Does SEO work ??

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By Arnab January 7, 2007 filed in Internet Marketing, SEO, Newsletter

Being in the business we are in, I face this question all the time: “So, what exactly is SEO ?” The answer to this remains the same - “Search engine optimization is a process in which an attempt is made to increase the traffic to a website by achieving a better or a higher rank in the search results for a search engine.”

As can be expected, this is followed up with the inevitable: “So, how do you guys do it?” The answer to this one is far more complex, and has changed consistently over time. The logic is simple - Search Engine Optimizers have constantly been trying to figure out what gets better rankings, and Search Engine Algorithms have constantly been upgraded to thwart these attempts to achieve results.

In the end it all boils down to this - there are fair ways of achieve better results and there are the not so fair ways (called Black Hat SEO). Black Hat started in the earlier days with relatively simpler stuff like filling Meta Keyword Tags with unrelated keywords but has some a long way in sophistication since then. However that is not what should be our focus - Not only will Black Hat be short term, eventually the SE will re-adjust it’s algorithm, AND it will most probably lead to the website getting black-listed altogether.

So let us focus on what should be done to improve traffic to the website, things that no Search Engine will mind…

* Focus on getting Original Content created for your website
* Spend the time and effort to make the content easy to read and interesting
* Focus on the Layout of the website so that visitors feel like coming back
* Keep a watch on the Title of Page - Make it precise and use words carefully
* Make sure to use the Description Meta Tag on the Page, that makes people click on your website even if it does turn up on a Search Engine Result
* Use the Image Alt and Link Title Tags wisely - make sure they are informative
* Getting other websites to link to you is an appropriate way to draw traffic to you, but only if it makes sense for that website to be linking to you
* Try and make sure you book domains for more than a Year
* Refresh content - try to use RSS and see if that helps
* And once again - get a lot of content for the website and keep updating the website

In the long run, all Search Engines will advance sufficiently to place only websites with authentic content and well designed websites which are liked by the visitors. So, its time to go back to the basics and keep these in mind while designing your website. Keep away from Black Hat as far as possible. And that way, you don’t even need to worry about what the latest SEO tactic is !

And finally, give it time. All of you are now aware of the Google Sandbox, which is just an imaginary place where all new websites are put for the first 6-8 months before they show up for any result. That, among other things is Google’s way of dissuading people from booking domains and coming up with websites to make a fast buck. In the process, even if you are making an authentic new website about a niche segment, your website might still not show up in any Search Result till it is out of the SandBox - Don’t lose heart - Keep going ! Think Big - And think Long term !