Top 3 Thoughts on Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Working at a .com, I have been involved in many, many conversations about the importance of SEO.  These meetings usually focus on relevant content, the use of keywords and the importance of relevant links.  For the business category I work in, being as high as possible on search engine results pages organically is vital because paid search bidding is very competitive. 

During class this week, three thoughts came to mind for me about SEO:

    1. SEO is critical for almost any business

According to a report from BrightEdge, covered by Search Engine Watch, organic search drove 51% of total traffic across different business segments studied.  Similarly, organic searches had a strong correlation to revenue.  Put simply, SEO needs to be a business priority because it can have a real impact on the bottom line.  The higher the organic result, the better for the brand. 

   2. Keeping SEO in mind from the start helps in the long-run

In  my class this week, our Professor covered three areas to keep in mind when designing a site for SEO.  These areas include Design, Copy and Code.  When I think about SEO, copy or content is what pops immediately to mind, maybe because content is so easily adaptable.   Sites like Google Trends and Wordtracker are useful for optimizing content. 

Updates can also be somewhat easily made to a site’s code to better optimize through use of tags, file names, titles and more.  Design is most difficult to change and designing for SEO should be a major consideration for anyone building a new site or making an update. 

Another consideration should be designing for the mobile user, perhaps using some kind of responsive design.  According to an article from Search Engine Land, mobile is set to overtake PC in local searches by next year.  As more and more users are moving to the mobile platform, it is essential that marketers adjust to meet mobile user’s needs. 

   3. Facebook could change the search game  

Google is currently the undisputed leader in search.  Google is so synonymous with search that often when people say they’re going to search for something, they say they are going to ‘google it.’  However, Facebook wants a piece of the lucrative search business as well. 

An article on Business Insider covers a test Facebook recently ran which allowed users to search for newsfeed content on their mobile devices.  If more broadly rolled out, a Facebook search product would be a very viable Google competitor.  Furthermore, this has real implications for marketers.  At this point, many marketers are familiar with SEO best-practices with content—use of strong keywords, relevance and timeliness all play a role.  Facebook search might yield an additional requirement to make sure that content is also highly sharable. 

For those interested in more regular updates on SEO news, I’d highly recommend the daily newsletter from Search Engine Watch.