United States Search Optimization Company Practices
Abstract:
Search Engine Optimization in the US is primarily devoted to increasing website rankings in order to increase profits on commercial websites. Most commonly, search engine optimizers (or “SEOs”) are tasked with altering the physical structure of the website itself, by way of changes to the meta description and meta keywords tag, as well as the title tag on the website, in addition to the content on each relevant page of the site itself. Furthermore, there are actions taken to secure positive references from outside of the website in the form of links from other web pages on the Internet. These links are usually acquired in order to gain a favorable rating with search engines like Google and Yahoo, which both are known to use external links as a method of gauging a site’s effectiveness.
Principles:
Several principles of US search engine optimization can be observed in sites which have been deliberately adjusted for more favorable search engine ranking positions, or SERPS. The driving factor in SEO is based on the behavior of the person doing the search, since studies show that over 80% of search engine users will not click from the first page of results to the second. If the desired results are not seen, the user is three times more likely to modify a query than to visit the second page of results. Additionally, the first three results on the search results page receive the bulk of all click traffic for the keyword, assuming a query is not modified. Therefore, the incentive for achieving high rankings can be very high, especially on terms that may bring a high monetary value in traffic and visitors. Almost all search engine optimization in the United States of America is dedicated to getting results which result in a direct or indirect monetary gain. For instance, improving the rankings on a website dedicated to automobiles is less likely to result in an online sale as opposed to a vehicle purchase at a local dealership. Otherwise, websites that sell products directly make up for the bulk of search optimization projects.
Reputation Management
A secondary US market for search optimization services involves “reputation management.” In this case, the goal is to improve rankings that cast a corporate entity or person in a positive light, most often in order to reduce the positions of negative online pages which may or may not contain accurate information. Because of the safe harbor provision of the US Communications Decency Act (CDA), it is possible for anonymous comments in online forums to remain unchallenged, no matter how defamatory they might be. One strategy for fighting online defamation involves reputation management, which seeks to get unfavorable postings removed while working to either create or promote positive news and public relations about the client.
Non-Profit
Charitable and non-profit organizations also retain search optimization companies for a variety of purposes, though primarily the aim is for fundraising. In some cases, SEO may be done on certain keywords in order to draw attention to a certain issue. There have also been several instances where legitimate charitable organizations have used search engine optimization to get better positions than fake charities which used the same or similar names in order to attract donors.
History
Search engine optimization is almost as old as the search engines themselves. In a short amount of time, marketers discovered that search engines delivered high quality targeted traffic, so gaming the system commenced almost immediately. One of the first engines, Altavista.com, used search engine submission as a method of creating its listings, so various methods of “spamming” were used to get high positions on that engines. There were various other methods used in engines like Lycos, Hotbot, and similar engines, and as a result search rankings were perceived as less reliable, given the high number of undesirable sites masquerading as high volume search results in order to get traffic. Since Google was one of the first engines to use algorithms that delivered more accurate results, and it became the most popular search engine, almost all search engine optimization techniques have been relevant to Google search. Over time, Google’s link and content based model was abused by techniques like Google Bombing, link exchanges, doorway pages, cloaking, hidden text, and keyword stuffing, so much of today’s SEO also involves avoiding inadvertent penalties that may be triggered by filters for past abuse profiles.
Limitations.
One of the key limitations in the US for search engine optimization (or its cousin, Pay-Per-Click marketing) involves the nature of its usage, in that it is nearly impossible to optimize a website for phrases which may not be part of the linguistic vernacular. For instance, a highly specialized site may not get traffic because people don’t actually know how to search for its value proposition. In such cases it is best to find phrases for which the proposition is most similar. Other limitations involve a very small but diverse audience, such as business executives of wealthy individuals. A site offering a hard to describe and eclectic product intended for elite individuals will not necessarily reach its audience through search optimization. A final limitation of search optimization is the near impossibility of creating a brand exclusively through SEO, given that SEO is demand driven. Therefore, attempting to build a brand through search traffic effectively places the cart before the horse, and in almost every search endeavor it is best to match up a website with actual traffic demand..
Notes and Special Information
Special note: This site does not sell SEO services, and is for information only.