Search Engine Optimization is a term that is becoming synonymous in the world and especially those wanting to correctly promote their business. Which is why I have created this blog called “What is SEO and will it help my business?”. Where I will give the basic insights on what SEO is and how to utilize it. To start, what is SEO? As mentioned before, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. So don’t be dummy and forget. Now lets focus on the Search Engine part. A search engine is an amazing piece of technology that many people take for granted these days. Its offered by companies like Google and Bing. Where we can search anything we want and it searches through thousands of sites in a matter of seconds to bring us any information we can think of. How is this done?
When you go onto google and type what you are looking for into the search bar, you are typing keywords. Think of when you go fishing and put bait onto your hook. Consider your keyword as a bait, the fishing rood is the search engine, and the lake is the internet. The search engine throws that keyword (your bait) into the internet (the lake) and brings back everything that contains the most of, or most relevant to what you have searched (the fish). When the internet first became a household thing, promoting your sites on search engines wasn’t much of a factor. Now that we are in the day in age where almost everything is on the internet, it’s important for any business to maximize the benefits of SEO.
Before we get into that, lets start by dissecting what you see on Google when you use their search engine. Let’s start with some key concepts you will need to understand. First, Pay Per Click advertising. PPC advertising is an essential part of promotion on the internet and is how many people increase their traffic quickly. The concept of pay per click advertising is basically explained in the name. Businesses or people will select certain keywords that once they are searched, their result is at the top or right of the page. Each click to that link will caused them to be charged a certain amount that is decided by Google. That amount is typically decided by the average number of people that search for something in a given month. They can be as cheap as a few cents to expensive as a few hundred dollars! Just by a single click of a button!
Obviously any large sum of money won’t always get you to the top of the page. When you search for something, underneath the paid promotion you will find the natural results often referred to as organic results. To put it into easier words, these sites are the ones that nipped at your bait the most. The keywords you used found the most and best content on the sites that were provided near or at the top. This is where choosing unique and accurate keywords to your site is absolutely pivotal in maximizing any form of SEO your business is doing. Below I’ve attached a photo of a SERP (Search Engine Results Page) for bowling balls. You can see the PPC Advertising along with the top organic search that has a 1 next to it.
Now, does SEO actually improve traffic and your business? Absolutely. The proper SEO management and utilization can truly turn a business around if done correctly. All it takes is finding your niche, and understanding what they are looking for. The more you can understand the consumer, and how easily SEO can allow them to find you makes all the difference. Here is a great article advocating for more spending on SEO
Clearly not all traffic going to your site will result in a purchase, and they may not even stay on your site for very long. But what truly matters is if your site is getting traffic and creating the content to get people there. If you are a start up company and budget may be an issue for you, that’s okay! Organic results are always a possibility if you are working with a good SEO firm. Not only that, but it’s possible to do it yourself! This is where we get back to keyword searches and how important it is to flood your site with these in order to direct traffic. Overall, SEO is essential if your business is primarily online. It’s how you will reach the biggest audience and direct the most people to it. Google realizes which sites are the most trustworthy and efficient, and its important that your business or website is recognized.
Lastly, I’ve attached another article on SEO trends that improve what you are doing for your business in 2018.
-Noah Carr
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