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What Is SEO And How Is It Used?
| Written by David A. Farrell | Published 08-03-07 - Updated 01-02-08 | Page 01 of 01 |
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the process by which a website or any number of its individual pages are written, rewritten or restructured to encourage a better showing in online search results. When Search Engine Optimization is not an afterthought (as it is in most website construction), the SEO process begins with the ‘copy’ (actual words on the page) and the determination and development of a site’s ‘copy focus’ (target audience concentration).
Initially, the tighter the copy focus, the better. Unless a site’s intended field is particularly narrow at the outset, it is difficult, if not impossible, for a newly-constructed site to compete. This is because well-established, long-standing, higher-ranking websites usually dominate the upper-most slots in the broader categories, which in turn absorb most of the traffic seeking your general service. The idea is to become more specific within your field, find a niche where you and your site can more effectively compete.
For example: If your particular service is ‘Web Design’, developing your site’s copy to focus on the keywords ‘web’ and ‘design’ would put your site in direct competition with the largest, most powerful companies in this field, because this is the broadest possible generalization of the field regarding web design. Potential visitors typing into a search box the keyword phrase ‘web design’ would have literally thousands upon thousands of other web pages to choose from before ever finding a link to your site, if your site shows up at all. To become more focused entails being more specific. And to become more specific means to include more relevant keywords in your optimization.
Instead of optimizing your website for the keywords ‘web’ and ‘design’, the site or individual web page might be better optimized for the keywords ‘affordable’, ‘web’, and ‘design’. If you find that the field is still too broad for your site to compete in, your business’s location may be included to help narrow things down even further. The keywords optimized in this case would be: ‘Connecticut’, ‘affordable’, ‘web’, and ‘design’. The keywords ‘web’ and ‘design’ together may have a quarter million people typing them into search boxes every month. However, the combination ‘Connecticut’, ‘affordable’, ‘web’, and ‘design’ may only have two to five thousand entries a month, which is a far easier market to break into initially.
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