The Value of Tweets and Tweaks in Search Engine Optimization

By Christopher Hosford, on August 24th, 2009

It’s not news that marketing budgets have been cut to the bone, nor that even paid search expenditures are in a slump.

What is new, and slowly building over at least the past six months, is the realization by marketers that search engine optimization—the “free” kind of Web site tweaking based on content, metatags and link-building that helps a company get recognized in search queries—can return big, enduring benefits.

“Because of the recession, there has been an acceleration [in attempts] to figure out proper Web site optimization due to its lower cost overall and higher ROI,” said Aaron Kahlow, founder and CEO of the Online Marketing Summit conferences.

SEO GETS LEADS “It’s forced us to ask what is the most effective way- to get traffic leads and sales,” he said. “And there’s almost no one out there who won’t say SEO is now No. 1 by far, with e-mail a close second.”

Besides attributing this burgeoning focus to the recession, Kahlow believes marketers are simply outgrowing old assumptions.

“It doesn’t take a lot of skill for the mainstream marketer to get started with paid search,” he said. “They’re used to paying for ads, and also perhaps some got burned by the SEO work done for them by snake oil salesmen. But today, there’s a gradual awakening to the virtues of natural search.”

Another reality driving the growing implementation of search engine optimization is the explosion of social media, according to Loren McDonald, VP-industry relations at online marketing company Silverpop.

“Everything from Twitter to LinkedIn, Facebook, blogs and video—all are things ultimately about creating content and dialogue, which is basically integrated into natural search,” McDonald said. “People are realizing that the Web site content they create needs to dovetail with social dialogues, and they have to do it correctly.”

Continue readingThe Value of Tweets and Tweaks in Search Engine Optimization

Editors Note: There’s really no need to fear SEO. Many of the so called "Guru’s" and snake oil salesmen make it all seem much harder than it actually is.

Check out our Free Search Engine Optimization and Marketing Videos where you’ll get a small sample of videos from our SEO Training Program.