There is no silver bullet for getting your site to the top of Search Engine Result Pages (despite what some SEO 'experts' may tell you). However, there are many different tactics and strategies you can put in place to increase the chances of your site's content being found.
We take a 3-pronged approach for developing a Search Engine Optimization strategy that focuses on Code, Content and Circulation:
Code is the cornerstone for any SEO effort; if the code for your site doesn't do certain key things to optimize the rank, you're going to have a hard time with any SEO effort. Sites using our CMS LoopSites automatically benefit from a lot of built-in SEO, and any site we build adheres to all of the SEO best practices - some of which are highlighted in the diagram above.
Good code alone won't help you rank well. You need to fill your site with great content. We can work with you to ensure the content on each page is targeting attainable search keywords that will attract potential customers. But you are in the best position to help with this part of the strategy, you know your customers better than anyone, so we expect a lot of input from you for this part of the SEO effort.
Finally, once you have a site with solid code and good content, you need to circulate it around the Internet so people and search engines can find it. The more publicity and links back to pages on your site the more value (often referred to as PageRank) your domain and pages have in the eyes of the search engines. If lots of people want to promote your content on their sites, the search engines assume it must be valuable. There's many factors that play into this, but we want to work with you to lay out a strategy for circulating your content online. The makeup of the Internet is constantly changing and this is one piece of the strategy that can benefit from continous analysis.
It is important to have a balanced SEO strategy that takes into consideration each of the above areas of concentration. You can't just do 1 or 2 things and assume it will help; the best results can be achieved when you develop a holistic strategy to SEO and incorporate it into your company's ongoing marketing practices.
Beware of what the industry calls 'black hat SEOs.' These people will use tactics to promote your site that are explicitly not allowed by search engines. These are things like keyword stuffing, using hidden text, posting your site to link farms, creating duplicate content, etc. All things that in theory could help your site rank higher, but if you're caught by Google your site could get permanently banned! Be aware of this for any future work you may have with an SEO partner.
