Nobody begins a search engine optimization program with the idea that “It might be nice to move up to the fifth page of Google,” or to get an extra dozen visitors per month to their business website. No, we go through the hard work of optimizing pages, gathering inbound links, and generating new content because we want to make it almost impossible for searchers not to find our companies… and that means reaching one of the prime spots on Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

Despite that, not every SEO plan works out the way it was imagined. That doesn't mean you should give up on the idea of growing your business with search engine traffic; however, it just means you may have to change your approach to it.

Here are five things to try with your business web design team if your 2011 SEO plan didn’t succeed:

1. Make sure you didn’t actually succeed. Improvement in your search engine position rarely comes as quickly as you might expect it to. That is, you don't usually go from the 15th page to the first one right away. Make sure you didn't actually show substantial improvement over the course of the year before changing your plans; just because you aren't in one of the top three spots on Google doesn't mean what you're doing isn't working.

2. Re-evaluate your goals. As simple a question as it might be, are you entirely positive that you are trying to rank highly for the most important keywords and phrases? One of the parts of search engine optimization that tends to get the least amount of attention is keyword and conversion research. That's unfortunate, because having the wrong goals and targets means you aren't ever going to be truly successful. Even if you achieve one of the best rankings, you’ll always be missing out on the best sources of buyers or prospective clients.

3. Study the competition. Remember that SEO campaigns aren't conducted in a vacuum. Sometimes, it's not difficult to earn your way into one of the top search engine positions simply because you don't have a lot of competition for a given keyword or keyphrase. Other times, you may have competitors who have been building links and content for more than a decade. The first step to beating your competition in the search engine rankings is having a crystal clear understanding of what you're up against.

4. Make a new plan. By looking at your current search engine positioning, evaluating your goals and the keywords you're concentrating on, and closely studying what your competitors are doing, you'll probably arrive at a new set of  goals and ideas. This may be very close to the plan you already had in place, or something altogether different. Either way, take what you know and make it into an actionable plan that you can use for search engine optimization in 2012.

5. Work with a new SEO partner. There are times when your best move is to turn to a new search engine optimization partner to point you in the right direction. If you hired a person or company who made unrealistic claims, or lured you in with a “too good to be true” offer, then make sure you don't make the same mistake in the coming year. SEO is part art and part science, but having an experienced, informed, and customer-focused team working on your side gives you a huge advantage.

No matter what the reason your 2011 search engine optimization plan didn't succeed, don't let past failures hold you back. Follow these steps and watch new traffic coming to your website in 2012.