skibum - 3:47 pm on Dec 27, 2001 (gmt 0)

We've had many similar experiences working with large and small firms. With larger clients we are often called in when the site is ready for optimization (once the web developer has it almost wrapped up). Often times we provide the client with a report that outlines static vs dynamic pages, text in text format vs image format, link text, headers, page templates, frames, Flash, etc. The have it all right there in front of them, basic guidelines to go by and pass off to the web dev team. It gets ignored by everyone and then they go spend half a mil on banners and such. Great SEO wouldn't replace the whole online media budget, but it could make a serious dent. As long as there are free search services, the smaller site can stand against most of the poorly designed larger sites.

Branding and brand image is often the barrier to SEO. In the good ol' days you could register 40 domains put 10 pages on each all using a standard page template the looked identical to the actual client site. Each would have very similar content but would be just different enough to target different phrases.

A similar approach can still work, though content has to be more varied. It can sometimes help to add static "informational pages" on the client domain which can be placed in directories. They need not be highly integrated in the client site but should be seamless as an entry point. Getting back to them isn't necessary though its nice if the visitor can get back to a page that is very similar.