25

Nov

Search Engine Optimization: the #1 Ranking Guarantee

Posted by: Jeremy Reither

This is part one in a series of posts that we hope will help our readers better understand search engine optimization (SEO), by first understanding what it’s NOT.

Beware that ever-tempting top search engine ranking guarantee. If you’re getting e-mails from internet marketing firms guaranteeing that they can get your website into the top positions on major search engines for $199 – file them away in your “too good to be true” folder.

It’s not that you can’t get ranked #1 on Google – almost anyone can get top rankings for some keyword. That’s why the important question to ask is “for which keyword are you guaranteeing me top rankings?”

For example, it takes a lot more work to get ranked for the search term “toy trains” than it does to get ranked for “die-cast model train sets.” It’s easier still to get ranked for a more specific term like “Union Pacific Limited Edition Die Cast Train Set.” But compared to the first term, virtually nobody is searching for those latter more specific phrases. What good is a #1 ranking for a term nobody’s searching?

So, while someone might be able to guarantee you a top ranking for an obscure keyword or term, but obscure keywords are of little or no value to you. The goal of achieving top search engine rankings is to drive visitors to your website. Getting ranked #1 for a worthless search term gets you no closer to that goal, but someone might still try to charge you for the service of getting you there.

Here’s a tip that will help you filter through a lot of the noise: reputable search engine optimization (SEO) specialists don’t use spam e-mail marketing tactics. So you can toss those e-mails right off the bat!