Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for short, is a 'standard' service offering of the 543 Group, and encompasses components that have been delivered to scores of our clients over the past several years.
For those unfamiliar with SEO, it is part of the process of building or enhancing a Website such that it will attract traffic from major Web search engines and directories. It is not, as many believe, just about metadata, the 'hidden' data behind the viewable pages of a Website that describe the page and all of its contents. Properly implemented, it can raise the 'natural' position of your Website on major search engines, often to the important first page of results and 'above the fold' (requiring no user page scrolling to see it).
There are several 'best practices' to proper development and implementation of an SEO program for your Website, including the following:
- Domain Name Selection
- Site Copy Development
- Metadata Development - including keyword, page title, description, and image alt tags
- Site Linking and Site Map Methodology
- Directory and File Structures
- Robots.txt File Placement
- Search Engine Submission
Many providers of SEO services will tout their automated services to map your site and create proper metadata. Don't be fooled into thinking it is that simple, because you really do get what you pay for. SEO is not a commoditized, software-only driven process. Part of the process can be somewhat automated, but often the difference in success or failure of a site's popularity with search engines is the human guidance provided to each step of the process.
It is also important to know that many of the steps necessary to a proper SEO program can be implemented by your own company staff. At the 543 Group, we do not force you to pay for any SEO services you can easily do yourself. Thus, our value is in delivering only the components you need at a reasonable fixed fee. Properly implemented with the attention to detail required, we have experienced increases in search engine site results from as far down as the 10th page of results or lower (which means no one ever finds your site) to the top half of the first page. The resulting increases in site traffic are quite measurable and can raise awareness for your competitively differentiated products and services.
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