Keep The SEO Tension And Watch Traffic Sail To New Heights

Search engine optimization is not a job.  It’s not something that is “completed”.  Search engine optimization should be thought of more as a journey, a long process involving trial and error and many ups and downs.  As we continue to dive deeper into the digital age more and more companies are realizing that now is the time to take control of their online presence.  It’s no longer 2000 when only half of the competition had a Web site…it’s 2010 and the majority of your competitors have multiple Web sites and are working hard (or hiring someone) to push them to the top of the search engine results.

I recently returned from a vacation and had the chance to parasail for the first time in my life.  Despite my fear of heights, it was actually a rather enjoyable experience.  As I sat there 300-feet above the Lake of the Ozarks I thought that parasailing was a pretty simple activity.  You get a boat, add the necessary equipment, throw the parachute up, strap the people in, slowly release them to the optimal height for enjoyment and then drive around the lake.

But the most important part of the process (outside of safety requirements) was to keep the boat moving at a speed to provide proper wind-resistance for the parachute to carry the riders.  If the boat moves too slow or comes to a stop the tension on the rope is lost and the parachute slowly floats down and into the water.  And this is where I go on my boring rant about SEO.

SEO is a lot like parasailing in that it is a pretty simple process.  You find a good domain name, build a site that is crawl-able by the search engines, conduct keyword research to identify traffic sources, develop quality optimized content/meta data/H1 tags that align with your targeted key phrases and then you build links like crazy.  But the process doesn’t end there…YOU MUST KEEP TENSION ON THE ROPE!  Or, your site will slowly drift down in the rankings, much like a parachute.

In today’s online environment a large majority of businesses are using some sort of search engine marketing strategy and this means that your #1 ranking today could be your competitor’s #1 ranking tomorrow.  It is important to not only implement an aggressive SEO strategy but to build on your successes by continuing the SEO process.  Even if you just blog or spend a few hours link building each week it will help to push your site further and further ahead of the competition.  And you will reap the benefits of top rankings for years to come!