Message Strategies: Marketing and Sales Messages [LO-3]

Have you ever wondered why certain websites and blogs appear at the top of the list when you use an online search engine? Or why a site you might expect to find doesn’t show up at all? Such questions are at the heart of one of the most important activities in online communication: search engine optimization (SEO). (SEO applies to the natural or organic search results, not the sponsored, paid results you see above, beside, or below the main search results listing.)

SEO is a complex topic that factors in dozens of variables, but even without becoming an expert in SEO, every website owner can work toward improving rankings by focusing on three important areas. First, offer fresh, highquality, audience-oriented content. Content that doesn’t appeal to people won’t appeal to search engines, either.

Second, use relevant keywords judiciously, particularly in important areas such as the page title that displays at the top of the browser screen. Third, encourage links to your site from other high-quality sites with relevant content. These links from other sites are crucial because they tell the search engines that other people find your content interesting and useful. Not surprisingly, given the importance of links from other sites, the content sharing encouraged by social media has had a huge impact on SEO in recent years.23 Locate a website for any company that sells products to consumers and write a new title for the site’s homepage

(the title that appears at the top of a web browser).

Make the title short enough to read quickly while still summarizing what the company offers. Be sure to use one or more keywords that online shoppers would likely use when searching for the types of products the company sells. Next, identify three high-quality websites that would be good ones to link to the site you chose. For instance, if you chose a website that sells automotive parts and supplies, one of the three linking sites could be a popular blog that deals with automotive repair. Or if the site you chose sells golf equipment, you might find a sports website that covers the professional golf tours or one that provides information about golf courses around the world.