One area that inevitably comes up when discussing Web site production is search engine optimization. This is an area of particular concern to Web hosts, because market saturation has made it nearly impossible to rank well for generic keywords such as "Web host," "Web hosting" "server" and the like.
In truth, going after rankings for these terms is a fool's errand, particularly if this is the first time you're introducing optimization to your site. You're much better off targeting a few more manageable areas before going after the broad terms ("Web host" returns 288 million responses, FYI).
Here's the first thing you need to know. The following principle applies to all aspects of SEO for all different types of sites: the key to good search engine optimization is to perform best possible human optimization. You see, search engine developers are constantly tweaking their search algorithms to produce results they think people want to see. They are attempting to emulate human thinking patterns as closely as possible. This means creating pages as human-friendly as possible will stand to gain the most reward in the long run from search engines.
In the spirit of human optimization, the first thing you can do to get better SE response is make sure your site is engineered optimally on the back end. No amount of pretty paint can make a house with a poor foundation more stable, so start by making sure your house is sturdy. I would suggest getting acquainted with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. I linked to Wikipedia, because there are multiple guidelines in multiple stages, and there are criticisms of this documentation about which you should be aware as well. But the better optimized you are for human accessibility, the more search engines will reward you, and while you may never achieve a level of WCAG compliance, aspiring to do so will leave you in much better shape than ignoring the important principles contained in that documentation. When you're done, you'll have abandoned tables for layout purposes (if you haven't done so already), you'll be using good content heirarchy practices, you'll be emphasizing content that updates more frequently over content that does not, you'll be titling certain objects properly, providing alternative text for images and image links, and you'll be performing a whole assortment of optimization techniques on your site that will be deemed quite favorable by human visitors, and thus, by search engines as well.
I've found reengineering a poorly built site alone can sometimes lead to enough of a boost in SE rankings that no further optimization is required, but not in a market as saturated as hosting! From here, you need to concentrate on the quality of your content. Every business must be in motion, and it is your responsibility to your visitors to communicate that motion to them. Keep your content fresh and relevant, and by rewarding your visitors with new information, search engines will reward you too (optimize for the human audience, and...).
When you're producing your content, try targeting key words, phrases and ideas that are relevant to niche markets. Ranking well based on geography is not a bad strategy. Ranking well for "Web hosting" is hard. Ranking well for "Web hosting Sheboygan Wisconson" is not so hard. You might be surprised how many local businesses will search for hosts in their area, either to support local commerce or to fulfill a certain comfort factor that comes with dealing locally.
Back links are important, but I recommend keeping them honest. Link purchasing might get you to a certain point, but you'll end up spending a good bit of money for an uncertain result, when there are better ways to get links back to your site. Press releases through the right distribution channels are a great way to generate back links with high relevancy. Of course, if you're going to send press releases, you have to do something newsworthy. But hey - a productive business is always in motion, right? Tip: please have your press releases professionally written. Unless you're an expert in AP style and have a background in news journalism, leave this to professional writers. Directory listings are a good way to get quality links as well.
If you can cover these bases, you have a pretty good head start in the SEO game. Once you've built up a solid presence and gotten good response from more targeted efforts, this is the time to go after broader searches.
Build a solid base, keep your site (and ultimately your business) fresh, propagate yourself online organically and you stand a chance of getting the search engine attention you desire in the long run.
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