New study shows how poorly U.S. health care industry sites use natural search engine optimization (SEO) as an online marketing strategy to generate new sales leads.
CLEVELAND, Ohio – August 22, 2005 – A new study of 350 U.S. health care sites found that most of these companies fail to properly use basic natural SEO techniques that can help produce online sales leads.
“U.S. Health Care Web Sites Resist Natural Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Online Sales Leads,” prepared by Cleveland, Ohio-based Fathom SEO, covers such SEO topics as web site page titles and META descriptions, site architecture barriers and visible text.
The SEO report, for example, notes that 72 percent of U.S. health care sites don’t appear to use effective keywords in the home page title tag, which heavily influences how well a web site will rank on search engines. A little more than 80 percent don’t use a suitable title on primary interior pages, such as the about or product summary pages.
Get a free copy of the SEO study at:
http://www.fathomseo.com/forms/health-study-news.asp.
Health care web site also can take a quick survey about whether they use SEO strategies. Fill out the survey here:
http://www.fathomseo.com/health-seo-survey.asp.
“It doesn’t make sense for the health care industry to skip SEO,” said Michael Murray, vice president of Fathom SEO. “Internet users conduct local searches and they look for national keyword phrases. Health care companies should make a better effort to be found so they can generate more leads and build their brands.”
Online searches aren’t limited to celebrities, news and sports, Murray said. Plenty of business owners hunt for everything from medical devices to heart surgeons.
The SEO study, which includes META tag case studies and insights about keyword selection, also found that most health care web sites include a reasonable amount of visible text that could be optimized with search terms – if companies make the effort. Health care sites also avoid splash pages (with the “skip intro” button) and frame architectures that may limit rankings.
Murray is available to discuss the SEO white paper, search engine marketing tactics and related trends. He can be reached at 216.861.5951 ext. 111.
Fathom SEO is a leading SEO firm dedicated to search engine marketing (SEM), with an emphasis on natural SEO. As an SEO firm, Fathom SEO provides pay-per-click (PPC) management, link building, web analytics, custom web site development and permission-based marketing services.
Visit our SEO firm at www.fathomseo.com or call 216.861.5951 or 866.RANK.YOU (726.5968).
By Michael Murray, VP of Fathom SEOWeb site owners need to have realistic expectations when it comes to the world of keyword selection as it relates to SEO.It’s essential to understand your audience, as well as to aim appropriately at powerful, concise keywords that are not vague or generic—those broad, expansive keywords that rarely attract the audience you are seeking–and lead to disappointing rankings and wasteful expenditures of cash resources.
If you want a healthy return on investment (ROI) with search engine optimization (SEO), your success – or failure – hinges on the keywords you select when combined with other factors like link popularity and web site design.If your web site has content and design barriers, lacks saturation (a term used to describe how well a site is indexed by search engines) and isn’t found on many other relevant web sites, you’re odds of ranking well are pretty low.
Be careful with keyword research so that you don’t miss excellent opportunities or aim so broadly that you target phrases that will never rank well. Get your act together. Here are 5 tips to guide you along the way in your research. They may help you make good choices, achieve high rankings and bring more traffic (and leads) to your web site.1. Know your audience and think through your business goals.
Many businesses simply pick keywords out of thin air. They don’t talk to customers or hot prospects in order to determine what might be a useful set of keywords. Your keywords need to match your business strategy. What are your main products? Where are sales lagging? Are there products or services that do well and could soar with
SEO? Which products have the highest margins? You should have scores of other questions that make sense for your business. The information should be readily available. If it’s not, you’re way behind in the SEO process.2. Watch the broad search terms.
Companies make a mistake in this area more than any other place. The keyword landscape is more inviting than a one-hour toy store shopping spree for a child. The excitement forces people to ignore reality. Who can blame them? Wouldn’t it be great to be #1 on Google for “food,” “cars,” “software”? Yes, single words can help drive sales. But they’re difficult to achieve. Link popularity, web site content, site structure and other considerations will impact rankings.
3. Learn how to form search terms.
You can start with “automobile” all you want, but build on your core phrase by adding on other words like “suppliers,” “products,” “services,” “companies,” “firms.”
