10 Steps to SEO and SEM Success

Search Engine Optimization and Marketing can be very daunting to new webbies and seasoned optimization gurus alike. Each and every website has it's own niche and with that comes the challenge to appeal to a new audience. These are the 10 guidelines to the process that should be followed for any successful campaign.

1. Keyword Research - Without a doubt the single most important part of any SEO/SEM process. Proper research assures that your website will be optimized around the keywords most often used by the your customers. Without proper research, optimization is likely to yield poor results. In addition to groups of key phrases that are 3 words in length or less, an important strategy is to research for long-tail phrases that are 5 word or longer phrases.
2. Identifying your Competition - After selecting the best target keywords, it's important to know which websites rank highest in the major Search Engines (i.e. Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.). This also includes researching Google Adwords budgets and placement of competitors' PPC campaigns.
3. Evaluating your Competition - Comparing yourself to the competition helps to give an idea of where the initial efforts of strategy and optimization should be focused.
4. Creating a Strategic Marketing Timeline - A timeline of events should be created so that can benchmark progress made during optimization and more importantly, the marketing process. This could include: finishing critical stages of optimization, press releases, article submissions, link-building campaigns, etc.
5. Keys to Optimization - The following is a list of optimization targets that Google and the other search engines will look for to properly categorize your website.
   • Meta-tags & Title tag
   • Image Alt tags
   • Content Optimization
   • HTTP Site Map
   • XML Site Map
   • Website Structure Analysis
   • Robot.txt file
   • Intra-Website Linking - HTTP Funneling
6. Local Optimization - When prospects are searching for a company they are usually looking for a Local Company. It's vitally important to optimize Local Map Search Engines, Citation Sites, Local Directories, etc.
7. On-Going Link Building - This is where the "rubber meets the road," with all the optimization essentials set-up it's time to get ranked!
   • Bookmarking
   • Directory Submissions
   • Blog Commenting
   • Article Submissions
   • Press Releases
8. Internet Advertising - Mirroring a SEO and SEM campaign with a Pay Per Click Advertising campaign can be a great way to bring another traffic stream to the website.
9. Measuring & Reporting the Analytics - Quarterly Progress Reports include information regarding:
   • Work/Changes performed on the website
   • Current Performance in search engines for individual keywords
   • Current Traffic Trends Evaluation of current strategy
   • Recommendations for further growth
10. Repeat Steps 7, 8, and 9.

For more information on ImageWorks Studio's SEO/SEM Packages, please visit our Search Engine Optimization Page.

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