Understanding a Business Broker's Need for Competitive Web Site Content Optimization
Submitting a web site to the search engines
is just like presenting a case to a judge in a court of law.
You put together a case you feel is a winner.
However, your opponent has hired an experienced attorney (qualified
SEO) who knows required procedure
(search engine guidelines) and the quirks of various judges (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc).
If you represent yourself - you're screwed!
The load on the search
engines now is unimaginable. Google,
etc are now limiting you to the same options given a pro se litigant - Learn
the mandatory procedures yourself, hire a professional to do it for you or
get out of my court room! The
will to win is not enough, you have to know the game.
Reality Check
Considering that business brokering has become
a web-based business, it is amazing how little resources
most business brokers devote to their web sites.
To think that you can throw a couple hundred bucks at a "ready-made" web site and compete online
is not logical.
Competing, of course, means competing with other lean and hungry brokerages
that devote whatever resources needed to beat
you.
You spend more than that on cable TV.
A quickie, templated site is only meant to get you online and give your designer a
"canvas" to work on.
"Starter Sites" are not meant for, or equipped to be, an end-use professional lead generator.
You will need to replace the provided stock content with your own - if you expect Google to take you seriously.
Don't get took - click here & look!
...........This strikes me as odd!
- Sites that are designed to accept pre-generated traffic
- Sites that are pre-designed to generate traffic
To succeed online you really need to understand
how a web site works in a search. It is basically a
text document with color and images for decoration only. You can look great
and fail miserably in a search. Your unique text structure transmits signals
to the search engines. Just like in court, if you address the judge (web
bot) properly, he will hear your case. If you are out of order he will dismiss
your case before hearing your side of the story.
There are over 150 million
web sites, having four to a thousand and four pages. The bots will not spend
time (milliseconds) figuring out your method. Google has spent millions making
their guidelines public - they expect compliance. It is all about making
their job easier. Make it hard for them and they will pass you over for an easier target.
Unlike some SEO's, we do it in two distinct phases that we call "Page Acceleration" and "Content Maximizing"
PAGE ACCELERTAION: This
is mostly preparation for content optimization. It deals with making
sure the page is not riddled with page errors and Google no-no's that inhibit your success in a search.
- Checking for breaches of Google guidelines
- Replacing font tags, etc with CSS styles in an off page file
- Removing repetitive inline scripts to single, off-page files
- Repairing, removing or adding missing or out of place layout tags
- Removing old style codes, etc that were replaced but not removed
- Deleting dead files from your server that get in the way of the indexing of current files.
- Bottom Line: removing anything not needed to display the page. The less junk for Googlebot to wade through, the more of your page it will process.
Content is everything in a search. Page Acceleration removes barriers between Googlebot and that content.
CONTENT MAXIMIZING:
Once the page "vehicle" is fit to carry the content true
optimization begins. To a web bot a web page is nothing but a text
document - pictures mean nothing. So - to competitive on the net, you need
content that competes.
Whatever is not stated in live text characters, does not exist to the search engines. Content maximizing is the key to it all, making sure that your mission is stated in such quantities that a search engine will choose you over your competitors.
Content is where most Business Broker sites lose the fight.
Most broker sites use "About Us" copy (integrity, years of experience, etc.) for their home page, without any action language or direct product mention. Who searches "integrity" or "experience" when searching for a business?
Brochure copy is not web copy. It ranges from ineffective to worthless in a search. Brochures are static pieces of paper that are handed to, or sent to existing contacts. They are not intended to, or equipped to, broadcast your product information or act as introductory dialog.
There is an inherent risk in buying SEO from an unknown source!
When you hire an auto mechanic, electrician, doctor or any profession that requires knowledge beyond your grasp, you run the risk of some level of fraud - yes , even doctors. Like it or not we all need these people. If you are doing business on the web you need the machinery to compete, so, you need to become informed and deal with someone you trust. You selling on the web now - but you are also a consumer of web related services. It is vital to your survival to become an informed buyer.
There is a tremendous amount of information on the net about SEO, or search engine optimization - most of it worthless. There are worthless claims of pushing you to the top overnight and others who claim all SEO is bull. The truth is, most outfits selling SEO do not understand it and the critics who say it is all bull understand it even less.
There is no 'SEO School' with accreditation. It is a cryptic skill in the sole domain of advanced web designers and copywriters. It is a content issue with the fundamental syntax of a word processor. Few site owners give it the attention it merits.
We are aware of both the need for this service and the rarity of competence in this field. Search Engine Upgrade is a rare commodity - we are both competent and honest.
You may ask yourself, "how can I compete, I'm just a
small site?" The answer is - the smaller your site, the craftier you need
to be. Huge sites with hundreds of thousands of words in content can get
traffic just from the sheer volume of text pursuant to their subject.
If you have less content you need to be a far more "persuasive speaker". One
thing, however, is absolute - a web page crafted by someone who produces
what Google demands will do better in the searches than one designed by someone out of the loop.
How To Avoid SEO Scammers - a List
<Page Top>First of all, legitimate Search Optimizers do not spam your contact forms or cold call you on the phone. Search Optimizers are web designers with good copywriting skills, you will meet them through legitimate web service providers.
- Ask to see pages he has built. If he can't design a basic web page - how can he make one better? Look for an author link, usually at the bottom of the page linking back to his web site. He doesn't have a web site? Stop right there and move on.
- Don't use an SEO you find in the Pay Per Click section of a search result. Anybody can make any page show up there if you throw enough money at it
-
Install the Google Tool Bar in your browser, if you don't already have it. This will allow you to
check if he can really generate any page rank for you. -
(click here to see what the tool looks like on your browser) -
If his home page displays "Current
Page Not Ranked By Google" - forget it. Most sites have some unranked pages,
even most sub-pages on smaller sites. However, if his home page
is a dud - the rest of the pages are likely duds as well, and he will do
the same for you.
-
Use this free meta tag checker - it will expose a fraud immediately
Just input the URL to be checked and you will see how a bot sees the page. Input your own pages too - you may be shocked.
-
Use
this free W3C error checker to catch sloppy work
Even the meticulous pro can have a error or two on his own site, which usually gets ditched for paying work, but if you see lots and lots of errors - he does sloppy work. Copious page errors affect search results.
One caveat - some necessary script codes show up as W3C errors but work fine. If the page is loaded with script errors, he should have used different scripts.
Even pizza can be located and ordered online without ever speaking to a live person. Search engines have replaced both the hard copy and online "Yellow Pages" for most people who own computers. Creating a web site that has power in this arena is a serious issue for a businesses.
Obtaining and maintaining competitive performance is an ongoing concern and should be done in stages, rather than as a blitzkrieg.
We want our clients not just to be online, but to succeed online. If you cannot clearly, and without thinking, visualize your online strategy - you don't have one. If you devote minimal resources to your web site, you will get minimal return. This is true of anything. If you are ready to get serious about your internet presence, get in touch today!
