Just Launched a Website? 5 Things to Know About SEO

In the marketing world, it’s easy to forget that some business owners are also first-time website owners. But as a Los Angeles SEO firm with a broad clientele base, we at Crest Media know that the role of business owners is to be experts on their businesses, and our role is to be experts on SEO. Although getting their sites found is our responsibility, we still want new clients to understand some basic SEO tenants. Here are five “big ones” that businesses can benefit from right away.

1. SEO is a long term proposition.

As opposed to getting hundreds of visitors to your site tomorrow, SEO will take some time to start working. SEO is not an overnight fix for a site that isn’t ranking; it’s a long term process that builds momentum and pays out gradually over a period of months. Still, an SEO campaign only works if the team is working consistently to get individual pages on the site closer to the goal of a first page Google ranking. That work involves frequent social media updates, content marketing and blogging. As more consistent effort is applied, the results start becoming noticeable.

2. You will never fully understand the algorithm.

Search engine algorithms are complicated mathematical formulas used to determine where individual websites should be ranked on search engine results pages. Google, Yahoo and Bing have their own various algorithms, and no one outside of their organizations knows all the intricacies of the formulas. That’s why the best SEO firms don’t waste time attempting to crack algorithms. Instead, they focus on the needs of real, human visitors to the site. Even after the controversial Google Panda and Google Penguin algorithm updates, this is still the key to organically ranking for your targeted keywords.

3. There are no guarantees.

“Don’t worry about doing it perfectly; just do it.” Most people have heard some variation on that adage in their lives, and it applies to SEO as well. Despite the claims of those peddling e-books on SEO “secrets,” there is no guaranteed way to rank on the first page of Google. In fact, Google regularly speaks out on this matter. Rather than worrying about figuring out an algorithm, it is smarter strategy to accept that there are no guarantees in SEO. Once you do, it will be easier to use what you do know and turn it into a successful SEO campaign.

4. The results of link building will last.

Good or bad, the links you acquire from other sites have an impact on your search engine rankings. It is a fact that search engines factor in linking profiles when determining how to rank each website. One way to strengthen your linking profile is to create content for keywords you share with another reputable site, and create links to their pages on anchor text (the words in a link) for the specific keywords that your two pages share. For instance, if you have a web page that markets blue beach cruiser bikes, and they have a blog post titled “Blue Beach Cruiser Bikes and the People Who Love Them,” then you should create a link to their blog post in a place where “blue beach cruiser bikes” is in the body of your text. This anchor text is looked at favorably by search engines, and it will improve your linking profile; more importantly, it may encourage that site to link back to you – which boosts your linking profile even more. Link building is a strategy that the best SEO firms employ for their clients.

5. It’s all about organic.

Search engines look for organic content and organic links; these make an organic SEO campaign and produce organic search engine rankings. In other words, search engines look at content that reads like it was written for people, rather than for their robots. How can they tell? If a page repeats the same keyword dozens of times, that is a good indication that it was written for search engines rather than readers. The point of Google Panda was to detect “low quality” sites that use these tactics, and penalize them with lower rankings. As an established Los Angeles SEO firm, Crest Media understands the fine art of employing organic SEO techniques.

Edit: Watch this video on our Los Angeles SEO services:

Businesses that are new to web marketing can benefit from these five tenants of SEO, but they can also benefit from hiring a strong SEO firm. Crest Media will be glad to answer any questions regarding the details of SEO marketing during a free phone consultation.