RomaGeber Blog

Is it possible to be truly optimized? Is optimized a state or a process?

I checked my 14-year-old Webster’s Dictionary. The definition for “optimize” said: “to make the most of; develop or realize to the utmost extent; obtain the most efficient or optimum use of.” My pre-search engine optimization resource didn’t give a definition for the noun “optimization.”

So, I looked it up on an online dictionary, which defines “optimization” as “the fact of optimizing; making the best of anything” and “the condition of being optimized.”

Hmmm. That definition seems to imply both a process and a state.

Search Engine Optimization - The Process

In the world of search engine optimization, the definition has certainly changed over the last 10 years. In the early days of search engine optimization, earning a prized first-page position on Google or Yahoo was as easy as adding some mega tags and page titles, wiping your hands and walking away.

No more. Search engine optimization has become a game of cat-and-mouse, and it seems that the 800 lb. mouse does most of the winning.

Web site owners who want to earn and keep a top position on the major search engines now must buy into the realization that search engine optimization is a process, not a state. There really is not a point at which one could say their site is “search engine optimized.” Yes, the site might be performing today on the search engines, but give it six months or a year and you’ll likely be tweaking the site, looking for links or doing more research to find out why your site’s rankings have dropped.

For their part, the search engines maintain that their efforts to upset the proverbial SEO apple cart is to prevent manipulation of their rankings and provide the most qualified results. Maybe it’s working, maybe it’s not.

As they say: “It is, what it is.”

Why Search Engine Optimization is so Important

So, why would anyone bother? Well, like it or not, the Internet and search engines have become the most popular research tool for people looking for products, services, … heck anything. Most companies understand the importance and value of having a web site, being able to disseminate huge amounts of material without incurring printing and postage costs, getting their information in front of prospects whose names they don’t yet know, informing potential customers in far-flung areas.

But, the only way of “making the most of” (see definition above) that web site is to make sure that it’s in the best possible position to be viewed by search engine visitors. Which means it needs to be optimized.

Marketing research firm MarketingSherpa conducted a study of 2,000 marketers whose sites had been optimized. They found that companies that had used an in-house search engine optimization person saw traffic to their sites increase an average of 73%.

Companies that outsourced SEO saw an average increase in traffic of 110%!

For companies investing in the effort to do it right, search engine optimization clearly works.

How Search Engine Optimization Helps Search Engines

At the same time, when done properly, search engine optimization works well for search engines. I can’t tell you the number of web sites we’ve reviewed for prospective clients that were poorly organized and failed to tell a cohesive story about what they do. If human eyes can’t make heads or tails of a site, you can be sure that a search engine robot won’t be able to either.

Optimization is the process of making sure that a web site does a very good job of explaining exactly what a company does. At its best, search engine optimization will inform not only the search engine looking to categorize and rank the site, it also will help the user who has benefited from the company’s effort to clearly convey the essence of its products and services.

Back to the Beginning - State or Process

When we talk to clients and prospects, we do reference optimization as a state, as in: “Your site has been optimized.” From a practical standpoint, it’s easier than saying “Your site is optimized, for now.” Since no one but the engineers at Google and Yahoo know when the next big algorithm change will be out nor whether it will negate any of the work one has done to a site, why be the pessimist?

We’ve done optimization work on sites that has kept those sites in the forefront of search engine results for several years at a time, and we don’t use techniques that are verboten.

But, realistically, we treat optimization as a process. We monitor our clients’ progress and continue to work on their sites, knowing that the work we do not only will benefit their ability to be viewed on a search engine, but also will be considered fresh, useful content for the site visitor. And so should you.

Angela Charles is president of Pilot Fish an Akron, Ohio web design and search engine optimization firm that specializes in business-to-business web sites.

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Italian is one of the most widespread languages in the world, and speaking it can give you a tremendous sense of accomplishment, an edge in your career, and even a stronger bond with your ancestors if you are of Italian descent. There are many ways you can learn Italian, including textbooks, tapes, CDs, software, group classes or private lessons, but there are also ways you can begin or continue your studies of the Italian language entirely for FREE!

1. Online: Online, you can join an active community of people who are learning the Italian language just like you. One site is Impariamo - http://www.impariamo.com - which in Italian means �??let�??s learn�?�. Impariamo is a forum where you can meet people from around the world who are learning Italian and share tips to improve your Italian language skills. It is also a great starting point for finding new tools that will help you develop your Italian skills - all for FREE! Impariamo also has a feature called Quiz of the Week, where you can have a new Italian language quiz delivered to your e-mail in-box each and every week. In addition to Impariamo, you can also find other online communities at Yahoo! Groups - http://groups.yahoo.com - or at MSN Groups - http://groups.msn.com. Simply type in �??learn Italian�?� in the search box on either of these sites and you will find many groups that may appeal to you to join - again, for FREE!

2. Offline: Offline, you can join a group in your geographic area whose members share your interest in learning the Italian language through a free online service called Meetup - http://italian.meetup.com. Meetup helps people find others who share similar interests, and form lasting, local community groups that regularly meet face-to-face. All ages and levels of proficiency are welcome to these group meetings! You can sign up to participate in any one of nearly 300 Italian language Meetup groups. Practicing your Italian among friends will help you improve your language skills significantly.

Learning Italian allows you to immerse yourself in a rich and diverse culture, and this can open entirely new avenues of self-exploration and personal growth. Whether you want to the Italian language for personal or professional reasons, you can make new friends, have new experiences, and open yourself to a new and beautiful culture. Buon divertimento!

Mindy Prian is the Site Administrator of http://www.impariamo.com, a warm, welcoming community of people from all over the world who interact with one another to improve their Italian language skills.

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If you have taken the time to have a look online recently you may have noticed that there is an almost endless quantity of web hosts. An exact figure is virtually impossible to ascertain due to the fact that new hosting services debut regularly only to just fizzle out in a matter of time. After going through all the trouble and expense of having your website designed you are more than likely interested in finding the best web host you can get to make sure that all of your requirements are met.

After careful research you may be ready to base your decision based on things such as how many gigabytes and how much bandwidth they have to offer you and also there is always the price to consider when deciding on a web host. The fact of the mater, is that the web hosting business is a very competitive business and this is the reason why so many of them close their doors and go out of business not long after they have opened.

This high level of competition also means that there are web hosts that have great options for you to take advantage of when you are selecting a host for your website. The truth of the matter is that selecting a web host solely on technical qualifications alone is what far too many people do and it can be a mistake.

You must not let your high level of optimism with regards to your websites projected future success delude you from the fact that the Internet market place is highly competitive and this means that you will most likely have to put some work into things such as promotion and SEO in order for your web site to achieve a reasonable measure of success.

One thing that you will also want to look for in a web hosting service is if they have a functioning research tool that you can use for researching your competition as well as planning the use of your keywords. This is so important, because if you think that your website is going to explode in popularity without planning and promotion then you will most likely be in store for some measure of disappointment.

Another factor that you will want to give careful consideration to is whether your web host currently creates site maps and automatically pings Google, Yahoo and Ask. This is something that is very important, because if you have to do this yourself every time that you update your website or add a web page it can be very time consuming.

Still one more feature that you will want in an effective web host is tools that review the web pages that you have in your website and make suggestions regarding how to make improvements for search engines. The way that this tool works is you submit a new web page to it after completion and it will review it with regards to SEO and make suggested changes that you may want to consider. This will help maximize your page rankings in the search engines which is so important to having a successful website.

Written by Gerald Faustia. Find the latest information on webhosting as well as hostgator web hosting and bluehost webhosting.

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