I want page one placement

"just get me to the top of the search engines, that's what we want" it seems so simple to companies when dealing with this buzz word of "˜search engine optimization.' they want to be # 1 on the search engines because they know +85% of the population goes to the search engines for information. however, companies fail in properly researching their industry on the search engines and targeting "obtainable" goals.

companies will start their seo efforts with "page one placement" in mind and end up at a completely different goal. it is our job as online marketing consultants to inform, educate and provide realistic goals for our clients.

here a few questions for businesses to ask themselves before spending a substantial amount on an seo campaign.

is my site ready for the increased traffic and can it convert those potential customers?

too many times, and even at the fortune 500 level, companies want to increase the search engine rankings without improving the quality of their site and the conversion rate that comes with it. i understand search engine optimization is a priority in marketing your company, but if your site's architecture, flow and overall structure aren't equipped to convert the additional traffic, you will be flushing your money down the toilet.

who am i trying to target and how am i going to target them?

is your demographic males from 25-55 or females from 12-35? does your demographic search hyper local or generic national terms? by reviewing and analyzing your website statistics and metrics, you will be able to understand what people are searching for, where they came from and what pages they are viewing on your site. these answers will also help to what market you are trying to capture when dealing with search engine optimization efforts.

which keywords accurately summarize my business but are also searched for regularly?

this step should take place with both the company and the seo team. using the company's experience with their customers and the product/service and the expertise of the seo team, keywords should be identified. this fundamental step is commonly not addressed. if your company sells collectible sporting goods, should you target "sporting goods" or "sporting collectibles" a simple overture (yahoo) tool will show you that the first keyword set has substantially more traffic than the second, but will be harder to achieve "page one placement." research and analysis is just as important if not more important than the actual optimization of the site.

how realistic are my seo goals?

some keywords are going to be lengthy and costly to make movement on. try to target keywords that you can see significant results on within your timeline and budget. also, be patient in your seo efforts. the search engines have solid algorithms that rarely show "overnight success" for your seo efforts; plan for three to six months of optimization to achieve your desired result.

have any additional questions about your past, current or future seo efforts? email me at seo@fgi.com.us.