
a sea o’ seo
By: Mark Winter
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a bit like the weather. Everyone talks about it, but no one does anything about it.
It’s probably fair to say that everyone covets the top ranking for Web searches relevant to their product or service. So why are so few actually engaged in the process of optimizing their websites for search engines?
Humility be durned, check out who ranks first in this Google search.
This is not an accident, nor dumb luck. This result was many months in the making, and it took some work and sticktuitiveness. SEO, like all marketing disciplines, is a process, not an event. It is not a one-time fix to your website. An SEO campaign must be strategic, forward-thinking, ongoing and, most of all, patient. Start small. Create a strategy to win the most attainable search terms first, then move on to the more ambitious. Over time, your page ranking and relevance will elevate, and winning even the most coveted keyword search terms will be possible.
In our industry, we’ve talked about media “placements” since the dawn of PR time. We seek high-profile placement of articles in news and trade media, we hope our clients gain enviable placement in a given article. Placement on search engine results is the Internet version of that same principle, which is why we, as PR practitioners, must embrace, study and master the technique.
If you don’t currently have an SEO strategy, one might ask, why bother having a website at all? For, a website than no one can find is no better than having a box full of brochures collecting dust in your storage closet.