If you run a business, chances are you’ve heard the acronym “SEO”. You may know that it’s very important, but you may not know why. So, what is SEO and what does it mean for your business? Well, keep reading to learn more about search engine optimization.
What is SEO?
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of using search engine rankings to drive traffic to your website and improve your brand’s visibility. This search engine ranking sits within the organic (or non-paid) section of the search engine.
How Does SEO Work?
SEO involves things like keyword research, technical SEO audits, content creation, and link building. You need to have plenty of rich, high-quality content. But, if you have lower-quality content, search engines will likely rank your site lower.
Let’s break each of these down, shall we?
Keyword Research
When you’re speaking with a marketing professional, they’ll probably mention “keywords”. Keywords are search queries that someone uses to express a problem or a question in a search engine. For example, this blog’s main keyword is “what is search engine optimization?” because that is a very common keyword search query. There are many online tools that you can use to research top keywords. These will help you narrow down what your target audience is searching for.
Technical SEO Audits
Technical SEO audits evaluate your website based on its technical aspects. These audits will tell you where you need to improve your website so that it ranks higher in search engines. Search engines will crawl your website, evaluate it, and conclude where it should rank it in its search results. The better your site functions, the higher it’ll rank. So, when you have a technically sound website, the search engine will crawl your site easily, ranking your site higher.
Content Creation
Your keywords will tell you and guide you on the kind of content you should create for your audience. There are many kinds of content you can create including:
- Product or service pages
- Blog posts
- Articles
- Lists
- Guides
- Infographics
- Videos
- Directories
- Slideshows
- Glossaries
All of these types (and more — the options are endless) are types that people search for. Plus, they allow you to create backlinks within your own website, and with external sources. What are backlinks? Great question!
Check out this blog about how to create SEO-friendly content for social media!
Backlinks
Backlinks are links that you include in your web pages that connect to other pages within your own website or to secondary websites. So, if you’ve read an online article, chances are you’ve seen linked sources. Those linked sources are called backlinks. They’re incredibly useful for increasing your website’s authority (or professionalism), which helps rank your website higher in search engines.
Why Is SEO So Important?
SEO is integral to gaining visibility for your website, therefore your business. It would be like having a storefront with no name, no pathway to the door, not even a parking lot. Sounds pretty useless, right? SEO gives users the pathway, the access, to your website because you’re putting in the effort to get your name out there.
You can’t run a business without traffic — optimizing your website gives you that traffic organically by ranking you high in search results.
It’s rare for a user to flip through the many pages in their search results. Instead, they tend to stick with the top results because they need answers immediately. In fact, over 25% of users click the top result on Google. So, you need to take advantage of SEO strategies, otherwise your website could fall through the cracks.
So, there you have it! A general overview of search engine optimization (SEO), how it works, and why it’s important for your business. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or don’t know where to begin, no worries! Siva Creative is a strategy-based agency that will help you achieve the results you need.
