Attention All CEOs - SEO has changed

In fact, Search Engine Optimization has changed beyond belief. Not so long ago, it was all about stuffing content with keywords, and then hoping those web crawlers straight out of The Matrix would be looking for them. Now, of course, it isn't so simple.

And what is infuriating for a lot of people who have a presence on the Internet in a legitimate sense - in other words, your real, honest business concerns who want to market themselves online in a real, honest way - is that the unscrupulous spammers and black hats out there have pushed SEO to new, highly complex levels.

If you are unfortunate enough to own or run a business whose online presence is slipping, chances are you won't even know how to stop the decline. You just don't have the knowledge. And if you don't know how to use good SEO to stand out from the crowd, you my as well not be online.

Some websites use good SEO, some use bad. For years now firms have been enjoying the feeling of having their pages at the top end of Google, apparently with minimum effort. It seems that they know exactly what to do. They know the secret.

The secret to Good SEO

So what is the secret to Good SEO? Easy, don't do it.

Remember that great idea you had at the kitchen table? That is your company. That is what you are in charge of. The vision. Remember that? Savor it once again. Your vision. The thing that gets you up in the morning.

Then, once you have remembered why you started the whole thing (and you're all fired up about helping people again) you'll be eager to think up some new keywords. Don't.

Take a step back, think about the goals and objectives for your website, and give your firm's marketing to the experts.

Give it up because an SEO expert has two things going in their favor, two reasons why you should hire them to make your site noticeable. Reason number one is easy. SEO experts are perfect because they can look at your firm from the outside; they have the commercial perspective, the detached view, whatever you want to call it. In other words, when it comes to your firm and its online marketing, while they weren't present at the birth, they can smooth it over, smarten it up, and get it a date for the prom.

Reason number two is even simpler. An SEO expert knows exactly what to do to make your firm's website shoot up high in the rankings, and then make it stay there. They know about image searches and logos, about linking (the Holy Grail of SEO, and an aspect that will have a whole post dedicated to it soon), about content management, and so on. All things that, while you may well know something about them, you can't honestly say they're your business. They're not what you do.

The Bottom Line

SEO experts need not be expensive. And the job they can do for you and your firm will bring results. There are a lot of cowboys out there, and we'll deal with that in a later post, but get your hands on a company who know online marketing inside out (as well as you know your firm), and you will see business growth. Guaranteed.

We will spend the next few posts exploring the bottom line, looking at aspects of SEO that companies need to be on top of. By the time we're done, you'll know how a good SEO expert can make those web crawlers straight out of The Matrix cling onto your sticky site for dear life.