Introducing Six Sigma Methodology for SEO
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Six Sigma is a principle of quality improvement, business management strategy, originally developed by Motorola, Inc. and popularly implemented by the manufacturing industry (e.g. in the electronics and automobile sectors). It provides a standard method of defining/analyzing a problem and then coming up with improvement plans, all the way down to monitoring and assessing the results. As you'll soon see, it can also be applied to SEO.
It is called Six Sigma because it is closely associated with the goal of minimizing and “zeroing” defects or non-conformance in a manufacturing or a business processes.
In the above screenshot, the process is operating in “Six Sigma” because the chances of encountering any defects are extremely rare (standard definition: ~3 defect parts out of a million products produced) and the specification limits of the process are on the six sigma limits (x-axis).
However, the above curve is not feasible for online business and SEO. This is because specifications are not well defined, as they are in the electronics industry (for example, a resistor's specifications should be 10±0.5 ohms, where 10.3 ohms is said to be conforming while 10.8 ohms is a defect).
Over the course of time, due to its popularity in the electronics/manufacturing sectors, the meaning of Six Sigma has been simplified and is mostly associated with a “near perfect process that is continually striving to improve.”
In this three-article series, you will learn how to adopt and integrate “Six Sigma” methodology as part of an existing search engine optimization strategy, which is the main element of success in the online business sector. The objective is to let you adopt a standard method of solving problems and coming up with solutions to improve the quality of your website, service and other measurable elements such as conversion rate, traffic, etc.
By improving your business processes, you reduce cost and increase profits. In fact according to Wikipedia, as of 2006; Motorola has saved over US$17 billion by implementing Six Sigma projects.
Currently, no standard set of methods is popularly known to SEO to define the problem, measure it, analyze and finally improve a situation by implementing corrective actions that can increase customer satisfaction, sales and website traffic.
This first article deals with the core principles of six sigma quality improvement. The second article will illustrate the tools/requisites needed for implementation, and finally the third article gives a real life example/implementation of Six Sigma principles.
Next: The Governing Principles as Applied to SEO >>
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