What is Search Engine Positioning or Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

SEO is a highly focused Internet marketing practice that involves the optimization of a Website in order to maximize targeted search engine referrals and therefore increase traffic. This process requires the customization of an entire site's structure, choosing targeted keyword phrases and ensuring that the site places well when those keywords are queried on search engines. It equally involves customizing the site's content, code and links for higher search engine rankings. Effective, carefully planned SEO can increase your Website traffic dramatically. Remember - 81% of online consumers find websites through the use of a search engine .

Why is SEO important?

Search Engine Optimization is extremely important in today's competitive online marketplace. To be a successful online business, you require a steady stream of targeted visitors. Search engines create more visibility for Websites than all other advertising combined. Therefore It makes the difference between a Website that has very little visibility and one that will be seen and found by millions of people.

Why wasn't my site optimized for search engines when it was built?

Many Website developers are fantastic at what they do; building appealing, well-designed Websites. Most are not concerned about optimizing a website's code, content or site structure to attract search engines because they simply do not realize the value or what is involved. Overlooking SEO is a frequent and expensive mistake. A website that has not been optimized for search engines will be very difficult to find - most likely ranked at the bottom of the SERPs ( Search Engine Results Page).

Bottom Line : If your potential customers can't find you, they can't do business with you, therefore impeding your company's success.

How long does it take for SEO to start bringing targeted traffic to my site?

Anywhere from a couple of weeks to a few months. There are many variables that affect Search Engine rankings such as a change in their algorithms, the frequency a particular search engine "spiders" your Website, database updates and your particular industry's online competitive landscape to name a few.

SEO is a long-term investment in your Website and your business. For immediate results, given that you have an advertising budget, Pay Per Click / Sponsored Advertising does the trick. A combination of both long term and short-term traffic solutions is important to the growth of your business.

Does SEO guarantee results?

Yes and no. Yes, because we can guarantee that we will improve your ranking. No, because due to search engine variables that are constantly changing, even our greatest efforts cannot guarantee a specific placement or ranking. The only guaranteed rankings are Pay Per Click / Sponsored Advertising. No honest, reputable SEO firm will or can guarantee natural (non-paid) rankings. They may use deceptive SEO strategies that allow them to possibly gain a higher ranking for their client than a legitimately optimized site but ultimately these “black hat” practices can get your site banned from the search engines. Achieving a specific ranking is comparable to managing a portfolio. Your financial advisor will do their best to monitor the stock market and other indicators and to make sure your portfolio is properly managed. Nevertheless, your advisor cannot guarantee that your portfolio will be at a specific dollar value at a given date.

Why are SEO services costly?

Search Engine Optimization is highly a specialized practice that requires an in-depth analysis, knowledge and when done correctly can be a very time-consuming process, although in comparison to other media such as television, print and radio, SEO is in reality one of the most cost effective marketing methods available. North Americans spend as much time in the online world as they do watching T.V. although only 10% of advertising dollars are being spent on online marketing. As they become more and more web savvy, the future of your online business is will depend on online marketing. The cost of having your website optimized for search engines is by far the best advertising dollars spent and the return on your investment (ROI) can be very impressive.

Why do I find my site in one search engine but not in another ?

An important notion to keep in mind when "searching the Internet" is that each search engine only provides results that are in their particular database. This means you aren't so much searching the entire Internet as you are searching that search engine's database. Your website might simply not be listed in every search engine's database. Manually submitting to each search engine, combined with proper SEO will eliminate this. Do not waste your money on automated site-submission services. There are still website submission services offered that can ultimately get your Website banned by the search engines as they consider this a form of spam. Also, each search engine has a different method of returning relevant results to your search, and they each have a different way of indexing the Internet into their particular database. Using the same search term on different search engines can return completely different rankings. Again, proper SEO will help your rankings in any search engine.