Select the right keywords and -- to paraphrase "Field of Dreams" -- if you optimize it, they will come. Choose the wrong words and your search engine optimization (SEO) campaign might be DOA.
A Harris Interactive poll said that once online, 80 percent of internet traffic begins at a search engine. A DoubleClick study reported that 41 percent of web users find brands through search rather than just typing a URL into their browser.
The bottom line: When the consumer connects the dots and you're not there, they won't seek you out online and won't bother with you offline either-- optimizing your search campaign is absolutely critical if you want your product and/or service to be noticed and purchased.
Here are five tips from two SEO experts to make sure your site won't become another internet black hole.
Gail Parker heads up San Clemente, CA-based web design and development firm ROI Web Solutions and its search engine marketing subsidiary ROI-SEO. Parker is an expert on both organic search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) marketing and provides free web analytics services for tracking performance and ROI (return on investment).
Sara Katz is a marketing strategist for San Diego-based SiteLab International, an interactive marketing agency that offers both search engine optimization and paid search programs to clients, as well as tracking and web analytics.
Author Notes:Neal Leavitt is president of Fallbrook, CA-based Leavitt Communications, an international marketing communications company. He writes frequently on internet and technology topics. Read full bio.