Many times a website owner will only look at the Search Engine Results for
their chosen key words when it comes to the performance they are
getting for their investment into SEO.
Focusing only on a selected keyword or phrase is okay, however it does not take into account what other residual effects you might be
receiving.
When a site gets properly optimized, (SEO) it is being transformed
into a planned navigational pattern of information. This is the
same pattern that Search Engine Spider look for. Something that
should not be overlooked, the easier an SEO makes it for a spider to index
your site, the better your chances are for getting your site a higher
placement in the Search Engine Results Placement (SERPs) for more than just
targeted key words or phrases.
While W3C validation is something all sites should strive for, it is
not required for better rankings in all categories but as competition
heats up, the more steps done now the less you will have to do later.
Does it help now? With Google using over 200 separate elements for their
algorithm, probably. Yahoo engineers have stated that whether a site is
W3C compliant or not makes no difference to how it ranks. If it has
relevant content, it will get ranked. But there is a big difference between being ranked and top ranking.
Another element of SEO is using proper text for
of page titles, file names and placement of content make the site all
the more relevant to the spider. But having too many occurrences of
your target phrases and you will loose ground. Although Google places
less value on Meta Tags, they are still an element of the algorithm,
and so, should not be overlooked.
After the site has been coded properly, the program goes up to the
next level. Search Engine Marketing is used to drive traffic to the
site through various off site means. This off site promotion SEO effort is
even more involved. Think of it like a small community. Getting business depends not only on who you are but who you know. How your website is tied to others in the community of the World Wide Web is important to search ranking too.
Here is where the collateral benefits of SEO begin to appear. The
off site program drives traffic to the website from directions other
than the search engine. Putting information out that in new areas that
generate interest in your products and services all pointing back to
your site. Finding relevant websites that add to your visitors experience or that present news relating to your industry help Search Engines determine how well you play with others.
An even greater demonstration of a collateral benefit is ranking for
keywords and phrases that you are not even targeting. Information put out
about your products for example, if your site talks about the different
uses of the products, the available colors that they come in and the
best way to preserve them, you've just created a multitude of various
phrases that your site can get ranked on. When your entire website is visible to the Search Engine it begins to determine other areas that you have relevance besides just what you have chosen. These other searches that bring you traffic are all bonus to the targeted work.
This is only a tiny sample of the potential your site has. Remember,
each page gets ranked on it's own, so that's why it is so important to
make sure every page you have on your site is optimized.
Even your contact/about page is critical because if you have a
brick-and-mortar business, by listing your street address, you help the
search engines geographically target your site. Most search engines are already
trying to focus your search results regionally. While it's not a major
factor yet, it is something to be aware of.
In conclusion, the next time you start checking Google to see where
your site ranks for it's keyword phrases, don't forget about all of the
hidden keywords/phrases that are embedded in your site's copy. You
might be surprised at how many of those forgotten about terms end up at
the top of the pile. That is the benefit of good SEO.