Indianapolis - July 18, 2004 - e-Practical Solutions' latest educational seminar "Using Search Engines to Get More Traffic for Less Money" brought 30 area business leaders together to discuss an increasingly hot topic - using Internet search engine optimization to promote their businesses. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) differs from traditional paid "keyword buys" in that website owners pay nothing for each visitor that picks their site from listings on search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN.
Last Thursday's seminar covered several common mistakes that most website owners make that prevent them from being highly ranked. Two of the most common mistakes are selecting unpopular keywords and having little text on the website. According to Seidle, "Companies want to use their own lexicon to describe their products. The problem is that people searching often use different terms than sellers do - the result is that people tell search engines their site is about facial tissue and searchers look for Kleenex." As for all graphic websites, Seidle says, "Search engine spiders can't read and index graphics and animations at all. Websites that are all Flash animations or are made up completely of pictures usually end up at the bottom of Google and MSN's result list."
Businesses, particularly small companies that are attempting to get the most out of the Internet should look seriously at SEO. According to a March 2003 report by research firm Piper Jaffray, online search is the most cost effective direct marketing method, costing even less per lead generated than email. Adds e-Practical's Seidle, "Search engine leads don't have the ‘spam' connotation."
The seminar was held on Thursday, July 8. Slides from the presentation and a handout detailing five common search engine and five myths that prevent website owners from getting top search engine rankings are available at e-Practical's website (www.e-psinc.com/webroi001.asp.)