SEO…What Is It and Why Is It Important?

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What is SEO?

Okay so you keep hearing these three little letters…SEO, but what even is SEO? And why does every ad and email keep telling me that it is so important to have someone actively working on your business’ SEO?

Simply, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and the ongoing practices that help you get found on the first page of Google (the ultimate goal).

More complicated, it is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of visitors to a website by improving rankings in the algorithmic search engine results.

But don’t worry… this article will NOT be complicated as we believe that having our clients understand the value behind SEO is integral in a happy business relationship. I mean, who really wants to pay for a service that they have no idea what it is they’re even paying for? I know I wouldn’t!

So, let me break it down…

“What are some simple ways to improve my SEO?

Researching Keywords: What are the common words and phrases that people search for on Google in my industry? It’s important to know these so you can place them throughout your website content so when Google does a scan of your website, they say “Hey, this website can answer this user’s question…let’s send them here!” Use Google’s Keyword Planner to help you discover what keywords your industry uses.

Content Check: Does your website have these keywords throughout it? Are there any spelling mistakes or broken links on your website? This is important to check because it is a part of the user experience and can lower your credibility amongst users if there are broken links or mistakes that makes them leave your site faster.

Website Quality: Is your site user friendly? That’s a question that’s often asked to business owners by Web Developers or marketers…but what does it really mean? Based on the 200 factors that Google looks at, here are some questions you need to ask yourself about your website: What is the purpose of the webpage, is it clear? Do you have your YMYL pages secure and with quality content? Can your users easily navigate to the homepage and throughout your website?

Blogging: I know, I know…you’ve probably heard this one before. I bet I can guess what your response was? “I’m too busy to write a blog.” or “I’m just not a writer…” Well, I’m sorry to break it to you guys but blogging is so important if you really want to utilize trending keywords and somehow relate them back to your industry in a relevant way that still helps answer a user’s question.

There are three main benefits of blogging:

Keyword implementation: Getting to stick those trendy keywords such as new year resolutions, Christmas, as well as the keywords relevant to your industry). “But how do we find out what keywords are trending for me to include in my blog?” Well, the ever-powerful Google has provided us with a tool for just that! Check out Google Trends to find out what keywords are trending all over the world!

Quality & Quantity: You are answering users questions in a blog which means google sees that as good quality for the searcher. You are also posting blogs frequently which means Google sees that your website is up to date and worked on often. Read this article that write about why fresh content is so important and can directly affect your Google Ranking.

Linking: There are two types of linking that help your Google ranking if done correctly: Inbound and Outbound. Inbound links are often referred to as “backlinks”. These are the links that direct users to your website from another website, such as a blog that links a word to an article you have written. Outbound links point to other websites from your website; such as the links I have provided throughout this blog. What do these links do in terms of helping your SEO? It’s simple; they tell Google whether or not people are using your site to find relevant information and to help explain their point. It means that your website contains useful resources, and other people agree that it does; meaning it is more trustworthy.

Now…for the more complicated (but yet still SO important) SEO practices:

Content Marketing: Google loves exceptional content. But what is “exceptional content”? Well, it means having guides, stories, visualizations and infographics that display compelling data that people actually read. How do you achieve this if you aren’t a graphic designer or a copywriter? Well, hire an expert! We often see that our clients have attempted to write their own blogs, optimize them, and sometimes even use stolen images and infographics to try and update their own website. This is a big-no-no for several reasons, but the main one: time is money!

We hear time and time again that business owners just don’t have the time to properly achieve the desired results and in turn, the blog is essentially useless because no one is reading it, the images get flagged or reported, and you just wasted a whole lot of your time and received no money in return. So, again- remember that investing in a professional marketing and graphic design team will give you a better chance of getting a quantifiable and lasting return on your investment. If you want to learn more- check out this awesome blog.

Now that you understand Content Marketing, you need a digital marketing strategy…

Digital PR or Digital Marketing Strategies: This can be explained to you in various ways depending on your particular business’ needs; but simply put…it’s giving a reason for people to be interested in your business’, talk about it, quote it, etc. Do you have contests or a fun way to engage your audience so you aren’t just always selling to them? Do you donate to any charities? Do you have a newsletter that talks about all the events you are attending sent out to your email list? Do you even have an email list or a way to get people to sign up for your newsletter? These are all questions you need to ask yourself if you really want to be successful in the digital sphere.

Alt Text & Accessibility: “Sorry…alt what?” Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Alt text is a small part of creating an accessible web design. It’s primary purpose is to describe images to visitors who are unable to see them. This includes screen readers and browsers that block images, but also includes users who are sight-impaired. The alt attribute should typically be accurate, succinct, non-redundant, don’t include the words “image of…” or “graphic of…”, because usually they already know it is an image, the alt text is to describe that image. There are many more ways to make your site more accessible to all, and soon, it will be mandatory. So if you’re not sure how to do this yourself, hire a professional.

Check out our blog that explains more about Accessible Websites!