Don't be lost in space...

Since 80% of all website traffic comes via the search engines, it is essential to make your website as search engine friendly as you can. You need to be listed on the first page of results for the key word of phrase that best describes your business. 80% of the business from a search query goes to the companies who are listed in the top half of the first page of search results.

Most of your prospects have never heard of you and have no idea that you even exist, never mind your web address. In 1995 there were about 16 million users on the web representing around 0.04% of the world population. Fast forward to 2004, there are some 800 million users—over 12% of the world population. That's the good news—lots and lots and lots of people on the Net.

On the flip side there are currently some 4 billion websites and growing daily. Everyone else has the same idea you have—build a web site and they will come. Well, how are those customers with money to spend going to find you?

The answer is search engines—the online tool that allows users to quickly find almost anything on the World Wide Web. By selecting keywords (words or phrases a user will enter into a search engine in order to find a web site) the users find the information they are looking for. So it follows that your site should have keywords.

Yes, the robot society has arrived. The majority of people (i.e. your prospects) use a search engine to look for products or services. The search engines use "spiders" - a computer robot program that scans the web looking for information that is then updated or added to their search engine database.

Spiders are sometimes referred to as "knowledge-bots", "crawlers" or "knowbots". The web is so large that it can take six months for a spider to find your site.
Once you build your web site you have three choices in terms of getting traffic to your site:

1. Do nothing and hope people will find you. Most of your competition is following this tactic—so you could easily get the jump on them by doing something.

2. Pay per click. This is a method of search marketing where advertisers (sellers) pay a set amount every time their ad is clicked by a prospect. Some services run on an "auction" basis—you bid against your competitors for paid listings on the search engine listings of keywords. E.g. you could pay $10 per click to get listed in your category for a listing on Google (these appear at the top and down the right side of the search engine listings) or Overture. Buying your way to the top with sponsored listings is somewhat effective. However, searchers click on sponsored listings only 26% of the time. They know they are advertisements and not genuine search results.

3. Optimize your site. Optimize comes from Latin meaning "best." So to optimize means "to make the most perfect or to modify to achieve maximum efficiency". The objective is to maximize your web site's search visibility and conversion rate and so generate more leads and sales. This is also called "positioning" -- the process of writing, programming and designing a web site using keywords so that the search engine ranks your site high in the results. Search Engine Positioning gets your site listed by the search engine so that people looking for your product or service can quickly find you. Organic (or natural) search results pay off in traffic and brand value.

Once the visitor reaches your site, your home page has to be relevant to their search term and key words, easy to use, draw them into your site and take them down the click path to where you want them to take that all important revenue producing click.
Most websites lose 60% of their traffic right off the home page.

Your website is a vital tool in your marketing and PR campaign—your online face to the world. But even the most perfect website is no use at all if it is never found and seen by the right audience.

Your brand awareness and value increases with top search page result placement. The bottom line is that your customers can't buy what they can't find. Make it easy for them by optimizing your web site. Don't be lost in space.