
So, you’ve started your small business and have decided that, to make it grow real big, you need to think big. What’s the best way to grab the world’s attention? A web site! So, off you’ve gone and registered a domain, used the fanciest tools or hired the most creative web designer you can find. But, whoa! Hold it right there! Aren’t you forgetting something?
Get onto a search engine and type in a keyword relating to your business. Chances are, you will not find your web site listed. As you keep searching, you may just find it listed, but a long way down – maybe on the third search page, maybe even later. Now, that doesn’t sound like good news at all, does it? The only customers you’re likely to get would have to possess the patience of Job – a rare virtue these days. Your web site has to be found easily – at least in the top ten searches for your category – or you’re going to lose business to a more ‘established’ site! That’s when you’ll realize the value of
Search Engine Optimization.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO in industry shorthand) is the process by which a web site is bumped higher and higher on the results page of search engines. Using a variety of techniques, you can ensure that, when someone’s searching for the product or service you are offering, he or she comes upon your site straight away. You wouldn’t have had to worry about this ten, or even five, years ago. But, in the present day, you’d better make SEO a priority, or your Internet presence will be of little use.
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