In our last blog we got a start on explaining what Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is and since it’s such a huge topic, I thought I’d devote a little more time to more explanation. This is a very important topic for your business and it’s also a field that is full of a lot of “smoke and mirrors.”  In this case, as in so many other marketing topics, knowledge is power.

So, to explain a little further, SEO is a marketing strategy designed to help your organization rank at or near the top of the millions of listings that crop up when someone searches for what you have to offer. The closer your website listing is to the top of the list, the more likely it is that your perfect client is going to be able to find you and click through to your website.

Your website is usually your premier vehicle for starting conversations with the people who might want to buy what you are selling. So your website needs to be in good shape and your strategy for leading people to it needs to be in good shape as well. You can educate yourself on how to do all that—I invested thousands of dollars and countless hours in my own education on the topic, and many other people have done that too. There is a lot I could be doing better and with unlimited time and money I would be doing all of it. And then I would watch it all change again within six months.  That being said, we know it’s possible to learn what needs to be learned to have an edge in this world. Or you can hire people to do it all for you. But, either way, if you want to be found online, your website needs to be optimized.

That may not be a goal of yours, by the way. I know plenty of business people who are happy to use their website as a brochure, rather than a business generator, especially in view of the time and money it can cost to haul that website into state-of-the-SEO-art perfection. And especially in view of the fact that your website is going to be hopelessly out of date in three years anyway. There is a limit to what a small business can spend on its internet presence and although a lot of internet marketers will try to shame you into tearing your website down and starting over, I am not one of those people who is going to get sniffy about how awful your website is.

You probably know that your website isn’t serving you well. You don’t need me to embarrass you into changing it. I assume that if you had the money, people resources, knowledge and/or time, you would be thrilled to launch a new website. But are there a few things you could be doing better? I’m thinking yes. Because I hate to think that you’re missing an opportunity to generate more revenue!