FAQ

Definitions of SEO can vary but many of the core concepts are consistent. According to Wikipedia: “Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine’s “natural” or un-paid (“organic”) search results. In general, the earlier (or higher ranked on the search results page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine’s users. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search, academic search, news search and industry-specific vertical search engines.” “As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work, what people search for, the actual search terms or keywords typed into search engines and which search engines are preferred by their targeted audience. Optimizing a website may involve editing its content, HTML and associated coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines. Promoting a site to increase the number of backlinks, or inbound links, is another SEO tactic.” In a somewhat shorter description Search Engine Land, a well-regarded search-focused website, explains: “SEO stands for “search engine optimization.” It is the process of getting traffic from the “free,” “organic,” “editorial” or “natural” listings on search engines. All major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing have such results, where web pages and other content such as videos or local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers most relevant to users. Payment is not involved, as it is with paid search ads.”

A company's web presence is a company's full digital footprint found on the Internet. Although the website and the written, video and graphical content it provides are the core of the web presence of a company, there are quite a few other digital places where a company may have a presence. Those include, but are not restricted to: • Links from other sites on the Internet to pages and material on the company's website. • Assets of social media such as a Facebook profile, Twitter account, (business and personal) LinkedIn account, company blog, Google +1 account. • Social media mentions of a company or website, articles, links, tweets, +1s, likes, etc. • Created and uploaded video content on video sharing platforms such as YouTube. • Local company pages like Google + Local Listings in directories of companies like Bing , Yahoo, Yelp, Merchant Circle, YellowPages.com, CitySearch, Whitepages and others. • Communicating with clients and prospects via email. • Press releases to news outlets and the internet. • Material that a company has created and posted on other websites.

Building a growing web presence will your business help reach more new customers and prospects while increasing contact with existing customers. Your competitors are growing their web presence, so if you aren’t growing yours then you are falling behind. People search the web for a business, product or service in different ways. Some people use familiar search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo). Some people will utilize social media such as Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn. Business directory services like Yelp, CitySearch or FourSquare may be used by other individuals. There are several other ways in which Internet users locate companies and these strategies continue to grow at a rapid pace. The more places the organization has a presence, the more likely it will find your organization. An increasing presence on the web also allows clients and prospects to build trust and authority. The wider and more familiar you are in their minds, the more places people see you. Moreover, for much of the same reasons, a wider web presence would often boost search engine rankings.