Search Engine Optimization - guest post by Get Known SEO

The following is a guest post from, my friend Adam Perkins, the President of Get Known SEO.
Get Known SEO helps smalls businesses optimize their websites to be found easier via Internet searches (you know, like when you search Google and the first page of results yields the kind of websites you were hoping to find with the keywords or phrase you typed into the Google search).  The following guest post offers some valuable information as an introduction to search engine optimization (SEO) practices you can apply to your own website.  Adam even offers a link to a case study of a creative entrepreneur client of Get Known SEO who is having success with the SEO tactics he describes below.

Proper search engine optimization is essential for developing new business online.  Fortunately for all of the entrepreneur types, there are a huge number of resources that one can find on the Internet to help the website optimization process.  Other resources such as SEOMOZ.com will help you get to the heart of what makes search engines work.  For now however, now let’s look at some of the basics of SEO.

On page Optimization

On Page Optimization refers to the elements that sit within your domain.  This could be a web page, a blog, comments, a shopping cart, and more.  The elements within your site must be changed in order to align your entire site and each page with what you do.  This is the low-hanging fruit of the SEO world and should be done first.  I’ve had great luck optimizing local small businesses that start to implement a few of these tactics.  One case study I put together is here, Brandy Helds Music Studio.  A couple of on-page tweaks with submission to a number of local search engines resulted in suddenly receiving three or four leads per day instead of one or two per week.  This stuff can be very effective very quickly!

Here is a link to our Small Business SEO On-Page Primer which should give you all you need to know about the on-page elements.  As a quick summary the most important things to keep in mind are, title tags, meta fields, URL, and domain name.

Off Page Optimization

What constitutes Off Page Optimization boils down into link building.  This refers to developing links that point to your website from other websites.  Consider each link as a vote.  The more votes your site has the higher your site ranks for those keywords you’ve included in the On Page Optimization.  The level of detail is much greater but that is the basic concept.  Here are a couple of quick ways to start building links.

Directory Submission: While considered as a staple among many link builders this avenue isn’t as powerful as it used to be but can still carry some weight.  It is very easy to find free directories and submit your site to them.  The thing to remember here is that if it is easy and anyone can do it then it probably isn’t worth much to you!

Article Marketing: One very popular way to start spreading your reach is by using article marketing.  This is how it works.  You create an article which your readers can relate to and distribute it to various channels online (automated or by hand).  If a site picks up and features your article it’ll point a link to your site probably using the title of your article (that is an important point).  Make sure to focus your efforts on really important and topics your customers want to read.

Not a Web Guru?
Companies like Get Known SEO specialize in helping small businesses perform SEO for their websites.  If you do not have the time or inkling to learn this stuff then perhaps utilizing a third party can be beneficial.  Make sure that whoever you choose has some proven success and is willing to explain the process to you.

With SEO nothing is guaranteed.  The search Algorithm changes almost daily.  The only company who truly knows what is going on with Google, is Google.  However, keep at it and you will see positive results over time.  It can be a very cost effective way to generate new business!

Written by: Adam Perkins, President of Get Known SEO