Search Engine Optimization for Small Business

You may have heard a lot about search engine optimization and increasing traffic to your Web site. The truth is, traffic itself is useless. It's targeted traffic (i.e. people who are actually looking for the products, services, and information you provide) that counts. While search engine optimization (SEO) can be a complicated process, there are some techniques you can use on your own to make your Web site easier to find and save some money for the more complicated SEO services.

Unique Content

The search engines are placing a greater emphasis on high quality content that is also unique. This means that you need to write your own content, or hire a Web content writer, to develop original content specifically for your site. Using free articles from directories can hurt your rankings due to the new emphasis on original content. While the search engines keep their algorithms a secret, many people seem to be getting good results with content that is at least 1,000 words in length. This doesn't mean you need to write a 1,000 word article; you can include headings, product descriptions, and other groups of content in your word count.

Links

Links are an important part of SEO for any Web site. The search engine spiders follow links across the Web, almost like using roadmaps to find a travel destination. For the best results, the links you place on your Web site should be relevant to the topic of your site. For example, a Web designer may place links to a graphic designer on his Web site since graphic design and Web design are closely related. You should also try to get other sites to link to yours. The best way to do this is to provide high quality content that many people find helpful. Other sites will link to you naturally if you provide good information. You can also ask Web site owners to link to your site in exchange for placing a link to their business on your site.

Blogging

Having a blog on your Web site is good for business, but it can also help you drive more traffic to your site. Blogs are updated regularly, giving you many opportunities to add unique content to your site. Other bloggers may visit your blog and link to your posts, giving you more inbound links to your Web site. You can also use your blog to link to other pages on your site so that more people are exposed to your products and services.

Find Your Niche

Finding your niche is important for business as well as search engine optimization. Each page of your Web site should focus on only one topic. If you sell picture frames, one page of your site might be for "oak picture frames" and another might be for "walnut picture frames." While more people overall will be searching for "picture frames," those who are searching for frames made from specific materials or in certain styles will be able to find your products more easily.