Search Engines ... they are ominous, mysterious, and at times, very frustrating. Still, many websites have at least some level of dependency on the traffic gained from search engines (especially consumer-driven sites...). Because they are so important, we felt it important to give some tips, hints, and insight into appealing to the search engines.
Confidently, we know that all website owners should do the following, at a minimum:
**Determine what keywords are most revelant to your products and services, and then choose to target those keywords that get the most search traffic. Why go after the keyword 'real estate management' if the keyword 'property management' gets 5x the number of searches? They seem to represent the same meaning, but you have to be logical about it. However, one big point on this...don't be disingenuous about your product or services just to get traffic (this is a form of "keyword stuffing"...it won't likely work and you'll look like a cheater to the search engines.
**Be strategic about Page Titles. Make the content on any given page relevant to a specific search, and then, make the title of your page the EXACT keyword you now know will get the maximum number of searches. So, for example, determine what page you want to title 'Property Management' (instead of 'real estate management' and then completely frame the content on the page around that exact keyword... Given this title, and this very relevant page content, the page is now extremely relevant to the search for 'property management'.
**Differentiate Meta Data. To be honest, we aren't sure that properly inputting meta data (like the page description and the meta keywords) actually calculates into higher search engine rankings. But, we do know is that it is extremely important for each page to appear different,...per the content, images, functional code, page title, and, of course, the meta data. Having an original page is important, because search engines crave content. They look for information, and the more clues you can give, be it direct or indirect, as to who you are, and what you do, the better you are optimizing your individual pages. If you give each page on your site it's own identity, you will be satisfying the search engines thirst for good information about your site.
**Internally link to your own site, and your own pages. So, now you have a page that is different from all others, you've given it the title 'Property Management', and you know that lots of searches could lead to that page because it is very relevant to an actual search done for that keyword in the search engines (assumably looking for a property manager?). At this point, you have to start linking text on the site to your page that is titled that way? Use the EXACT verbiage... in this case, 'property management'. You need to title your pages correctly, and then you have to force the search engines to stumble on those pages over and over and over again, all from different directions, but for the same reason (because it's relevant to the specific keyword).
**Develop an intense outside link campaign. Get everyone you know (and don't know) to link to your website. Drive traffic to your site, in any way you can. We recommend that you beg, borrow, and steal to get other sites to link their site to yours. Remember that the search engines do have ethics and you should respect all boundries, but competition is fierce, so you may have to roll up your sleeves on occasion.
We hope this short article helps to understand some of the basics around some of the simple things you can do to drive search engine traffic to your site. At the same time, we're always happy to give more detail. We've realized that many times, it's the simple things that people DON'T do that hurts them. Keep in mind that not all changes made today are impactful tomorrow, or even the next day. It does take time for the search engines to notice your improvements, and then it takes a little time for them to recognize the relevancy of your changes. Be patient, and it's likely to be worth it.
Our best,
David R.