What is Search Engine Optimization?
Search Engine Optimization (commonly referred to as ‘SEO’) is the process of tweaking and optimizing your site to be more aligned and relevant with specific keywords or phrases in order to rank higher in search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing.
Essentially, this is free traffic coming to your website from various online sources. The goal is to match the phrases that people are typing in with what is displayed on your website.
The whole purpose here is to provide value, develop trust, and be exactly what the customer is looking for.
Not only does that mean you will rank higher for the terms that fit your business the best, but the visitors coming to your site will be more likely to buy, and in turn, become a higher-value client for longer periods of time.
How Does SEO Work?
There are over 200+ documented factors that have an impact on your website’s visibility in the search engines, and even though there are so many, knowing the proper hierarchy is crucial in ranking and being found. We know this by not only ranking our own web properties, but because we have also increased online revenues for hundreds of businesses. Here is a brief rundown of some of those factors:
On-Page SEO Factors
These are all of the different parts of your website, and how it is built. Here are just a few of the many things that come into play when optimizing your on-page performance:
- Headlines (H1, H2, H3, etc.)
- Page titles and descriptions
- Relevant images and videos
- Valuable content
- Website speed
- CTR (Click Through Rates) dictated by user intent, experience, and engagement
- Technical markup to easily show the search engines what they are looking at (Schema.org markup)
Off-Page SEO Factors
There are also a number of factors that are not located on your website itself that affects how high it ranks, including:
- Relevant and authoritative links pointing to your site
- Citations that list your business contact information (Yellowpages, Yelp, niche specific directories, etc.)
- Social profiles (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, etc.)
- Social engagement for your brand
Why You Should Care About SEO
For starters, the world of business marketing has shifted entirely in the past 10-15 years.
Back in the 90’s, the Yellow Pages, television ads and radio ruled the scene, and could command high prices for any business to advertise. But now the situation has changed completely.
Whenever someone wants to buy a product or pay for a service these days, they go directly online to find more information on who they want to open up their wallets to.
In fact, over 82% of consumers do their research online before they buy anything.
People have almost entirely molded their buying habits to rely on search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing, and while it’s not an easy task, the companies who have succeeded in ranking are dominating the scene and making real money – and will continue to do so.
They understand that the most effective way of getting new “interested” customers and making new sales is through tireless preparation, targeted strategies, and relentless execution.
The days of handing out business cards and blasting your message to everyone who drives by your billboard are long gone – it’s simply not the smartest way to get people to find and buy from you.
What if there was a way where you could increase the amount of targeted people that find your website while systemically funneling them to buy from you instead of your competitors?
Well, there is a way, and we’ve been implementing our strategies for years by not only ranking our own web properties, but also increasing online revenues for hundreds of businesses time and time again.
Organic search is the best type of advertising that you can use your business because it is mostly un-interrupted advertising that’s working for you 24/7. There’s no denying that if you’re not in the right place at the right time when someone is looking to spend money, well you might as well call it a day.
Attracting vs Chasing Business
One of the best things about marketing your business online is that you can make paying customers come to you instead of having to hit the pavement the old fashioned way hoping for a “yes”.
Since every company needs a sales team in order to move products or services, it’s a much smarter strategy to be able to target and attract your customers online.
There is an instant shift in trust, authority, and buying resistance when someone that is looking for your service finds “you” instead of you chasing after them.
In addition to a smoother sale, this can also cut down operating costs, however the key takeaway here is that your ROI (financial and time-wise) is multiplied instantly.
Imagine a stream of hungry customers coming straight to you, all because they found you ranked in the search engines, and built a trust in your name and business because of it.
When you sit down and crunch the numbers, it is an undisputed fact that there is absolutely no higher ROI in local marketing than ranking highly in search engines, because of the consistent, on-going results it can produce.
More Digital Marketing Services That Will Make You Money:- Search Engine Marketing/Pay-Per-Click (SEM/PPC)
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Website Design
- Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
- Social Media Marketing (SMM)
- Online Reputation Management (ORM)
- Content Marketing