What is SEO and Why You Need It
Have you ever wondered what determines which websites appear at the top of a search engine?
It’s because of a process called “SEO”, or Search Engine Optimization.
SEO is a simple activity that ensures your website is found by search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, or Bing. As an Internet marketing strategy, websites are tagged with key words and search terms to bring them to the top of a search engine’s results and bring in more visitors.
With millions of results appearing from a single search, it’s important to make sure your site stands out from the competition. Your chances of getting clicked on are much higher when your website appears towards the top of the first page, rather than somewhere towards the bottom, or several pages behind. You want to create a seamless user experience, making it easy for consumers to find you.
Search engines store an abundant library of images, documents, and web pages. When someone searches for something online, it requires a search engine to sort through all of this information, find results that are relevant to the search, and lastly, rank these results in order of relevance and possible usefulness.
But relevance does not just pertain to finding a website with the right key words. Today, there are many other factors that influence a site’s relevance.
Here are some recommended steps to make your site appear more relevant:
- Make sure you site is easy to navigate. You should have clean and simple code, clear site hierarchy, and text links.
- Fill your site with clear, strong, and rich content. It is important to use H1 and H2 tags.
- Your site should be able to load quickly; search engines look at performance and whether or not a site works properly. A very complex site with multiple pages and layers may make it harder for the Search Engine to pick up on important information.
So, what are the benefits of using SEO?
Cost-Effective
SEO essentially allows you to create content that markets itself, for no extra cost. It’s become one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing to date. You will need to hire someone to provide the SEO for you, but the ROI (return on investment) is tremendous. Once this is completed, your website will do the rest of the work itself.
Increase Traffic
When used correctly, you will see a drastic increase in site traffic. By targeting customers who are looking for your products or services, you’ve made it much easier for them to find exactly what they’re looking for. It is important that you SEO your site for keywords and terms that your target audience may be typing in when searching.
Brand Credibility
Consumers are more likely to trust your brand credibility when you appear at the top of a search engine. You appear much more reputable and therefore more trustworthy. Most consumers do not explore any results past the first page of the search engine anyway.
Constant Marketing
With SEO, there’s really no need to frantically market your site. An SEO website does the job for you. Even when you’re on vacation, your site is still hard at work, marketing your business for you. Constant Marketing = Increased Sales.
Expand Your Business
Just because your office might be in New York, doesn’t mean you can’t do business with people in California. With SEO, you aren’t just marketing yourself locally; you’re now able to reach people from all over the world. This can be a great benefit to help your business grow and expand into other markets. Not to mention this also increases sales!
While building your website, it’s important to keep SEO practices in mind. The more work you put in to it, the better results you will see. There are many different practices you can use to increase your SEO, have your website reached by more consumers, and increase the sales and awareness of your business.
-Stay Creative