Step 1 -  Intro to Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Welcome to the super-competitive world of SEO where search engine robots and algorithms frequently change and others put their businesses at great risk every day, intentionally or inadvertently, by doing unethical black hat SEO all for one overriding purpose – to rank on the first page of Google.

Why Google?   Because their unique algorithm has helped them flat out dominate the search industry.   According to Hitwise intelligence, Google received 67.9 % of all U.S. searches in the four weeks ending April 26, 2008 whereas Yahoo! Search, MSN Search, and Ask.com brought in only 20.28%, 6.26%, and 4.17% respectively.  Check out this table comparing Google Search vs. Yahoo! Search.

Google's share of Internet searches will only increase!

They continue to innovate and release new software at a blistering pace (see Google Products and their Business Solutions).  Google has made key acquistions like YouTube, DoubleClick, Keyhole (which led to Google Earth), Feedburner, etc.  Their numbers are on the rise, and with high rankings in Google Search, for a variety of target keywords, you'll get empiricial proof that such an accomplishment is truly significant for your business.

  Some Internet Marketing Vocab:

People often refer to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and this may be confusing to some.  We believe that it’s necessary to draw a distinction between these two terms right here at the outset.

• SEO is Non-Paid search

• SEM is Paid Search    

Non-Paid Search:  This is where you'll use the EndoSEO.com SEO method to improve your site's ranking in the organic search results (only the area with green shading).  SEO also helps to make your links, appearing the search results, more relevant and "clickable." 

You can write pithy marketing messages, include them in your page titles (the larger blue links within the green area) and descriptions just below them, in order to attract targeted traffic.

Paid Search:  If you run a Google AdWords PPC campaign, then your ads will appear in the Sponsored Links section (yellow shading).  Your positioning in Google's Paid Search section depends on factors such as what you bid per click, your ad's Quality Score, the advertising competition for a given keyword, etc. 

Paid Search is an effective way to drive even more relevant traffic to your optimized landing pages.  However, with more of your pages highly ranked through SEO, you'll be able to lower your dependence on Paid Search and get the quality traffic you're seeking primarily from top organic positioning.

 How do people search?   

Sure, you have a basic feeling and understanding of the importance of SEO for boosting your site's visiblity but let's back it up with some empirical data.  A joint eye tracking study conducted by search marketing firms Enquiro and Did-it, in conjunction with an eye tracking research firm Eyetools, has revealed the following: the lion's share of eye tracking activity during a search happens in the shape of a triangle.  

In their study, 100% of the participants viewed the "Golden Triangle," which extends from the top of the results over to the top of the first result, then down to a point on the left side at the bottom of the "above the fold" visible results.  Generally, this area appears to include top organic results (from SEO), top sponsored links (from Paid Search), as well as things like Google's news, shopping, or local listings.  Here's how to interpret a heatmap of user activity if you're curious.  More...

Endo SEO's research will be your compass:

All you need to know is that we'll continue to do the research and give you direction on how to do SEO and how to get the most out of your Paid Search campaigns.  We’re all about a balanced approach to online marketing and feeding you the need-to-know info gradually.  This training philosophy allows your company to grow, evolve, and gain long term control of branding on the Web.

Risks and considerations when deciding on how you'll get SEO.

When hiring an SEO consultant or firm, you are placing a great deal of power in the hands of others to brand your site effectively and judiciously.  What you may not know is that any given SEO company, which guarantees a first page ranking on all major search engines within a short time frame, may be engaging in link schemes or buying links from link farms and putting your site at a high risk of being severely penalized by the search engines.  However, this scenario also depends on the level of competition for the keywords being guaranteed. 

There’s an appreciable amount of SEOs out there who do not want to inform nor educate consumers about search engine optimization about their tactics.  By preserving the perception of SEO as being some secretive, magical formula that manipulates the search engines, they force a relationship that fosters your full dependence on their methods...and the worst part is that you don’t even know if they are using questionable, unethical SEO techniques.  Your only gauge is the outcome, i.e. your search engine rankings. 

If your placement in the search results is high, then you might not worry about it or even care about what goes on behind closed doors.  But it’s our contention that you should definitely care.  The modus operandi of some SEOs out there is simple - get you positioned on the first page of Google, Yahoo!, and Live no matter the risk or cost.  This line of thinking is why SEO is misunderstood by some. 

  You ultimately decide on how to run your SEO campaign:

Our commitment is to do the research for you and keep you posted on the latest Internet marketing trends and search engine advancements so that you can get great results through only ethical techniques.  More...

Just as you would ultimately decide on the level of risk with your investment portfolio, so YOU should decide on how aggressive you want to be when it comes to your SEO keyword portfolio.

    SEO is not about tricks or shortcuts:

It’s a short-sighted strategy and fruitless endeavor to try to trick search engine robots.  Search algorithms frequently change and you can’t be 100% certain about your positioning on any given day.  Search engine sites keep their algorithms and internal ranking mechanisms under wraps and it’s a positive for all of us that it works this way.

Imagine, for a second, if we did know all of the inner workings of search engines.  Many would not play fairly.

The situation would be so manipulated and corrupt that the relevance and value of the search engine results would degrade to a homogeneous mess of biased listings. 

At Endo SEO, we believe that there’s no substitute for high quality content born out of clever business strategies.  We help you grow in understanding and cultivate your marketing skill set.  What means the most to search engines is generally beneficial for both websites and their users, so it's a losing battle to try to deceive the search engines in any way, shape, or form.

  Here’s the upshot: