Search engine optimization – it is the one thing every online company is seeking to accomplish so they can dominate the search rankings and lead their industry. While SEO is a concept that is easy enough to understand, executing on proven techniques can be a challenge without a proven strategy in place. One of the most powerful elements of any proven strategy is an online community.

In a recent webinar, Rank Higher: How to Incorporate Smarter SEO Techniques Through Online Communities, this strategy was examined in-depth. Originally broadcast on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, the webinar is now archived and the valuable information contained within makes it a worthwhile visit.

In a broad look, there is a massive amount of content available online today, with more added every minute. The sheer volume can make it challenging to ensure your clients land on your site when searching through Google (News - Alert), Yahoo or Bing. And, with increasing regulations surrounding SEO techniques, businesses can be negatively affected if they aren’t paying close attention.

During the webinar, a live poll was taken of all audience members to capture their most important SEO objective. A full 39.6 percent reported that their primary objective was to increase lead generation. Another 34.1 percent want to improve SEO to increase traffic on their website, 12.6 percent want to achieve or increase a measureable ROI, 2.3 percent want to integrate with social media and 11.1 percent want to improve brand and product awareness or reputation.

Lead generation is still seen as the primary focus for SEO and social media is a key tool to drive SEO. Within this webinar, TMCnet’s CEO, Rich Tehrani (News - Alert) shared his insight on SEO and why social marketing matters. While there are some at the executive level who believe that social media is a waste of time, there is a clear reason why companies should leverage this tool.

In a sense, social media and pushing out content to different platforms are just more tools that companies can use to drive organic search rankings. By using open Facebook pages and Twitter and LinkedIn (News - Alert) accounts that can be scanned by the search engines, companies can drive their search results online to gather more strength and attract more clients.

A company’s primary objective in driving SEO is an important element in developing the right strategy. Online communities can help to develop the right reach in the right areas so that a company’s specific objective can be accomplished. Even better, online communities can be used to integrate different methods of operation to drive those ranking results even higher.

Want to know more? Access this archived webinar today!