Talk about a loaded question. I found it difficult to answer because there really is no ONE secret; there are many attributes that a search engine considers when ranking one site against the thousands or millions of other web pages that use the same keywords.
To help this person wrap his mind around the concept, I gave the simplest answer I could muster that focused on the primary aspects: There are a number of elements that the search engines consider to be important, including:
Relevant content – The content of your web site needs to be written with carefully selected keywords that will help a search engine interpret your site as being relevant to a user looking for your products or services. Sounds simple enough. The key is knowing which terms are the most likely to be used when a prospect begins his search. This can be revealed by researching appropriate “performance keywords.”
Relevant incoming links – Which sites link to you and why they link to you is important to search engines. Having more relevant incoming links than your competitors will increase your chances of high search engine placement. Search engines give weighted ratings to different types of incoming links, so it’s best to work with an experienced online marketer to determine the best process and sites from which to seek links.
Search-engine friendly coding – How the site is structured and how it is coded plays a direct role in the ability of search engines to spider the site easily.
Professional design and simple navigation – Although the search engines won’t rate you on this aspect, prospects who get to your site from the search engines will. If you’ve made the effort to improve your search engine performance, it’s equally important to make sure your web site is compelling enough for the site user to want to contact you.
Executing these elements requires attention to a lot of small details. That’s essentially the secret. There’s no one silver bullet that will cure all non-performing sites – it’s attention to each aspect in combination that gives your site the best chance to shine on the search engines and with your customers.
For more information about Search Engine Optimization for your site, contact Polysort at 800-326-8666 ext. 24.
About Polysort LLC
Polysort is an Internet marketing company dedicated to assisting companies in the plastics and rubber industry with website design, content development, search engine optimization, hosting and promotion. It’s online vertical portal, www.polysort.com, is among the most popular plastics and rubber industry websites.
Your Expert
Angela Charles is president of Polysort LLC. The company, founded in February 1995, specializes in web site design and promotion for companies in the plastics and rubber industry and has become the only plastics and rubber-industry expert in the area of Search Engine Optimization.
Angela is an expert in Internet marketing and a sought-after speaker for meetings and Internet marketing presentations. She joined Polysort in 1995 from Crain Comm., where she helped launch Plastics News in 1989 and Waste News in 1995.
