By Alan Epstein

It is well known that 70 percent of all searches are organic and two-thirds of all searches do not go past the first page. How important is it for your company to be found in these online searches? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving a website to be as search engine-friendly as possible. SEO can help optimize your online presence to guide new traffic to your site. And not surprisingly, the ROI on organic search is the most effective of any search tactics.

According to a recent eMarketer survey of top companies, keyword search accounts for close to 98 percent of referral traffic to their websites. The next closest source was “social media”, which refers to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. These social media outlets accounted for less than one percent of total referral traffic.

Keyword search continues to dominate in driving relevant, motivated traffic to websites. Motivated consumers seeking information type exactly what they’re looking for into the search query box – and when they see a result, they’re essentially hooked and pulled to the website. Identifying and utilizing your site’s most important keywords will positively effect how often your site appears in organic search results. The more often your site appears in these results, the better chance you have of pulling qualified traffic to your site.

But simply having an SEO program won’t get you the ideal results you’re looking for. Having the right people with solid organic search experience— ones who understand the science and practices of what changes will make the most impact – will make all the difference.

Take a look at a list of some of Adamson’s top SEO tips, all of which are part of our SEO philosophy:

Content is King…
Along with a properly optimized website, your link popularity is the other major factor in how search engines rate your site when determining search rankings. Link popularity refers to the number and quality of inbound links to your website. The easiest way to help build more inbound links is to have creative and unique content that people want to link to. When your audience finds your information to be relevant and interesting they can link to you and share your site via social bookmarking and social media. This will certainly help increase the quantity and quality of traffic to your site.

… And Keywords are Royalty
All search engine marketing, whether organic or paid, begins with having the right keyword list. It’s amazing how many companies think they know what keywords are the “right” ones for their business. Having an SEO professional explain the importance of and the methodology behind a proper keyword list can create opportunities you didn’t know existed in search.

Optimize the Key Elements of Your Site
There are many areas of a website to place relevant keywords. Start with your page titles and work your way down. Knowing where to place keywords can be as important as knowing which keywords to use. Don’t forget to include your keywords in links to and within your site, as well.

Build Your Popularity in Social Media
Google has recognized the growth of social media and has given value to what they call “social media presence.” This refers to a site’s exposure on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and other social sites. Establishing a consistent and engaging brand personality will help increase your online presence and reputation.

Optimize Your Digital Assets
In addition to optimizing your website, it’s important to make sure to optimize all of your videos, photos, files, Facebook pages, and other related content. The search engines want to serve the most relevant and popular results—and increasingly, these results come from sources OTHER than static web pages.

Blog, then Blog Some More
Blogs are invaluable channels for gaining good rankings in search. Blogs have built-in titles, text and keyword tagging features, and other tools and plug-ins that make them inherently search friendly. By constantly developing new content you are increasing your visibility to the search engines, which certainly increases your ability to acquire more traffic.

How can your brand incorporate these ideas to optimize your website?

Filed under: Brand Strategy, Social Media, Strategic Planning, Uncategorized on June 30th, 2010