After years of paying lip service to search engine optimization (SEO), the time for enterprises to seriously consider this online marketing channel has finally come. The traditional online marketing channels – paid search, display advertising, and email – are all experiencing saturation, fierce competition, and lower returns on investments. As a result, marketing organizations are discovering SEO to be the most promising alternative for acquiring new customers. But there is some heavy-lifting that needs to be done before SEO can become a consistent revenue generating channel with positive ROI. Here are eight tips to set you on the right track: 8 Tips for Converting Your SEO Operation into a Key Online Marketing Channel 1 — Take SEO Seriously – Now. There is a significant first mover advantage in SEO – if you can take a position at the top of the natural search rankings, the search engines will give you higher authority and more exposure, making it very difficult for others to dislodge you. By jumping into an SEO strategy now, you’ll likely have a leg up on your competition for better placement in search rankings. 2 — Dedicate Specialist Resources. SEO is not a part-time activity. It is naturally…

Today’s 8 things blogger is Heather Hedden, a consultant at Earley & Associates, Inc. Earley & Associates has been advising enterprises on taxonomy and metadata management strategy and implementation for the past 15 years. Additional articles and a listing of services can be found at www.earley.com. Earley also offers the AIIM Certification Course: Information Organization and Access (“IOA”) which explores these topics and more in an in-depth 4-day master class. Contact Seth Earley at 781-820-8080 or seth@earley.com if you’d like to discuss how you can leverage the power of taxonomy to integrate the organizing principles of your business. Locations and dates at www.earley.com/training/aiim-courses. Chicago, IL 07/26/10 – 07/29/10 Toronto, Canada 08/09/10 – 08/12/10 Washington, D.C. 09/13/10 – 09/16/10 San Francisco, CA 09/20/10 – 09/23/10 8 Things You Need to Know About How Taxonomy Can Improve Search Search engines have come a long way in their ability to help users find desired information among electronic content within an enterprise. Technologies vary, but not matter the search method, all kinds of search can be enhanced, if a taxonomy is also brought into play. Regardless of how content is indexed (simple crawling, concept extraction, use of algorithms, use of rule sets, etc.), taxonomies…