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While business owners and senior management are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of Search Engine Optimization few are taking the time to understand it. But there needs to a somewhat sophisticated understanding if Search Engine Optimization efforts will be successful. Statistics show that 75% of all SEOn projects fail. Why? Because there is no endeavor on the planet that steps on more professional toes simultaneously. The CEO wants to dictate the content of the home page. Marketing wants to use space on the page to present the product or service the same as you would in a magazine or billboard. Graphic web designers want to make web sites different, breath taking, interesting and loaded with creative content and graphics.

When in reality it is the person searching the web that dictates the content of pages that answer his question or service his need. You have to supply content that people are actually looking for and not what you think they are or should be looking for. People do not read. People read even less when surfing the Internet. You have about six seconds to persuade them that your web site has something to offer them in solving their problem or servicing their needs. And while carefully crafted corporate mission statements are important for setting the direction and tone of the company for employees they are rarely read when included on a web page.

You have to use words that your potential customers use to search for your product or service, not words that you use or you think they should use or even words that best describe your product or service. If you use your choice of words they will never find you. To the extent your words and their words are the same are most often coincidental.

Lastly searchbots, the software robots that actually crawl the web and ultimately index your pages, cannot read graphics. Any content in graphic form is totally hidden and not indexed. And the final blow to the web designer is tell them that they need to build a high degree of conformity with other web sites into their page which is one of the main components of web usability. Web designers typically get paid based upon their ability to produce "cool" web sites. Web designers are seldom recognized by their peers or win awards based upon conformity. Many web development schools never even mention Search Engine Optimization or spend a fleeting hour or two on the subject.

Now, after describing this scenario which is forboding but totally accurate, trust me on that one, what do you do? The first step is education. Every employee with any involvement with e-Commerce activities has to understand at least the basics of Search Engine Optimization so they understand why certain approaches need to be taken. Each employee has to understand Search Engine Optimization is not stepping on toes but putting food on the table. And it is not enough to give them materials and ask them to read them. It has to be mandatory and there should be testing to make sure that they have read the material. The education process should be followed up with interviews to gauge the level of cooperation that can be anticipated. If you have internal forces fighting the Search Engine Optimization process it will not work.

Another clue to failure rate is when the words project and Search Engine Optimization are used in the same sentence because Search Engine Optimization is a process and not a project. You are constantly reacting to your competitors efforts to displace your search ranking. And the algorithms that the searchbots use are constantly changing so that a web page that ranks well today could substantially move up or down or even disappear overnight. It is the same as product development. It is as routine as processing receivables. So Search Engine Optimization has to be budgeted like every other business process. And reporting mechanisms need to be put in place to measure where you are at with regard to search rankings and for tracking the ROI of Search Engine Optimization activities.

One final, extremely important up front consideration is that everyone has realistic expectations. As of this writing it takes about one year for well written web pages to show up in Google's rankings for organic searches (non paid keyword phrases). That could change today. But done properly Search Engine Optimization is expensive. There are many Search Engine Optimization firms that promise top ten search positions for ridiculously low fees. But in reality no one can guarantee a top ten position in a major search engine for a given keyword phrase. There are uncontrollable forces regarding page popularity that prevent a web site, particularly a new web site, from achieving a top ten position no matter what you do. You might win in over time as you increase the popularity factors impacting your web site. But there is no guarantee.

• NJN Consulting will provide Search Engine Optimization training for you and your staff. After the initial education we will help you evaluate where we think you stand with regard to succeeding with Search Engine Optimization.
• While conducting the training we will perform a keyword analysis to determine what keywords people are actually entering to find your products or services. We will also look for searches that indicate a need to your product or service although the person is not specifically looking for it when they entered the search information.
• We will do an Search Engine Optimization critique your current web pages and suggest quick fixes if possible to increase your web visibility. If you are in the process of developing a new web site or new pages we will suggest pages and content based upon our keyword analysis.
• We will help you modify job descriptions as may be required for Search Engine Optimization.
• We will help you develop an Search Engine Optimization linking strategy.
• We will provide Search Engine Optimization Reports that indicate your current web rankings and track trends to measure the success of your efforts.
• There may be other steps that are unique to your particular circumstances.

We will involve your staff in every phase of the Search Engine Optimization process so that you can become independent in the shortest possible time. We believe that the only way to keep the costs down is to use and outside consultant for advice and to have as much of the Search Engine Optimization expertise in house as possible .