Search Engine Optimization

There are over 1 billion Web sites listed with search engines. With all that competition, how will your customers ever find your site? The answer is Search Engine Optimization.

According to Brand Week Online Magazine "Search engine optimization may be just one part of an online internet marketing strategy, but it is the fundamental part. It's the baseline. If you are doing nothing else, search engine placement and keyword related advertising can make up 80 to 90 percent of your traffic."

What is SEO?

Search engine optimization, simply, allows people to find your web site using the most common search engine portals such as Google and Alta Vista. The technical aspects of SEO, however, are far from simple. It requires an understanding of customer mindsets and leading-edge technologies combined with a mind-numbing attention to detail.

MAD Communications’ approach is to start with a strategically sound keyword list and choose the right combination of directories and search engines for each client project. We then tackle the technical and programming tasks of analyzing the web site and optimizing individual page content and meta-tags. Finally, we hand submit the site to each of the chosen search engine portals, test the search results and provide periodic analysis reports.

Presently, there are seven top search engines (in bold) that generate the majority of visitors to web sites. Together they account for around 97% of search-engine-driven traffic. Not all search engines and directories are alike; each has its unique nuances and submittal requirements. Also, some of the engines are fee-based, others are free.

Top Pay Listings

Yahoo! ($299 annual fee)

Inktomi / Direct Hit ($40)

MSN Search ($79 annual URL)

Ask Jeeves/Teoma ($30)

Teoma / Direct Hit ($30 for first URL)

Webcrawler ($49.95)

AltaVista ($39 for 6 month URL)

Lycos ($35 annual URL)

Webcrawler ($49.95 one web address)

Business.com ($99 annual fee)

Overture ($50 / $.25 per click)

Looksmart ($230 annual fee/.15 per click)

Top Free Listings

Google

AllTheWeb

AOL

AltaVista (basic submit 5 URLs)

HotBot DMOZ / ODP

Netscape Search (ODP)

Dogpile

National Directory

Search It

Northern Light

Infoseek / Go (powered by Google)

National Directory

True Search

Inter-Change

Yellow Page and Business Listings

Just as search engines and directories are visited, so are on-line yellow pages. Accordingly, listing your business information with yellow pages may increase the traffic to your web site. The list below provides a number of the major online listings.

Yellow Pages/Business Listings

InfoSpace

InfoUsa (Yahoo/AOL)

SMARTpages

SuperPages (Verizon)

Switchboard (AOL)

US Yellow

Yellow Pages

Where2Go

World Page

Search Engine Service Plans