One of the basic tenets of running a website these days is ensure that your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) house is in order. A simple Google search on SEO will provide tons of stories and testimonials from companies who swear it brings in more traffic to their website than any other online channel.
Still, if the concept of SEO is new to you, here are some common questions you may have about the term as well as an explanation of why it is important for your website.
OK, what is SEO?
There are a lot of definitions of SEO on the Internet, but perhaps Search Engine Land sums it up best, “SEO stands for ‘search engine optimization.’ It is the process of getting traffic from the ‘free,’ ‘organic,’ ‘editorial,’ or ‘natural’ search engine results on search engines.”
In other words, SEO focuses on growing the visibility of a website in organic search results. According to Moz, a majority of web traffic is driven by the major search engines, which include Google, Bing, and Yahoo! Moz also reports that Google by far has the most search engine traffic with about 80% of all searches coming from the site, compared to less than 10% each for Bing and Yahoo!
How do I implement SEO?
One of the best ways you can implement SEO on your website is to think about what kinds of keywords people would search for in relation to what your company offers. A great free tool to help you find these keywords is the Google AdWords Keyword Planner. With this tool, you can search for the keywords you want to rank for and see about how many average monthly searches each of your keywords receive as well as how much they would cost to run Google ads (pay-per-click or PPC). This tool can help provide you with an idea of just how competitive the keywords are that you want to target. Based on this information, you may want to continue to use the keywords you have planned or to readjust your strategy.
How does SEO help my site?
There is a lot that SEO can do for your website. If you’re using the right keywords in your content throughout your site and many other sites are linking back to your content, you will then rank higher in search engine results. This can potentially allow hundreds, if not thousands of people to reach your site that would have not arrived there through any other channel. While there are paid search efforts available, organic search (SEO), is far more valuable and always yields a higher volume of search results.
So, where do I begin?
If after reading this blog post, you’re interested in having an effective SEO strategy, you may be asking, “What’s next?” One of the best ways to get your site ranked in the best possible way on search engines is to hire an experienced SEO professional. When you work with a team you can trust, you’ll be on the road to search engine success.
