What Is SEO?
Although the words “search engine optimization,” or SEO, may initially seem intimidating, it is relatively straightforward. It involves preparing your online content—website, blog, or anything else—for search engine algorithms like Google’s. Search engine algorithms examine all web information and organize it on search engine results pages. Your company will be discovered here or forgotten in the “second page and beyond world.” Your SERP (search engine results page) rating is determined by your company’s SEO activities, affecting how “findable” you are to clients online.
Are you still perplexed? In its simplest form, SEO is modifying your website, blog, and other online material so that Google, Bing, and other search engines will list you first when customers conduct online searches for your products or services.
Basic SEO Terms
SERP
This is an acronym for search engine results page. It is the list of outcomes that search engines compile and show to users following a search. Your website or content will be listed among the results according to your SERP rank.
Backlink
This is when one website contains a link to another, especially common in creative writing and blogging. Your website’s SERP ranking improves with the number of backlinks it receives.
Keyword
A term or phrase that a user types into a search engine. Optimizing your website and its content is essential to appeal to customers looking for keywords such as “top hairstylist Indiana.”
Metadata
Information describing the topic of your website or its content for search engines. Metadata aids the algorithms used by search engines to determine whether your material is pertinent to what users are looking for.
Why Does SEO Matter To My Business?
Your business will significantly benefit from optimizing the content of your website and blog with the appropriate keywords, meta information, and other SEO variables.
If you play your SEO cards wisely, clients will find your company when they search on Google and Bing for topics related to your industry. Whether local Hoosiers are Googling “www.yourhairdresser.com (you),” “top hairdresser Indiana,” or “where should I get my hair cut?”, SEO can help customers find you if you’re a hairdresser in Indiana.
Regardless of your business, here are the top four reasons you should be concerned about SEO.
1. Traffic
If a person searches for “best hairdresser in Indiana” on Google, they’re likely to click on it. Thousands of people search for that phrase on Google, not just one. Each Google user who clicks on your name will increase your website’s traffic and open up sales opportunities. Say hello to increased visitors and higher sales!
2. Helpful Solutions
When you optimize your content for specific keywords like “hairstyle advice” or “best hair for my face shape,” customers will be able to find you when they search Google for solutions to their queries. As a knowledgeable, helpful brand, making a name for yourself in your field will boost your reputation and draw additional clients.
3. Cheaper, Easier Marketing
Why would you need to pay for top-of-page advertising if a customer can find you at the top of Google by typing in “best hairdresser Fort Wayne”? The location of your company on Google is determined by SEO; thus, it only makes sense to optimize your content for search engines when deciding how to spend your marketing budget.
4. Competition & SEO
Now it’s time for some hard truth. Someone must be listed on Google’s front page. If you don’t use SEO strategies for your company, your rivals will appear when customers search for guidance and solutions on Google. It’s just that simple.
You should keep SEO in mind when developing and distributing any online material, whether for a blog or your company website. The more successful your company becomes at content SEO optimization, the more likely it is that online customers will find you and visit your physical location.
