Search engine optimization (SEO) involves using a range of techniques, from strictly technical to broadly creative, to improve a site’s search ranking and make it more likely to draw visitors. Since SEO includes technical aspects, the tactic is often bundled with other technical services such as Web design and maintenance. A class of consultants has sprouted up that can provide SEO tricks and techniques to both big and growing businesses.

SEO taps into how search algorithms work and considers what people search for online. To optimize a site’s performance, the SEO process might delve into a site’s HTML coding, its presentation, and its content. The goal: to make the site attractive to search indexing programs, so your URL will be delivered to consumers searching for your product or service category. As the search industry has evolved, debate has grown over the value of “paid search” — that is, paying a search engine provider for guaranteed inclusion in the engine’s database. Also, some companies have drawn ire for using “black hat” SEO techniques like hidden text other deceptive methods to draw a better site ranking.

With online search established as a shopping tool, SEO has become a core strategic communication tactic for any business with an Internet presence. As much as 80 percent of Web traffic now starts at a search engine, studies show. This makes the search engine ranking of your Web site more critical than ever. A study by search marketing firms Enquiro and Did-it found that 100 percent of consumers clicked through to one of the top three sites delivered in a search.

Case in Point
A dismal site ranking steered Exito Travel, an agency specializing in Latin American travel, to search engine optimization. Travel shoppers are now conditioned to start their planning online, often with a general search to turn up possible vendors. But Exito’s search ranking was nowhere near No. 1 — in fact, it was well into the triple digits. Consumers were making decisions to use the three top-ranked sites without ever knowing Exito was on the map.

The company turned to FusionBox, an SEO specialist, for a refit. FusionBox noted several ways Exito’s site was failing: the design was outdated, the coding was not set to attract the robotic indexing of the major search engines, and the site was not easy to navigate. To fix the problem, FusionBox executed two strategies, one technical and the other content related. On the tech side, it updated the coding and revised the keywords used. FusionBox then focused on making the design of the site more compelling and easy to use, so visitors would be encouraged to stay. The firm added top and side navigation bars, simplified forms, and created clearer calls to action.

In the months following the changes, traffic to Exito’s Web site increased 50 percent, and its search engine ranking for key phrases such as “discount flights to Mexico” soared to No. 1. Moreover, many of the site’s visitors were converted to buyers thanks to the site’s simplified forms and navigation.

Quick Tip
Ivy Hastings, director of business development at FusionBox, says the key to SEO success is remembering that it’s not just a technical process. “Great content does more to help your search engine rankings than many of the other tactics that SEOs use,” she says. “Knowledgeable SEOs must be first and foremost great writers who can incorporate the right ratio of keywords within content.”

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