Ever wonder what it takes to get to the top of a Google Page? Did you ever think about why some companies always seem to have all the business they need; and they don’t even have any outside sales people?  How are these companies doing this? It seems to be some kind of black magic doesn’t it.

More often than not these days, when I ask someone how they are getting new customers, and increasing their sales, they tell me “SEO”. Now, I know that if you want to spend a lot of money you can buy your way to the top of that Google page. Some companies in our industry have been reported to have spent as much as two hundred and fifty thousand dollars a month…that’s a month! But, I know a number of companies who are telling me that they are not buying their way up the Google search engine. Leaving me wondering what it is they are doing?  So, one day I decided that it was time to check into this strange new phenomena called SEO. And, since most of the people over the age of forty did not know what it was either, I thought it would be helpful to share my findings.

The first thing I did was to look for one of the largest SEO companies in the world and ask them to explain to me exactly what it is they do. I contacted DPA (Digital Promotion Agency), and asked James Nelson, their representative, to not only give me an explanation of what they do for their customers, but how they do it as well. Here is what he laid out for me.

From James Nelson:

First of all, SEO stands for Sales Engine Optimization and here is what it does:

Reviews and updates your web site which will ensure that your site:

• Ranks on the first page of Google and Bing.
• Gets high-grossing key words based on content to pull in more traffic.
• Achieves wider audience outreach with mobile and touchscreen ready design.
• Attains greater brand loyalty with social media optimization.
• Is more search engine compliant with on-page optimization.

In other words, SEO gets your company’s name and your company’s capabilities in front of the right potential customers. Making it easier for those companies that need your services to find you. Makes sense to me so far. Here are some of the exact things that DPA does to make sure the right people find you:

Here, in “SEO Speak” is how James listed what his company does to make sure you are in front of the right people at the right time, and yes, most importantly, easy to find. It’s all about being easy to find.

(Warning, some of this gets a little out there so I will try to be your interpreter:

 

• Full Onsite Optimization: Includes: Page, Meta-Description, H1, Alt Tags, and URL optimization up to 75 pages on your site.

 

Dan: This means they put the right words on your web site pages to make sure you are picked up by the Google and Bing search engines

 

• Citation – Link Building: Some consider Link Building the essence of SEO. We strive to build good quality links to send the right signals to the search engines.

 

Dan: Inserting the right links into your site and your content thus multiplying the ways your company name and capabilities is sent out on the web

 

• Mobile Marketing: Concentration on outreach to sites and other activities that empower mobile search. We will also provide a fast loading mobile site if desired.

 

Dan: Making your web site and all content available on all gadgets including phones and I-Pads etc.

 

• Ad Copy Creation: Will create ads that are engineered to get clicks. Will work on improving CTR rates.

 

Dan: Just what it says. Designing you advertising so that it will be recognized and picked up by the big search engines.

 

• Newsletter / Email Blast: Monthly newsletter or email blast will be sent out on your behalf. Sent to your own email list and email platform.

 

Dan: The same email blasts we do with Constant Contact but with an extra spicing of the right keywords and metatags

 

• ·Social Media: Facebook and Twitter Scope of work involves regular weekly postings to each platform.

 

Dan: Once again the same thing we do except more of it… and with the right keywords and metatags

 

• Click-Through Optimization: Work on improving click-through rates for targeted pages in the site.

 

Dan: Making it as easy as possible to move through your content and on to your site.

 

• Reporting: Interactive Reporting Using Google Docs with Information Gathered from Google Webmaster and Analytics!

 

Dan: And yes, most important of all, measure how all of this is working and make adjustments for maximum benefit.

See, It’s not that complicated….I think. But it does work, that I do know. I have seen evidence of it in some of the more successful companies I have worked with the past few years. These are companies that have little or no outside sales teams, yet, have a wide range of customers that would be the envy of any company. And they are using SEO to their full advantage, at only a fraction of what it would cost to buy their way to the top of the Google listing.

And to tell you the truth, they don’t really know how it works either, they just know it does. It’s only common sense.