As the search engine evolves (out goes Lycos, in comes Bing) so does optimizing your web site to meet the demands of those that are searching. In the early days the process of optimizing your site was more brute force and less scientific. 

Brute Force: Slam as many key words, tags, and phrases into the code of your site. Climb the search engines magically, make millions (okay not millions, but let's pretend someone made millions this way).

The brute force days are long gone and the level of science increases everyday (sometimes every minute). We are finding that traditional strategies of marketing a product or service on the web is a day-to-day job. Back in the day (say a year or two ago), once you got to the top of the Search Engine, you were almost unstoppable. But because of more and more competition for placement and greater and greater relevance to the bottom line, companies will not stop until they get their product or service featured for the highly sought after terms.

The following is a list of three errors companies make with their search strategy:

1. Lack of Goals. Most companies want to appear on the first page of Google for a term or set of terms.  But what most companies don't know is if the term is actually what people are searching for when they are making a buying decision.

Advice: Install an analytics tool (e.g. Google Analytics) on your site with traceable goals.  This will help you better understand what terms people are searching for when they hit your "goal" link. Without this data, you will never know if your Search Strategy is really working.

2. They Stop. Once they hit the mark, most clients put their strategy on hold. If the terms you have targeted are making you money, my best guess is that your competitors will soon figure out your formula for success. If the terms you are targeting aren't making money, then your strategy needs to be re-aligned.

Advice: On a monthly basis make adjustments to your site to improve your standing with all target terms.

3. Pay to Play. It is imperative to buy some Pay-Per-Click Advertising (sponsored links on the top of the search engine). PPC campaigns are great for filling the holes of certain target terms that aren't met by your search strategy. They are also an additional source of data within your analytics account to study buying habits of your customers/prospects. Most advertisers can get away with monthly budget of $200-$300 per month.

Advice: Spend a little money on terms where you do not rank high, or where your competitors rank high. Most campaigns can be designed for a monthly budget of $200-$300 (shh…don't tell Google I said that).