4. Analyze log files.
Often overlooked and easily underplayed, web site log files reveal much about the way people search. You can generate many keyword and search phrase ideas just by examining the data with an intuitive sense.
5. Know your link popularity.
First you need to know your competitors – compare their link popularity to yours. How far do you need to go to catch up? Study who else links to their site. Would those web sites be willing to link to your site? Would you be required to do a link exchange with them? Use a Link Popularity Check (www.checkyourlinkpopularity.com) service to ascertain how your site is faring with link popularity.Get additional keyword tips through our free keyword development report. Our FREE SEO guide, “Reality Check: A Straightforward Guide to Keywords and Search Engine Optimization (SEO),” helps business owners navigate the often misunderstood world of keyword selection, including how to pick them right words and mistakes to avoid.
Get your SEO related copy today here:
http://www.fathomseo.com/forms/keyword_form.asp
BIO:
Michael Murray is vice president of Fathom SEO, a Cleveland, Ohio-based search engine optimization firm. Fathom SEO is a member of SEMPO, SEO Consultants, Top SEOs, and SEO Pros. Murray also authored the white paper, “Search Engine Marketing: Get in the Game.”
michael@fathomseo.com
New study shows that Ohio manufacturers miss opportunities to increase Web site traffic and sales leads, but overall they do a better job of natural search engine optimization than U.S. manufacturers.
CLEVELAND, Ohio – August 10, 2005 – A new study of 50 Ohio manufacturers found that most of them aren’t taking advantage of basic natural search engine optimization techniques to generate more traffic and sales leads.
“Ohio Manufacturers and Natural Search Engine Optimization (SEO),” prepared by Cleveland, Ohio-based Fathom SEO (http://www.fathomseo.com), includes data on web site page titles and META descriptions, site architecture barriers and visible text.
It’s a companion study to Fathom SEO’s June 2005 report, “U.S. Manufacturers Resist Natural Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Online Sales Leads.” Ohio manufacturers do appear to have a better handle on primary search engine optimization techniques than the 350 manufacturers included in the comprehensive national study.
The report, for example, notes that 66% of Ohio manufacturers studied don’t use effective keywords in the home page title tag, which heavily influences how well a web site will rank on search engines. Nationally, 75% don’t make good use of title tags as part of an effective search engine optimization strategy.
Both the Ohio follow up study and the national study indicate that 81% don’t use a suitable title on primary interior pages, such as the about or product summary pages
In Ohio, 42% of manufacturers don’t prepare proper META tag descriptions for home pages (META tag descriptions often appear with search engine results on Google, MSN and other services. Nationally, 65% don’t create useful META tag descriptions as part of their search engine optimization strategies.
Get a free copy of the Ohio study at:
http://www.fathomseo.com/forms/ohmfg-seo-study.asp.
The national study is available at:
http://www.fathomseo.com/forms/manufacturing-seo-study.asp.
Companies also can take a quick survey about whether they use search engine optimization strategies. They can fill out the survey here:
http://www.fathomseo.com/manufacturing-seo-survey.asp.
“With so much at stake, it’s imperative that Ohio manufacturers take the time to develop a search engine optimization strategy that works – whether they tackle it with experienced staff or consultants,” said Michael Murray, vice president of Fathom SEO. “These businesses shouldn’t risk missing out on potential visitors who search for their products.”
Murray is available to discuss the study, search engine optimization tactics and related trends. He can be reached at 216.861.5951 ext. 111.
Fathom SEO is a market-leading firm dedicated to natural search engine optimization (SEO). As an SEO firm, Fathom SEO provides pay-per-click (PPC) management, link building, web analytics, custom web site development and permission-based marketing services.
Search engine optimization clients include Eaton Corporation, The Cleveland Clinic, Little Tikes, Sauder, Bissell, Darice and FedEx Custom Critical. Fathom SEO developed as a division of Fathom IT Solutions, also based in Cleveland. Since its start in 1986, Fathom IT has been in the forefront of applying state-of-the-art interactive business technologies to solve client problems. In the early 90s, Fathom IT proved its leading-edge vision by embracing Internet technologies. Fathom SEO has seasoned and knowledgeable search engine optimization consultants with diverse skills.
Visit our search engine optimization firm at www.fathomseo.com or call 216.861.5951 or 866.RANK.YOU (726.5968).
