Last Update: April 24, 2014

Marketing in its most basic form is simple. Communicating with your target audience about your products and services. However, finding the best form of communication and where to share your great news can be a bit more daunting.

I’ve found that one of the best marketing strategies or Internet (or e-commerce) businesses is search engine optimization (SEO) — the process of tailoring your company website to the algorithms that search engines use to rank websites based on “signals” that your website emits.

However, search engine algorithms continue to change with time as the Web evolves (e.g. Panda Updates, anyone?). So Internet-based companies need to evolve with the major search engines; staying up to date with best practices to claim the best possible rankings for industry and business-related keywords.

Improve Company Website Page Rank

If you want your company website to rank well in top search engines, here are six SEO components you should be aware of when you or your web development team is optimizing your site:

1. Keywords

Keyword research is your first step toward a successful SEO strategy. First you must understand what online users are searching for when they discover your business in a search engine.

Utilizing the right keywords on your website can drive targeted traffic and ultimately convert searchers into customers. To get started, brainstorm potential keywords associated with your products and services. Then assess the competition for these keywords using Google AdWords Keyword Tool. If certain keywords are too competitive in your niche, go with long-tail keywords (between two and five words) which will be easier for you to rank. The longer the keyword, the less competition you will have for that phrase in search engines.

2. Meta tags

Meta tags still play a vital role in SEO. For example, if you type a keyword into a search engine, you can see how that keyword is reflected in the Title for specific pages. Google looks at your page title’s as a signal of relevance for specific keywords. The same holds true for the description of that same page. However, don’t worry about the keyword title tag —  Google has publicly confirmed that they don’t pay attention to that tag, since it has been abused by webmasters and those attempting to rank for certain keywords.

3. Content

It’s true, content is still king. Most search engines have stated that creating quality content is the best way to not only rank for keywords, but to create a positive user experience. Creating good content can go a long way by assisting with consumer education and becoming an authority in your niche. All of these things can translate into more sales.