SEO and Merchant Bottom Line

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. OK, what the heck is that?!

If you own a computer, Laptop, Notebook or Smartphone - you've looked for "something" online. Whatever you typed to search for whatever you wanted, the Search Engines immediately look at their huge catalog of information about whatever you typed and provided you with instant and hopefully reliable results. No small tasks! Obviously, the search engine makes a decision on what to display to you in the results section and prioritizes it for you.

How does the search engine do that?! Well, a lot of information and years of "tweaking" have enabled them to bring up instant results of good information. A lot will depend on what you type in the search request section. If you are looking for an ice cream restaurant in your specific area, you would typically type ice cream restaurant, your town, your state.

The Webmasters of the successful businesses will have provided very clear and concise information to the search engines about the fact that they are an ice cream restaurant in your town, your state. If you typed only "ice cream" the results would be about "ice cream" - not restaurants and certainly not in your town or  state.

Search Engine Optimization is a process of being sure that the search engines know about your site, like the information you are providing to them in an orderly fashion and giving them complete and thorough information about your business/website. Just like the "Yellow Pages" of years ago. However, it doesn't cost a fortune to have a large display add with all your information on the Internet - that's the most beautiful part of all of this!! Even better, alphabetical doesn't matter anymore either (Remember all those "AAAxxx" named businesses?)

Years ago, a large display add for your business in the Yellow Pages would cost a fortune. Worse, if you bordered another "area". You would have to have 2 full adds in 2 different Yellow Pages to get proper coverage.

The Internet of today catalogs ALL WEBSITES for you. To be properly listed with all your info can be pretty darn cheap - if you know how to provide that information to the search engines - that's SEO. It should probably be OSE - "Optimizing Search Engines" instead - because that's really what you are doing.

Telephone Book and the Internet?

Remember the old telephone book. It had 2 sections - the White Pages and the Yellow Pages. The White Pages worked great if you could remember the name of the business you wanted. Look it up alphabetically and it's right there - no description, but - the phone number is right there.

The Yellow Pages became a perfect solution for businesses. It was broken down into categories and then sub-categories again. Classic example would be finding a Pizza Restaurant.

Open the Yellow Pages to Restaurants, then look for Italian, then Pizza and perhaps even the town itself and viola - your favorite Pizza Restaurant phone number was there. "Back then" this service cost a fortune! The Internet Search Engines organize their search results just like the Yellow Pages. If you tell them what your categories of your business are, and build your website to their "rules", you will be well placed within the search results - on page one - without the huge expense of a "display ad", like the old Yellow Pages.

Merchant Bottom Line will help make sure you get the right SEO Help for your Small Business Website - that's our Bottom Line - without breaking your bank! Take a look at our Business Seminar Page to see some great Video & Audio Snippets we have about all of this!

SEO can and will absolutely make or break you business presence on the Internet. If you just build a typical 3 -5 page website with no precise organization, the search engines of the world will basically ignore you - that's a fact. You will be indexed and "cataloged" like all websites are, in the old "White Pages". However, you will never make it into the "Yellow Pages" of the search engine results page! So, if you are going to build a website and spend the effort and money to do so, be sure you are talking to someone who actually understands what SEO is, how it works and how to get results from it.

Many "Webmasters" will be very impressive with their code knowledge and capabilities. They can design some pretty cool looking websites. However, if they don't understand the basics of absolute Internet presence and how to achieve that - walk away!!!! Do not stop!!

You will have the prettiest website in the world -

but NO ONE WILL FIND IT!!!!!

Are you ready to find out just how your website really is?

Better yet, how about building a new website the right way?  

Further questions or thoughts? Take a look at our SEO Friendly Website tips

Questions? Or need help?? Contact Me