Stretch Your SEO Mileage

As with television ratings, search engine rankings often determine the popularity and therefore sponsor-worthiness of websites. He who gets the most hits, gets the most greenbacks. It’s the universal law of cyberspace. In a bold attempt to survive and triumph in the red hot rankings race, owners, marketers, and managers are constantly on a quest to discover the secrets of Search Engine Optimization, otherwise known as SEO. But this quest often is shrouded in mystery and misinformation. What follows are answers to the most pressing questions encountered on the road to SEO success. They won’t guarantee a number one slot. But they will help you get more mileage out of your SEO marketing strategies.

1. Got low rankings? Check for the following:

• Improperly-used TITLE tag or no TITLE tag.
• A torrent of repeating words on each page (aka keyword spamming).
• Absent H1 and H2 heading tags.
• Absent ALT tags in graphics and links.
• Lack of relevant content in the first 250 characters of each page.
• Word shortage — fewer than 200 per page.
• Web page shortage – one or two pages won’t propel you into the limelight.
• An absence of links from other sites to yours.
• Age of the domain. Older is better.
• Frequently updated content.
• Age of the domain. Older is better.
• Lack of social media connections.

2. When do I see results?

Patience. Things definitely don’t happen overnight in the SEO realm. Count on about 30-60 days for existing sites in local or niche markets, and up to 24 months for new websites aiming at a national or global marketplace.