Why Content Is King
You’ve probably come across this expression while looking at articles about SEO and managing online content. To put it simply, your website’s content is what will make the difference between success and failure. Picture this scenario, you sell hard to find fuel pumps for a certain type of older model car. Do you know how to go about making sure search engines will locate your site and put it in front of visitors?
Ok, let’s say that you have heard a bit about SEO, and the importance of article marketing. Does that alone guarantee you success? Now let’s say your competitor sells the same pumps, but employs proven SEO techniques. This enables search engines to locate his website for anyone doing a search. Do you think you have a chance of competing with him, no matter how good your pumps are?
These may seem like a lot of questions, but these are things you should think about if you want your online business to thrive. Sadly, many online business owners think that putting up a website is enough. That is only the beginning. Your success will depend on the creation of articles relevant to your site.
It is important to decide if you will create these articles yourself, or hire someone to do it for you. It takes time to learn how to create SEO articles, so outsourcing may be your best bet. The next step is article submission. This involves preparing the article to be found by search engines. This involves including the relevant keywords and tags that are specific to what you are offering. It is important to use terms (keywords) that you think or know your potential customers will use.
Content has to be updated frequently so that it is fresh, thereby attracting search engines to the site. This is another reason why allowing an experienced SEO provider is important. An SEO provider will ensure the creation of new content on a set schedule. Trying to do this yourself could prove difficult, as you never know what may come up from day to day.
New businesses appear online every day. A highly competitive environment is becoming even more so. You have to stay on top of the competition through effective content management and article marketing and submission. Browse a few websites and see for yourself how they handle their content. Ask yourself, are they doing something that you’re not doing?
(Written by: Owen Crooks, SEO writer and Graphic Designer)
October 11, 2008
-------------------
Why is SEO so Important?
This is a question newcomers to Internet marketing and even some ‘old timers’ ask. The simple answer is that it is the driving force behind success or failure in the highly competitive world of online business.
What is SEO?
SEO, which means Search Engine Optimization, refers to the process of writing website content so that your website gets on the top page of search engines. This is important because there are millions of websites competing for the attention of online visitors and potential customers. So, how do you get them to visit your site and not another? That is what SEO tries to do – get traffic to your website.
How SEO is used
The bottom line is that SEO is used to help search engines find your website and better yet, index it so that people will find it when they type in a keyword. The three main things that help in search engine optimization on a website are the title of the website, the content on the website and the number of other sites that link to your site.
Title
Always ensure that your main keyword is included in your title. Some persons are great at coming up with titles, others are not. If you fall into the latter category try coming up with at least three possible titles and ask for opinions.
I have found that titles that ask a question or make ranking lists (example: top 10 reasons why... etc) are popular.
Content
Content is the driving force behind SEO success. Search engines need and go after fresh content. However, not only should content be updated often, it should provide meaningful information. Most importantly, the information provided should relate to your website.
Linking
The more websites that link to your site, the better your ranking; this can only happen however, if you have good content.
(Written by: Jessica McCurdy Crooks, an experienced website content manager and SEO writer)