If you search Google, Bing, Yahoo or any other search engine for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) you’ll find dozens of companies that provide SEO services but what can they really offer?
SEO has been around since the ‘90s and it has evolved over the years due to the back and forth between Web developer’s various attempts to get higher rankings and search engine designers trying to keep results relevant. It has also changed due to new technologies like social media, mobile computing, location-based technologies, and even the way people interact with their televisions.
Wikipedia’s article on SEO has a fair amount of information but unfortunately, much of that information is out of date. Now there is some information there that still makes sense for developers to know about – using meaningful metatags, making sure internal links aren’t broken, and keeping your content updated on a regular basis are still good practices. But the world of SEO has evolved so quickly over the past ten years that it can be difficult to keep up to date on the latest techniques.
We spoke to Sean Mulcahy, US Director of Business Development at Jellyfish (http://www.jellyfish.net) an agency that specializes in SEO services (among other services) and asked him straight out – ‘what can a company like Jellyfish do for a company interested in SEO?’
“These days the world of SEO has changed dramatically from what it was ten or twenty years ago. Social media, mobile communications, and other innovations are changing the way people interact with companies. Modern techniques are not just about trying to get your widget page higher in the rankings, it’s about the entire user journey. These days people don’t just search for a product, click on the top link, and buy from that company. They research, find out what other people think, read reviews, try to learn about the company, and more before they make a buy decision. Managing that organic process involves more than metatags.”
As you explore the Jellyfish site you’ll see that their approach to SEO is much more than boosting page rankings (although that is definitely part of the entire picture). Jellyfish SEO is based on three key delivery areas – technical optimization, content optimization, and authority optimization.
Technical optimization involves a basic audit of your site (and your competitive environment) to insure that your site is providing the right information and isn’t inadvertently blocking search engines from finding your content. Content optimization makes sure that the right information is easy to find. Authority optimization is an ongoing monthly audit designed to enhance the authority of your content both on-site and across the internet.
There is much more involved when building an SEO solution. These days it is a lot closer to building an entire advertising campaign. When you launch a new product you have to consider everything including packaging, distribution, advertising, etc. and SEO is very similar. Doing business in this electronic age requires new techniques, new approaches, and new thinking. SEO is definitely part of that thinking and it might be worth your effort to check out companies like Jellyfish.
