Search Engine Optimization in 2010

Having the opportunity to work with many different website owners allows me to oversee a diverse portfolio of web properties, analyze their data and pair it with upcoming trends in search. An interesting video by SEOmoz reveals some insight into the change search will be undergoing in the next few years.

Here are my thoughts on what your search engine strategy should consist of:

1. Stick to the basics of Search Engine Optimization - Find your niche, confirm the architecture of your site is SEO friendly, optimize your pages for a set of keyword phrases which you can reasonably compete for. Tip: Long combination of keywords is on the rise so don't be afraid to look for 3-4 keyword combinations.

2. Go Local - a previous article of a local search campaign for a Day Spa in Plano, TX provides all the tips you need to make sure you are optimized for local search. Being consisten with you company data and encouriging visitors to review your services on different websites is the key.

3. Go Social - A part of your search engine optimization which should probably take up more and more of your marketing focus. Search engines lean more and more towards incorporating social media related metrics into their ranking algorithm. Even if this is still a notion it looks like a reality soon-to-be. If you have not goten into social media yet - do it. It is good for your business future on the Internet. The sooner you start the better.

Important Advice: Do NOT hire a social media marketing GURU to run your social campaign. Social Media is made for the everyday person to socialize with friends. How difficult would that be.

4. Links - Due to the serious abuse from SEOs and spammers, different ranking algorithms today adopt much more complex techniques to grade and apply links towards your overal website presence in search results. This means the company you hired doing lame 500$ a month link building has stopped providing you any value for some time. You need a new, renovated approach. Here is a good balanced strategy that might be a little more expensive to carry out but will have 100X times better impact on your business:

So if you are a business owner that cares about their presence online and looking for ways to improve it this would be a great start. This article aims to show you items you can ask the seo companies you are interviewing or the person you want to hire inhouse. If you decide to work on this yourself and have questions, do not hesitate to contact me directly.