This has been bugging me for a while now and I even started writing about it back in April. I thought perhaps it was just me being overly sensitive since we build Google optimized websites.

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My curious mind and affinity for crunching numbers went to work (finally I get to use my Math minor). I wanted to get a decent sample size (1400+ websites) and give them a standard criteria to gauge how well Google reads their sites. The criteria mainly looked at how the site was built (indexing-friendly code), image/media tagging and meta description handling. The resulting report generated a score out of 100 and anything over 70 got the thumbs up.

Those that didn’t score so hot, I labelled as an ‘eBrochure’ site. A site that is on the Internet but is marketed in all mediums EXCEPT the Internet. Off the top of my head I would think that would include current customers, word of mouth, roadside billboards, magazine, direct mail, television and radio. *Side note* I do want to imply that eBrochure sites do not have a purpose on the web. They do. And in fact can be highly effective.

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However, when I conducted my research, I found approximately 75% of websites analyzed did NOT make the cut.

This confuses me. Especially when I look at the web marketing trends that estimate the SEM and SEO industry has a forecast of $26 billion by 2013.

What this tells me is that companies are throwing money at Search Engine Optimization services without having a site structure to support it. To put it bluntly…you simply cannot effectively optimize an eBrochure website for maximum gains. It cannot happen. If you do not know where you stand, contact us for a free website analysis. Just having a website that “looks good” doesn’t make the grade anymore. The code operating behind the scenes is equally important.