage your audience, and be authentic.
And think beyond your own blog. Odds are, there is a blog out there that focuses on your market or customers, and it is a ripe opportunity to engage the blogsphere with comments and discussion. This allows you to gain credibility, which in turn generates interest in your site and eventually helps drive traffic. But keep in mind; it takes more than just posting a link on someone else’s blog. You must provide value and really engage with the audience.
Going social is also about more than just blogs, and covers sites like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Digg, and many others. When you consider that YouTube is now the second ranked search engine, ahead of Yahoo, the case for putting quality video content into your marketing mix becomes much stronger. And it doesn’t have to be an expensive production. Simple, succinct content, whether it’s video or written, can go a long way on a social network, and can definitely increase traffic to your site.
Make it Happen
While there is much more we could add to the list, the basic ideas we covered above will give you a good head start on using SEO to your advantage. The important thing to remember is that you must use your customer’s language and search terms, and you must provide compelling, relevant content.
The playing field has never been more level when it comes to being found online. With a little hard work and some creative thinking, your website can truly make a difference for your organization.
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IMS Resources
The IMS staff publish articles covering a wide range of web topics including search engine optimization, online video, podcasting, and more. Read more.IMS shares articles, tips, podcasts, and videos, covering a range of web strategy topics. Read more.Learn more about how IMS customers are leveraging our Neptune Web Content Management platform to reduce the cost and complexity of their web strategy. Read more.From educational product sessions to interviews with existing customers and analysis from industry professionals, the IMS Webcast library provides useful industry information when you need it. Read more.IMS CEO Mark Clear and Senior Developer Sam Hokin invite you to the IMS Open House and Demo Day on Thursday, May 13, 2010. Please join us for live demos, great conversation, and wonderful food. Read more.The IMS podcast series includes interviews, opinions, and conversations on a variety of web topics. Read more.IMS holds Neptune Web Content Management (WCM) platform demos the first Tuesday of every month starting at 11:00 a.m. central / 12:00 p.m. eastern. Demos typically last around 45 minutes. Read more.
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