Introduction
One of the solutions I provide is Search Engine Optimization. Alas, not a lot of people really know what SEO is. In this post, I’ll answer the basic 5 W’s and bonus H (what, why, who, how, where, when).
What is Search Engine Optimization?
SEO is the process of gaining traffic from the “free,” “organic,” “editorial,” or “natural” search results on search engines. The websites you see listed on Google, Bing, Yahoo, and others are considered to be the most relevant to your search query, according to that search engines crawlers. There is no payment required to get your website higher in search results (paid search ads are different, and SEO is not necessary for them) if you do the work yourself.
Search Engine Optimization itself covers a wide range of technical areas. These all come together, ultimately, to guide a search engines crawler to rank your website, page, blog, etc., based on quality of content and your website’s overall “authority” online.
On-Page SEO
Implementing on-page SEO may be time consuming, yet it’s one of the easiest steps to take in promoting your online content. Ensuring that your content is unique and relevant is the simplest of all on-page SEO. After the content is created, keywords need to be evaluated and focused on. Promote your keywords through your title tags, description paragraph, headers on the page, and even the link itself.
Other factors in on-page SEO include: title tag & length, search engine index status, image alt tag analysis, page load speed, and so much more. All of the on-page SEO metrics can be analyzed and improved upon.
Get a free on-page SEO audit for your website and see what’s holding you back by Contacting Me today!
Off-Page SEO
To improve your off-page SEO, you need to improve your online reputation. In today’s digital world, the easiest of way to gain the backlink and referral traffic is through Social Media interaction. Having even just a Facebook and Twitter page can substantially improve your search engine rank position for various keywords. Every share of a Facebook post gives whatever the link is more authority and strength. Search Engines will begin to see that web page as quality content and will increase it’s ranking.
Why is it necessary?
Without proper search engine optimization, your website will not appear high in search results. While quality content is outstanding for building traffic, and trust with visitors, it won’t be found on its own.
People browse the Internet via search engines
Consider how you use the Internet and how you find what you are looking for. How did you find what you needed? I will bet that it was through a search engine like Google, Bing, or Yahoo.
Today, search engines are the primary method people use to find information and websites, and so it’s important to be listed in their results. Google alone processes 40,000 search queries every second, and over 3.5 billion searches per day. There is a very good chance that one or two of those search queries are related to products or services your business now offers.
So then, how can you connect with the visitors who may potentially become your clients? Alas, the most profitable way is through SEO. Even though it requires time and energy, it is worth doing it right, the first time.
Search Engine Optimization Determines Content Visibility
Content can’t be successful without proper SEO. And considering that high quality content requires hours—if not days—to create, that could mean a huge loss for your company.
Your efforts could be wasted if you’re spending time and resources creating content that fails in the search engines. SEO will ensure your top-shelf content gets the recognition it deserves. And potential customers will be more likely to want to find out more about your business if they discover a helpful piece of content you published online.
Who needs SEO?
Every online entity needs search engine optimization. If you have a website on the Internet, you need to be appearing in search results. If your website isn’t getting traffic, then you have thrown money away with the web development and hosting costs associated with being online. Traffic to your website can be used to determine what your potential audience is looking for, and what you have that they enjoy. This information can then be used to improve products, change service descriptions, or maybe even decrease prices.
When you analyze the traffic and user interactions on your website and social media, you can improve your online reputation and content marketing strategy. Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Console are great places to start that are free.
How can I do my own Search Engine Optimization?
You can learn the ins and outs of SEO just by researching online. Here are a few tips on getting started with your own SEO campaign.
Research Effective Keywords
Read about effective research in this article from Backlinko.
Create Compelling Content
Having high quality content on your website will open up new avenues for traffic. Without having compelling content, your visitors won’t be willing to hit that Tweet or Share to Facebook button. Defining ‘compelling content’ becomes subjective, but it ends up having one purpose: to generate backlinks to your site. Click HERE to read more about compelling content creation!
Page Speed Optimization
One of the easiest boosts to your SEO score comes from reducing the load times of your website. Having lightning fast load times sets a perception of quality from your visitors. Even before they even begin viewing the content on your website.
Some statistics about page speed optimization, as found by a study by Kissmetrics and Akamai:
- 47% of visitors expect a website to load in less than 2 seconds.
- 40% of visitors will leave the website if the loading process takes more than 3 seconds.
- 52% of online shoppers say quick page loads are important for their loyalty to a site.
- A 1-second delay in page load time can also bring 11% fewer page views!
Take a look at our blog post, 10 Optimization Tips for Beginners, to get more info on how to improve your page speed.
Take to Google
There are hundreds of self-proclaimed quintessential guides on how to do SEO, but the best proof is from experience. Using queries like “how to do seo” and “tips for on-page seo” provide great resources and articles about SEO. Top names such as Moz, SearchEngineLand.com, and Neil Patel are recognized experts in search engine optimization.
Where can I get SEO services?
Doing your own search engine optimization may be most cost effective if you have a lot of time to devote to research and implementation. Unfortunately, a large number of small business owners must spend their time managing other aspects of their business to remain profitable. This is where online marketing agencies such as Jeff V Web Solutions come in.
We have already done the research to understand the ins-and-outs of effective and organic SEO. Furthermore, we have the tools to research and implement keywords in their most effective location.
Be sure to look at our Search Engine Optimization Solutions page, or contact us, to get more info on our capabilities.
When do my Search Engine Optimization results take effect?
This is the absolute worst question to try and answer. There is no definitive timeline for the success of SEO. You may see results in as little as a week, or it may take 2 months. Yet, no SEO campaign is the same. The level of success on your campaign can be improved by dedicating more time and resources to SEO. However, no amount of time or money will improve your rankings without properly applying keywords, optimizing pagespeed, and interacting with your audience.
