What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
With the changing algorithms, updates to the online environment from major search engines, and the evolution of how the World Wide Web is functioning, it’s never a bad idea to get in a little refresher. Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, practices may have changed to adapt to Google switching up the rules, but there are a number of tried and true methods that remain constant. So let’s take a trip down Search Engine Memory lane and go over a few of the basics again.
The Basics
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It relates to improving a website’s visibility on a search engine’s organic/natural/unpaid search results. All of the top search engines, Yahoo, Bing and Google have search results. This is where pages are ranked in order of what that search engine finds relevant to what users are searching for.
In a nutshell Search Engine Optimization is this:
Write great and relevant content people want to share and you want to be found for. Repeat.
There’s a little more to it, but if you remember that, you’re on the path to a better website. Here are some more SEO methods and tactics to keep in mind:
Why Does My Site Need SEO work?
If you own a website, search results matter. The key to getting in front of your clients is to be sure that when they search the internet that they will be able to find you. In order to rank higher on the search engines, like Yahoo, Bing and Google, is to utilize each of their algorithms in order to get found. Each search engine uses the following factors
- Keywords
- Links
- Reputation
Keywords Matter
When a client searches for certain keywords or phrases, let’s use “dog costumes” as an example, that engine only wants to bring relevant results to the user. That means finding websites that are actually about “dog costumes”. In order to be sure that you and your customers are connecting, you will need to develop a keyword strategy that helps the search engines bring you and your customers together.
It sounds easy, but sometimes businesses get overwhelmed developing a keyword strategy for their websites. They may believe that they do not need to do research for what keywords their customers are searching, or once they do start doing research just become overwhelmed with all of the information. Hiring a Search Engine Optimization company can take a great amount of stress off of the business owner allowing them to get back to running their business instead of searching keywords and developing a strategy.
Title Tags and Page Titles
This is an example of where keyword research and having a keyword strategy would come into play. You need to understand what your client are searching for in order to outline what will be written on your site. These title tags are what show up first in your search engine query.
In our “Halloween Dog Costume” example, Google pulled up search results with Halloween, Dog, and Costume in them. The title tags that related were in BOLD.
Links
Whether or not people connect to your website can influence your website’s rank. Links come from other websites to your site are called “inbound links”. The higher ranking these websites are and more trusted they are to the search engines, the more value is added to your site.
Outgoing links are when you link to another site from your website. These outgoing links can have weight on your rank as well, so be careful on what sites you are linking.
There was time when companies would PAY FOR LINKS on other websites to make it appear that their website was being shared. Now, search engines are figuring out that not all links are equal, and that some of those links aren’t worth factoring into your rank level. Or worse, your site can LOSE ranking because of “bad links”.
Just a few links from trustworthy sites have more importance to the search engines than a lot of bad links.
Reputation
The search engines take all of the content and quality links for your website and try to figure out if you have a good reputation.
- Do you know what you are talking about?
- Is your information fresh and up to date?
- Do you update your site often?
- Are your links from trusted sites?
Think of it this way: If you search for “Healthy Potato Chips,” and come across a result for HealthyPotatoChips.com, you might be prone to click through and spend some time on the site. After all, this is exactly what you searched for and are greeted with the information you desire. Google will notice this, as it continues to happen, and rank that URL higher because it is becoming a trusted source for Healthy Potato Chips.
Now, if you did the same search and got a result for a website like Batmancheatcodes.com, you probably won’t be clicking through. If you do, and you find cheat codes versus potato chips, you’re going to click off quick. This increases that site’s bounce rate and tells Google, “Hey Google. Batmancheatcodes.com is trying to rank for irrelevant keywords and is misleading your users. What will you do to rectify this situation?” We’ll tell you what Google will rip that site right out of the search results for “Healthy Potato Chips,” thereby improving the user experience on Google. You want to be a part of that great user experience.
Can I do my site’s SEO on my own?
It is quite possible that you can run the SEO of your website on your own. The main drawback from running your website, writing relevant content, and doing social media on your own is the amount of time that it takes. Wouldn’t you rather be focusing on running your company?
Hiring a Search Engine Optimization company will ensure the correct and effective handling of –
- Keyword research – Finding what keywords your customers are using to find websites like yours.
- Keyword assignment – Deciding what keywords to use on your website in content and title tags.
- Implementing keywords into relevant content – Sitting down and writing the webpages, blogs, and title tags for the site.
- Link Enhancement
- Online Reputation Management – With the new keyword strategy in place, chances are more people will start to find you. An SEO Company will help with how to deal with the increased awareness and traffic.
This can be overwhelming when you are trying to do your own Search Engine Optimization. Hiring SEO Inc. to handle all aspects of your SEO Services help alleviate this stress, and keep you focused on what you love to do. Leave the heavy lifting to us.
Contact SEO Inc. today to get started with a custom SEO campaign for your business. Our helpful SEO experts are standing by to assist you ASAP.
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