As a Denver Wedding Photographer, investment in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) might be as fun as a root canal, but can be a good thing (see results, below):

Thank goodness, I have an expert in the field to help me out! Here is Part 2 of 2 of Jason Lancaster‘s SEO tips (Part 1 of 2 addresses Why SEO is Important for Business):

How does blogging frequently maximize SEO?

Blogging is an effective SEO tactic because search engines love regularly updated content. If you are always adding new and original information to your website, the odds are pretty good that you’re operating a legitimate and informative website. If you don’t ever update your site – or if you never take the time to add unique, original content to your site – Google and Bing are probably going to think you’re a spammer.

If SEO follows music trends, what are we listening to now?

I really have no idea as to how to answer this question, but I’ll say this: SEO is just beginning to take shape. If SEO was a band on a stage, they would be warming up right now and they would sound out of sync. Things are changing constantly right now (which is part of the fun).

Describe three important ways to increase search engine rankings.

1. Leverage your existing relationships for links. Ask your clients, your friends, your customers, and anyone you’re friendly with to link to your site. Links are the currency of SEO.
2. Add useful or interesting content to your site all the time. If you sell Toyota parts, and Toyota has just closed dozens of plants because of a recent earthquake, you should write about a potential parts shortage. If you sell cakes, and you just figured out how to make a cake that looks like a Nikon D700, you should take pictures and put them on your site. Etc.
3. Think about a long-term link strategy. If you can figure out a way to build one link every day, in a year you’ll have 365 links. SEO isn’t a one day or one week or even one month activity – it’s a continuous process.

Why are links so important?

Search engines are always trying to figure out which sites are the most trusted and the most relevant to a particular search term. Links are a really good way to determine trust because they’re usually hard to get. Most websites don’t link out to a lot of other sites, and the really good sites – news websites, government websites – don’t link to anyone unless they’re very, very trustworthy. The other thing about links is that you usually have to do something to get one. To get a lot of links, you have to do a lot of work OR you have to do something really fantastic.

Just how ‘smart’ are search engines?

In truth, they’re pretty dumb compared to a human. They might be some of the most sophisticated programs in existence, but most grade schoolers can spot spammy websites easier than Google or Bing. The biggest challenge at Google and Bing is figuring out how to block spammy, low-quality sites, something that consumers are usually quite good at.

Let’s your marketing budget is $2000 per year, how would you choose to spend it?

Whatever amount you have to spend, I’d say that the first thing to do is come up with an actionable goal for your marketing dollars. Do you want to generate phone calls, email leads, walk-in traffic, or something else? Once you’ve established an actionable goal, you can start working backwards. There are lots of tactics you can choose from, and to be honest SEO isn’t always the right tool. However, I’m a big believer in Internet advertising over traditional media – especially when you don’t have a lot of budget.

How does blogging frequently maximize SEO?

Blogging is an effective SEO tactic because search engines love regularly updated content. If you are always adding new and original information to your website, the odds are pretty good that you’re operating a legitimate and informative website. If you don’t ever update your site – or if you never take the time to add unique, original content to your site – Google and Bing are probably going to think you’re a spammer.

If SEO follows music trends, what are we listening to now?

I really have no idea as to how to answer this question, but I’ll say this: SEO is just beginning to take shape. If SEO was a band on a stage, they would be warming up right now and they would sound out of sync. Things are changing constantly right now (which is part of the fun). Describe three important ways to increase search engine rankings.

1. Leverage your existing relationships for links. Ask your clients, your friends, your customers, and anyone you’re friendly with to link to your site. Links are the currency of SEO.
2. Add useful or interesting content to your site all the time. If you sell Toyota parts, and Toyota has just closed dozens of plants because of a recent earthquake, you should write about a potential parts shortage. If you sell cakes, and you just figured out how to make a cake that looks like a Nikon D700, you should take pictures and put them on your site. Etc.
3. Think about a long-term link strategy. If you can figure out a way to build one link every day, in a year you’ll have 365 links. SEO isn’t a one day or one week or even one month activity – it’s a continuous process.

Why are links so important?

Search engines are always trying to figure out which sites are the most trusted and the most relevant to a particular search term. Links are a really good way to determine trust because they’re usually hard to get. Most websites don’t link out to a lot of other sites, and the really good sites – news websites, government websites – don’t link to anyone unless they’re very, very trustworthy. The other thing about links is that you usually have to do something to get one. To get a lot of links, you have to do a lot of work OR you have to do something really fantastic.

Just how ‘smart’ are search engines?

In truth, they’re pretty dumb compared to a human. They might be some of the most sophisticated programs in existence, but most grade schoolers can spot spammy websites easier than Google or Bing. The biggest challenge at Google and Bing is figuring out how to block spammy, low-quality sites, something that consumers are usually quite good at.

Let’s your marketing budget is $2000 per year, how would you choose to spend it?

Whatever amount you have to spend, I’d say that the first thing to do is come up with an actionable goal for your marketing dollars. Do you want to generate phone calls, email leads, walk-in traffic, or something else? Once you’ve established an actionable goal, you can start working backwards. There are lots of tactics you can choose from, and to be honest SEO isn’t always the right tool. However, I’m a big believer in Internet advertising over traditional media – especially when you don’t have a lot of budget.

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Thanks, Jason, for sharing such great pearls of SEO wisdom!

Blog readers, in case you missed the first installment of this Ask the Expert, see Jason Lancaster’s tips on Why SEO is Important for Business. Also of interest:

• Link Building with Photo Journalism, a success story from portraits from Burning Man.
• Why I choose the wrong web hosting (Sorry, Yahoo Small Business)
• How do you value a link?

As a final note, Jason recommended me invest a little bit of time each day into investing into SEO and quality links. One really great one has been through Thumbtack, a ‘smart’ version of the yellow pages that works on a point system, rewarding users and buisnesses for spending the time to build their profile.