What is SEO and why should your small business care?
SEO – you’ve heard the term and know it’s something to do with your website but do you know what it means and why you need to? Search Engine Optimization can be defined as the process of improving internal and external aspects of a website to increase its organic visibility for search engines. But what does this mean?
In simple terms, SEO is a set of actions designed to get your website noticed when people are searching the web for what you have to offer. It involves editing a website’s HTML code so that the content is more search-engine-friendly and more relevant to what people are searching for online – namely relevant and useful content.
A search engine’s job is to make sure the search results they display are useful and relevant to users. Using elements like bots, search engines ‘read’ the text of your website, and scan and index that content. When you use SEO tactics, your website is more likely to appear (higher up) on the search engine’s search results list e.g. the list that comes up when you search for a topic on Google.
Why should you care about SEO for your business?
The point of SEO is to get your website listed as high up on the search rankings as possible so it’s one of the first ones your prospective clients see when conducting an online search. The higher you are on the rankings, the more traffic your website will get. Relevant, quality traffic can lead to greater exposure and more sales.
In this digital age, your website is one of the most important tools in getting your brand noticed and your services out there, small businesses included. After all, it doesn’t matter how good your offering is if your target market doesn’t know about it, right? Your website (as part of a comprehensive online marketing strategy) is a major part of getting the word out there. A relevant and up-to-date website also adds to your organisation’s reputation. But again, it doesn’t matter how great your website if it’s nowhere on the search list rankings. Think about real estate... it’s all about location!
Web content that is written with SEO in mind is...
1. Clearly-written, concise, and comprehensive.
2. Written with your ideal customer in mind.
3. Easy to navigate.
4. Includes well-placed, relevant links from other websites.
5. Uses as many keywords as possible in the right way. Keywords are those words and phrases that someone is most likely to use when searching for your business or service online. A word of caution here – while they are a must for SEO, keywords should not be over-used as this might cause your website to be tagged as spam.
Getting your website to a high ranking position on a search list is not an easy task – the web is a busy place! It takes skill, time, and tweaking to increase your search engine rankings. What to make sure your business is taking full advantage of SEO and other digital tools? Do you need help designing or refreshing your website? Call us! From our keyword audit service to our ignition™ retainer which deals with all things digital, we can help you put your website (and your business!) on the map.