I found another good article about SEO. Well, it's not about SEO but rather something good for people to read if they don't understand what SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is.
If someone doesn't understand how Google or other search engines are seeing their site, they don't know that they're doing things wrong. There are many technical aspects of a website. In fact, it's actually pretty easy to mess things up pretty badly and maybe not even know it. We get these kinds of distress calls once in a while and then we go in and fix people's websites. Many of these sites are by people who have taken a course at a local college or had a one-man web shop work on their site.
We think the days are gone where one person can successfully manage a website. There is so much knowledge that one person would need to know. This would include how to do web graphic design, how to do proper HTML coding, how to do programming, how to optimize a website for the search engines, set up site maps, do inbound linking / back linking (and keep up on SEO news and trends at the same time), encode and publish audio or video, do software updates, do maintenance and other things.
There are so many websites out there and hundreds of thousands are created every day. With all the competition, if you're not doing things absolutely correctly with the best strategy, you're not going to rank where you need to. Your competition is working on SEO weekly and daily. If you're not doing that, you'll fall in rankings. It's getting more cutthroat now since people are moving their offline advertising to the web.
There's just no way a one-man web shop or single person who took a course can do all that is needed.
With all the ways to access the web today (smart phone, iPads, televisions, etc.), that is where people are going to find your company. It's only going to get more difficult to rank high. If you're not starting now, then later you'll have a tougher time getting there. There's an advantage to getting going with search engine optimization now. The concept of "age" on the web is huge! The longer your site has been out there, the longer you've had more relevant content on your website and the longer you've had links pointing to your website, the better. I don't think people understand the urgency and that waiting will cost them.
Stop Making the 6 Biggest SEO Mistakes (searchenginewatch.com)
January is a time to make resolutions, and then promptly fail to follow them. That said, it's also a time to for new beginnings, a chance to correct the mistakes of the past.
Within search engine optimization (SEO) there are plenty of mistakes that people make that they need to stop making. So if you do any of the following, it's time to stop, especially if you want a new beginning for your SEO in 2011.
Read the whole thing - even if you don't understand all of it, that's the point. You need to run your business - not learn how to do ours. That's why I take my car to a mechanic or clothes to the dry cleaner. I figure, let them do what they do and I'll do what I do.
-Tony
