Smellycat Productions Blog

Over the last few months I have been asking business owners why they have a website and have been amazed by their answers.

The number one answer I get is, “because I need one”.

When I ask how they are measuring the numbers and types of visitors coming to their website, they have no idea what I am talking about.

When I ask them if they would like to have their website optimized so they will maintain (or get to) the first page position of a search, they invariably answer “My webmaster (or whoever) takes care of that”.

Oh really?  Not from what I’ve seen.  Almost every small (and large) business website I see is poorly, if at all, optimized.

90% of our business is a direct result of the on-page and off-page optimization of our website.  In short, because of how we designed our website and how we promote it on the Internet, people usually find us on the first page of Internet searches or “SERP’s” (Search Engine Results Page).  And when they find us, they perceive us as professionals because our website looks professional–which is more than I can say for those businesses who think their “webmaster takes care of that”.

A well-optimized website is keyword rich in its meta-data and content–and has lots of helpful, interesting and relevant content. It has hundreds of back links (inbound links) from high-ranking websites and online directories.  It engages readers and encourages visitation by interacting with the online community via a self-hosted blog and social media.

But getting (and staying) on the prime real estate of the first page of a SERP is only half the battle.  Remember–you are only one click away from your competition, so your website better look as professional as theirs does!  Otherwise, you run the risk of looking like a tumbledown shanty in the middle of a neighborhood of million-dollar homes.  And if you have done nothing with your website in the past few years, or have a static website that never changes, believe me–you ARE that shanty.

Tell us what you think, share your SEO knowledge and tips, and we will share ours so we can all become better at marketing our websites.

We would like your questions and like others to help answer those questions.

Let’s see what we can start.

Written by: admin on July 8, 2010.