By Michael Murray, VP of Fathom SEO
Need some fresh sales leads?
Everyone knows relevant links from other sites can boost a web site’s reputation – and ultimately rankings – among search engines.
Links can provide leads on their own if people can find them. Here are two easy ways to make sure they do.
1. Write News Releases.
Don’t simply send out a news release reporting that John or Mary has just received a promotion (although you could use this strategy). Instead, write about an innovation, a study, a white paper, a new service, a new product, etc. Expensive yet useful news release services are available.
But we recommend PRWeb, a free Internet service. Yes, it is free, but you may not make the Google and Yahoo! news feeds for weeks. For just $30, you can get into Google and Yahoo! news within a couple of days. Learn more here.
News releases can help with link building, especially if they’re picked up by other web sites. Prospects can come across them and make their way to your web site. Journalists also research news releases and write stories that can also generate calls and web site traffic.
Our SEO firm has seen it work.
2. Write Articles.
Why wait for journalists?
The Wall Street Journal may not accept your topical article, but plenty of online newsletters and ezines will gladly welcome and post your pieces. Typically, you will have an opportunity at the end of your article to link to your web site as part of the author bio. Tip: fatten up your bio with some of your company’s attributes and search terms. For example, here is our author bio:“Fathom SEO is an Ohio SEO firm with professional search engine consultants dedicated to SEO marketing, with an emphasis on organic search engine optimization and placement.”
It’s easy to prepare these articles – simply be the expert in your field. Online publications often have many categories you can look through.
You don’t even need to go overboard – even 250 words will get you listed.
Again, Internet users do read these articles and make their way to the authors’ web sites. Here are a few to consider:
Go Articles
www.goarticles.com
Ezine Articles
wwwww.ezinearticles.com
Idea Marketers
www.ideamarketers.com
Web Pro News
www.webpronews.com
Impact Articles
www.impactarticles.com
Fathom SEO, an Ohio SEO firm, can assist you if you are in need of help with news releases or articles.
Questions? Call our SEO firm at 866-RANK-YOU (726-5968), or email us at seo@fathomnews.com.
By Michael Murray, VP of Fathom SEO, a search engine placement companySummary:
So you have numerous keyword phrases that appear in the top 30 of search engine results? Congrats! But getting to the top 30 is only half the battle. Research shows that most visitors will only focus on the first page, or top 10 of results, so it is important to continue your search engine placement efforts to climb higher into the first page, or even the coveted top 5 or 3 of results for your targeted search terms.
Search engine placement specialists will tell you that you need to be in the Top 30 or you can pretty much give up any hope of getting a visitor to your web site.Yes, there is truth in that Top 30 search engine placement goal. Occasionally, a potential customer will make his or her way to the #30 position in search of a particular product or service. The odds just aren’t that high.
Yet, industry research and ongoing search engine user behavior analysis shows that most people will focus on the first few results. Who can blame them? It takes a great deal of patience to wade through the rest of the options.
It’s going to mean a great deal more if you can get that prized search term in the Top 10 (first screen) or even the Top 3 or Top 5 with the right search engine placement strategies.
With so much competition, is that even possible? Yes – if you’re realistic. Here’s the key: don’t spend an inordinate amount of time in the single keyword “cars” if you offer something more specific, such as “automotive accessories.” According to the search engine placement experts, you will stand a much better chance of getting that coveted top spot with a more reasonable search phrase.
Don’t ignore those single words if they really represent what you do. Generally, single words have a fighting chance if other search engine placement factors are rooting for you along the way, including pages with lots of content, options to include content up high, other pages featuring the same keyword, a domain name with the keyword, a page name with the keyword and plenty of link popularity built around the keyword. You just have to tie it all together.
Obviously, fewer people search for “automotive accessories” than “cars.” But you’ll be able to reach more search engine users – and prospective customers – if you frame most of your search engine placement strategy around specific search engine phrases that adequately reflect what you do. Join the Top 10 Club and reap the benefits.
AUTHOR BIO: Michael Murray is vice president of Fathom SEO, a Cleveland, Ohio-based search search engine placement firm. He authored the “U.S. Manufacturers Resist Natural Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Online Sales Leads” study and a white paper, “Search Engine Marketing: Get in the Game.”
michael@fathomseo.com
