Search Engine Optimization and You
Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the science behind getting your web site highly positioned on search engines. Generally speaking, when someone enters a search term that is relevant to your business, it is best to get your site as close to the top as possible. There are several web-hosting companies that offer SEO as part of their service, as well as companies who specialize in SEO who will work with you and your web host. Since there are many different styles and approaches to SEO, prices and results vary widely. Fortunately, results are easy to see. Just type some key words into Google and Yahoo, and see where your site ranks.
Search Engine Optimization is an ongoing process that starts with the creation of the web site and continues through the life of the site. If no SEO is being done on your site, you are at a competitive disadvantage with the other practices in your community. The companies that are delivering effective SEO do so by setting up the site in the right way, submitting properly to the search engines, and making corrections, adjustments and additions to the web site every month. Some of this SEO maintenance is apparent and some of it is behind-the-scenes in the programming of the site.
Optimization will take 6-12 months to make a real impact on the search engines. No matter what provider you use, you can always use pay-per-clicks (PPCs) and sponsored links to get additional traffic during the first 6 months to a year.
Ed I respectfully disagree with some of what you write here.
While it’s true that some hosting companies offer SEO, as a rule, search engine optimization is not their specialty and they are only looking to grab some market share of the SEO industry. Also, SEO and those who do specialize are not dependent upon web hosting. The host server actually has little or nothing to do with SEO at all.
Further, in my experience (10 years), there are not a lot of different styles and approaches to SEO. There are only two; the right way and the wrong way. Anything in between is only a method practiced someone who is either inexperienced, or who can’t make up their mind whether to pursue SEO as a career.
I beg to differ with you too on effective SEO relying upon submitting to search engines; actually to offer such a service is an old scam, yet one that many unwary newbies still fall for. You could submit your site to a search engine till the end of creation and never get listed, or positioned in the results. Dynamic, crawler-based search engines don’t work that way.
Maintenance charges are another ripoff scam — ranking maintenance for more competitive industries and keyword phrases might require more attention, however the average dental website, once positioned, will require little to zero maintenance. We have dentists positioned on the first page of Google for years with zero content additions or edits.
Lastly, I disagree with the assertion of 6-12 months to position the dentist’s website. Give me any dental site in the United States and we’ll have it on the first page of any search engine inside 30 days — in fact, I guarantee it.
In any event, thanks for providing overall a good article on the need for dentists to have a visible Web presence and thanks too for the opportunity to respond.
John Barremore
Houston, TX