With all of the new development in website design and coding languages, many people are trying their hand at designing and publishing websites. This is not a bad trend, if you know precisely what you are doing. If you are following a simple, enclosed guide, you may be doing more harm to your business than you know.

Among the newest trends are people designing and publishing sites based upon Adobe Flash.  This, in itself, is not a bad thing. Flash sites are very colorful, usually, and can keep someone’s attention for a longer period of time than most static sites. Everyone knows that “page view time” is a good thing as pertaining to the search engines. What everyone doesn’t know is the down side of Flash.

One issue with Flash sites is the lack of HTML descriptions and keywords. Yes, I know that “some” people say descriptions and keywords are not as relevant as they had been, but I have seen the results of NOT having a valid description and keywords posted. I also know there ARE ways to get around this issue but I have seen very few examples of people actually doing the extra work.

A second concern is the amount of time it takes for the Flash page to load, commonly known as “load time”. This CAN be an issue for HTML pages also but I have found many slow loading pages are Flash pages.

If you are creating a site for your own personal use, that is your personal issue. You know what you have created.

If, on the other hand, your are creating a site for someone else, and have NOT described the issues that go with a Flash site (pertaining to site description, keywords and page load time), you have seriously mislead your client. The client seldom understands what is involved in creating a site and is expecting the builder to complete the task so their site has the chance to be ranked high in the search process. If you are using straight Flash, I don’t believe that is possible.

On a regular basis, I find clients that are upset because they can’t get their website to rank high in the searches. They don’t know why the site won’t rank and, usually, the site designer doesn’t know either. After a period of education about search engine functions and theory, the owner typically asks something like “so WHAT do I do now?”

Then it comes down to finding someone to change the site so it can be relative to the search engine bots.

This discussion is NOT to downgrade Flash sites.  Flash sites are excellent when used for displaying content. They are not the bets when it comes to the sales and marketing side of a business. Yes, it CAN be done but it takes more work to accomplish a truly multifunctional site.

Bottom line, if you are marketing and selling materials or services, a Flash site probably isn’t your best choice. An HTML based site, built and optimized correctly, has the best chance of being seen by the search engines and getting your site ranked for the world to see you.

If you have questions about increasing your website’s visibility and search ranking, contact Bill’s team to see what his team can do for you. You can reach Bill’s team at  etlap1ads@gmail.com If you are looking to build your marketing skills, click the scrolling box at the top right and see what training and education we have to offer.

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Much has been written and discussed, usually passionately, about search engine optimization or, as it is known, SEO.  For many years, SEO was purported to be some type of magic that you had to pay someone to handle the details.  The general consensus was that the “normal” person could not handle SEO. To add to this stereotype, the search engines tried to keep an aura of magic in SEO.

Recently, the veil of magic has been lifted.

Much of the “magic” of SEO is really not that magical.  It is more common sense than anything else.  Yes, there are rules that you need to abide by to stay in the good graces of the search engines.  The rules are not magic but you need to change, slightly, the manner in which you present your material.  It is not as simple as just locking in a single keyword. It is learning how to lock in the “feeling” that the search engines are seeking.

Fortunately, in the past several years, many people have worked very hard to educate everyone who wants to learn about the trials and tribulations of SEO.  They have printed and spoke about everything that is required to excel in SEO.  The real advantage of learning from these experts is that they have assembled tools and techniques that shorten the learning curve. Because these people spent their effort to help others, everyone benefits.

So, what is this “magic” that the search engines are seeking?

The easiest way to describe SEO in terms that everyone can understand is “relevancy”. The search engines are looking for more than just a single keyword.  They are looking for a pattern of linking words and phrases that add more “structure” to the keyword.  SEO is also about how to structure of how everything is tied together.

For instance, Google has tools on its search page that will show the relevant words and phrases for a given keyword or phrase. Then Google also will allow you, using their own tools, to further dissect these words and phrases. By completing the research before you construct your site or article, you have a significant advantage over the person that doesn’t understand SEO or doesn’t believe it matters.  Trust me, it does.

The way that you know that your SEO work is doing its job is to do the Google search. When your info show up on the first page of Google … and stays there … you have completed your work successfully.  It gives you great, personal satisfaction when everything falls into place and you get your info ranked over people that have been there for a period of time.

The BEST way to “win” in SEO is to change your mindset to match what the search engines are looking for.  It isn’t magic, it is just following a set of rules, much like most other things in life.  The advantage that you have with SEO is that you have feedback very quickly. If your information doesn’t rank, you didn’t do your homework.  The good part is that you can always rework what you did until you DO get it right.

So, how do you learn SEO correctly?  Easy.  Go to:  http://www.MLMIntegrityMarketing.com to learn how my team and I teach others to utilize these same SEO tools to control our spots on the web.