The Future of SEO

I attended another live webinar hosted by SCORE this week.  The first, "How to Really Start Your Own Business", I discussed in a post called "The Components of a Successful Business Plan".  This most recent session was titled "SEO Basics: Helping Your Customers Find Your Business Online", and was presented by Charle-John Cafiero of CJC Strategists and Alexandra Gebhardt of Human 1.0. 

I was somewhat reluctant to participate in this workshop considering I recently completed a graduate course on digital marketing in which much of the focus was on search engine optimization, otherwise known as SEO.  And considering the webinar was titled “SEO Basics”, I naively assumed I must know everything the instructors were going to cover and it would be a waste of my time.  However, I was extremely grateful that I took the initiative to give it a shot, because what was confirmed is that there is nothing “basic” about SEO whatsoever. 

It is important to remember that the Internet is always changing.  Obviously there is an infinite amount of new content added every second, but it’s not just the content that is changing the Internet- it’s the way we interact with the content, how the content interacts with us, and how we interact with each other.  The Internet has evolved from Web 1.0, to Web 2.0, and now into Web 3.0.  Basically we went from just reading things online; to being able to add things online; to the Internet learning to understand what we add, allowing it to deliver personalized relevant content- interacting with us individually.  It’s basically artificial intelligence coming to life.

Screenshot from SCORE webinar "SEO Basics" June 21, 2012

When performing a Google search, for example, the most similar or most popular matches will be listed in order, called the search engine results page, or SERP.  Obviously it is beneficial for a website to appear at the top of the first page, because the majority of people will choose to visit those pages before they choose a page ranked 82,000^th  (or even 10^th, for that matter). 

What many people don’t know, is that these results are calculated by mathematical calculations called algorithms that determine each webpage’s rank.  So, people try to strategically increase their website’s rank by increasing all of the factors these algorithms look for, such as keywords in titles and descriptions; and the number of back-links, which are links to that website from an outside page. 

For everyone who thought they had search engine optimization down, focusing on increasing the criteria that determine how popular a certain page is, you better reevaluate your approach, because it’s all changing- constantly, quickly, and drastically.  Due to the evolution to Web 3.0, search engine algorithms are now placing importance on different measures than ever before.  Because social networking has become so dominant, naturally, how websites utilize social media and are mentioned through social media are major new factors in determining a page’s rank.

A second factor that is now extremely important is consistency.  Search engines have begun to scour the Internet to determine if information related to a certain website or company is the same, no matter where this information is found. For instance, if a company places its contact information on its own site, a Yellow Pages site, and in a local online business directory, but has a different phone number, physical address, or web address on each, the company’s website and the company itself will lose credibility according to the new rankings, dropping its listing in the search results. 

Because of all of the spam and computer-generated “chatter”, and because the Internet is now able to “understand” if things are genuine, even if a website has more back-links than any of its competitors, but these back-links aren’t shared from established and respected sources, that site’s rank is going to drop as well.  And thinking that having more keywords, even if a title, sentence, or description doesn’t make sense, won’t work anymore either.  The Internet’s artificial intelligence seems to be much more intelligent than for what most people are giving it credit.

Long story short, staying on top of your website, tracking its ranking and search results for various, related keywords, is still not only recommended, but essential to maintain your business’ visibility and not be lost amongst competitors.  I’ll leave you with several other pieces of advice:

·      Constantly work to get your postings shared.  Make your postings appealing enough that people will want to pass them along. 

·      Get reviews.  The more people talking about your business, the better.

·      Include local contact information like your area code and zip code so that your business will be listed in local searches and in local search directories.

·      Maintain a blog.  Alexandra Gebhardt, one of the moderators of today’s webinar, actually believes companies should move away from websites altogether and simply focus on a blog.  Personally, I think that move is too bold still, but she may be onto something.  I guess we’ll have to wait and see.  However, she is the expert.

·      Keep a database of all of the information you have shared online, so that you are aware of who has what.  That way, if you do change your number or some piece of information, you know where to go to change it everywhere it is listed.  Remember, consistency is key!

·      Popularize yourself on Facebook- not your personal page, but an official business page.

·      Develop a keyword plan.  Do research to determine which keywords work best for your marketing niche.  Some keywords may be too generic and not worth competing for.  Optimizing your site for specific keywords will guarantee you success in increasing your page’s rank.

·      Never become complacent.  Just as the Internet and search engine algorithms are always changing, so too must your approach to staying at the top of the SERP.

I highly recommend watching the archived webinar on SEO Basics.  I’m sure you will find that the “basics” are pretty complex, just as I did.  Never think you are on top of things, because by the time you adjust to something new, something newer is probably already in the mix.  But try not to get overwhelmed.  There are always workshops, articles, and experts to learn from.  Everyone is in the same boat, so whoever wants it more, will put in the work to make it happen.  Is that going to be you?

From Book to Bank: How To Get Funding for a Business Plan

In an effort to continue along the same path as my last few posts, I decided I would discuss what happens after you finish your business plan.  What now?

So, you come up with a great idea, you do tons of research, determine there is definitely a market for your business and you know you can make money if you pursue it, but there is one major obstacle blocking your way to success- you don’t have the capital to get your business off the ground.  It’s like the old saying: It takes money to make money.  And, unfortunately it happens to be true in most cases.

I decided I would take out some of the guess work, and would share with you some basic information about a few websites I think someone in your position may find extremely helpful.  In addition to organizations like the Small Business Administration, Inc., and the National Venture Capital Association, which are all nationally recognized and are geared toward assisting entrepreneurs, there are also countless other resources which are available to small business owners and for those wishing to get their idea off the ground.  You would think that it’s a dog-eat-dog world and that every man would be out for himself, but to my surprise, I have realized that entrepreneurs have come together to share their knowledge and experiences in order to help those who come behind them.
 

The U.S. Economic Development Administration is a government website that offers federal funding.   This organization seems to strongly consider a business’ location when determining if it is grant worthy.  The EDA feels that creating a solid presence of stable and flourishing businesses by region is going to help the U.S. and global economy as a whole.  They focus on long-term regional economic redevelopment, offering grants and funding to higher education institutions and to those affected by natural disasters, for example.

The Coalition of Community Development Financial Institutions also considers a business’ location.  This organization works to serve as the voice of the underprivileged and to make sure that funding is equally available for the less fortunate as it is for anyone else.

Finally, the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions is another organization whose goal is to assist those in low income communities who would otherwise have a difficult time receiving funding and loans. 

All three of these organizations collect money from other institutions to help support the businesses seeking funding.  My point is that even if you are discouraged because you feel as if you are in a bad part of town or that your credit isn’t good enough, there is hope and there is help.

My parting advice to you would be to get involved.  Embrace all of the organizations and volunteers and local, national, and online resources, which have been created to help you tackle this venture that can undoubtedly prove to be overwhelming at one point or another.  What I have learned is that there is a huge ___ to help you along every step of the way.  Take advantage of it.  Sign up for newsletters and subscribe to blogs- the more you read, the more you learn, and the more knowledge you’ll have to pull from when making your business as successful as you can envision it. 

Good luck!