The Three-Legged Stool - Content, Optimization, Linkage
As you can see from our hypothetical search results for "New York real estate", there are three primary factors at play here. They can be grouped as follows:
· Content - the textual material that is presented on your Website.
· Optimization - How that material is presented and structured.
· Linkage - The links pointing back to your pages.
You can certainly control the first two factors completely, and take close control of the third.
To do this work thoroughly, you cannot ignore any of these three factors. They all rely upon and support each other, if your goal is to present the best possible search scenario to the search engines.
Your Webmaster May Not Have Done This!
It is a common misconception that your Webmaster has already done all of this work, or that they should have.
Some do, but in fact, they probably have not done it for your site. Their job is to make your site look nice, be navigable, and present to the world what you asked them to present. They most likely quoted that, billed that, and delivered that.
Search engine optimization may not be in their scope of work, unless they have an understanding of SEO issues, and make it a part of their services. Even if they have done a bit of it, you may want to work with them to enhance what they have already done.
Every situation is different. Consult with your webmaster about these issues, and understand that there may be additional costs involved, as they will have to do additional work on your behalf.
Real People Matter, Too!
We must always keep in mind that it's real people that use your Website. We're not building pages just for machines. If you are successful with your SEO efforts, then a real person will land on one of your pages as a result of a search.
At that point, you need to have a page that conveys confidence to that person. You want them to feel that they have landed in the right place, and that their search for "New York real estate" has now provided them with a Website and a business entity that can help them find New York real estate.
Just building pages that are loaded down with keyword terms and presented as nothing more than search engine bait is actually a waste of time. It can occasionally earn traffic, but the traffic will leave, out of frustration.
Think and write like the person who conducted the search, and satisfy their needs. That's the kind of page that a search engine wants to deliver to their user, as well.
