Last week, at the AACS meeting in Phoenix, I got a lot of questions about search engine optimization. There are plenty of opinions out there about the best way to use search engine optimization, so it can be confusing.
There was a speaker at that conference who took a pretty strong stance on SEO (search engine optimization) and, as usual, it polarized those who were listening. This always happens when someone recommends that there is a best way to do this for everyone. Anyone who has seen me speak at a conference knows that I always talk about “the best strategy for YOUR needs.” This is opposed to the one, best way for everyone.
And, that is where I think everyone should approach SEO... based on what works for your strategies on the web. To minimize confusion, here are a few key issues to keep in mind.
Organic search engine optimization and Pay Per Click search engine optimization are two different strategies. In Pay Per Click, you buy ad keywords on search engines and you are charged only when someone clicks through to your site. A bidding process determines the rankings so you can always be ranked #1 on a keyword search if you are willing to pay for it. You can establish daily and monthly budgets so your account is not run up on you and you can see the actual terms that people are using in order to determine the best buys. Bottom line: it is accountable. When you spend, you are spending for traffic.
In the case of organic search, this is the order in which the search engine itself ranks the sites. You can affect this order with certain factors like longevity on the web, traffic and the addition of relevant html content. What is html? It is the code in which basic web sites are written. So, when you add text to your site, a search engine spider (a program that reads and documents your content for a search engine) can recognize new relevant content and report it to the search engine. Using mechanical parameters, the search engine then ranks the sites for given key words. In short, the machine decides where you should be... not you. For this sort of SEO, you pay companies to rearrange and update somewhat relevant (and sometimes irrelevant) content on your web site to maximize your organic SEO potential. In this case you are not paying for results... you are paying for someone’s effort with no real promise of delivery. Remember, guaranteed money back is not a promise of delivery.
So which is best for you? How do I know? But, I can help you figure it out based on what is important to you.
Would you rather have a web site that makes an excellent first impression (like a Flash Video site) or would you compromise aesthetic quality for organic SEO potential? Flash sites do not perform as strongly with search engines because they are not written in HTML. But, they make an unparalleled impression on the web. Its not always a either/or situation, but we want our clients to know, you do not give up SEO if you want a Flash web site. You just have to go about it a different way. In these case, we recommend pairing an excellent Flash or Flash Video design with a strong Cost Per Click campaign. This way, you get the beauty of Flash and the predictable production and value of Cost Per Click.
If being optimized for organic search is your goal, you will need HTML as your basis for your web site. You can add Flash as a module but your site would need to be HTML.
For small businesses, I think organic search is overrated. When we optimize at DSM, I go for the multi-media capabilities of Flash to make the best overal impression on my site and I rely on my own marketing to drive traffic to the site. I don’t care about organic search because I cannot control it. When I put in a search engine strategy I buy cost per click... but that is because it is the best for me.
I will always make sure my clients know their options so you can make that choice, too.
