Do I need SEO?

The short answer to this question is "yes". But before you get all excited about showing up on the first page of Google for your new gift basket business there are a few things you need to consider. First of all the key word "Gift Baskets" has a competition level of about 42 Million (the number of web pages competing for page 1 position 1). Most of the gift basket companies on the front page have been established for over 10 years and have already

done what it takes to get there, and they don't plan on giving up their position to you. In order to get to the front page with that key word you would have to establish yourself as being more relevant and popular. New businesses should focus on keywords that are still being punched in, but are less competitive. For example: instead of gift baskets you could use "gift baskets in Cleveland", or "gift baskets for our office in Cleveland". These are still being searched by prospective customers, but the competition level is much lower. You stand a much better chance of getting a higher position in search engines than just the single phrase "gift basket". This is why knowing your audience, and doing the keyword research is so important. The most important thing to keep in mind when it comes to SEO, is that you want search engines to know what you want to be known for. This will determine where you're placed in their index. In other words, if you sell "woman's perfume" don't have an h1 title tag that says "leaf blowers"... you get the idea?