Make Your Website Stand Out From the Crowd

Arrive founder Jonathan Negrini shares some quick tips with the Tallahassee Democrat on optimizing your website.

By now, with the whole world surfing the Web for everything from real estate to groceries, businesses small and large understand online success depends on being found at the top of the search engines.

Recent studies show searchers are inclined to click on the first 10 results. Period. This explains why the first page of search engine results is considered to be such a valuable piece of "advertising real estate".

Despite the billions of sites competing for attention, ranking in the first page of search results can be achieved through strategic search engine marketing. This means understanding buzz words like Web site optimization, search engine submission and pay-per-click advertising. Of course, there are tips and tricks to help stay afloat. And they are things you can do yourself.

It's about content, content, content!

Search engines read content. Write your Web text thinking what searchers would type into a search engine to find your business. Then make sure those keywords are there as many times as possible. Search engines use "spiders" or "robots" to crawl through content, including text as well as some scripts and codes in place behind the scenes. Making sure you have strong keywords in text is vital when a searcher types in those keywords.

Choosing the right keywords

Choosing efficient keywords is one of the most important (and difficult) steps in search engine marketing. The first step in choosing your keywords is to evaluate your site's message. Think of what a little kid would type into Google or Yahoo to find your business. Probably not "Joe Smith Realtor in Tallahassee Specializing in Commercial Real Estate Transactions." Most likely they would type something like "Realtor Tallahassee" and go from there. Take that phrase and think about what makes your business special.

Picking an effective keyword doesn't necessarily mean that it is the most popularly searched term ever, but one that sends the right kind of customers to your site by making your business appear at the top of the rankings.

Make your images count

Images can add a nice touch to any site, giving a creative way to reach potential customers. However, for search engines, images can be a nightmare. As advanced and high-tech as search engines would like to brag that they are, spiders or robots cannot see images. Any fancy image links or graphics or slide shows you may use may be why your business is not showing up on the search engines. But there are ways around this problem.

* If your link set or navigation is an image, make sure you have normal text links somewhere on your site.

* Make sure your images have "ALT" tags. ALT tags are little snippets of code in the image code that allow you to put in keywords that describe what the picture is. The more descriptive keywords you use, the better.

Ultimately, everyone has the same goals with the search engines: to be at the top of the rankings.

Arrive offers Search Engine Marketing, SEM, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, and Social Media Marketing, including Pay-Per-Click, PPC, and Consulting, to any Business, Firm, Company, or Organization in Clearwater, Tampa, Tampa Bay, Safety Harbor, Orlando, Gainesville, and Jacksonville, Fl, Florida.