Do you want people to find your business? Of course you do! Knowing that, let’s cover why your business needs SEO.
What Is SEO?
Before we can tell you why your business needs SEO, we should first cover what it is. It stands for Search Engine Optimization, and here’s how Google defines it:
Search engine optimization: the process of making your site better for search engines.
Think of it this way. When you go to the internet, you search for something you want to find. If you find it fast, you get what you need (which often includes buying something), and everybody wins.
But, it’s not always straightforward. Say you want a cup of freshly brewed coffee, but you accidentally make your way to a store that sells wholesale coffee beans. That’s not ideal.
SEO makes sure you get a cup of joe, and the coffee shops find that wholesaler.
How SEO Works
So, how does SEO work?
Well, basically it’s magic.
Just kidding!
There are tons of software engineers at many companies who spend their days making sure their search functions show you what you hope to see. They develop complex ways to understand who you probably are, and what you’re probably looking for.
Back to our coffee example: They look at your situation. They know you’re on a phone and it’s 7 am. They know other people on their phones at 7 am saw that coffee wholesaler site and immediately left. They also know that they went to a website for a coffee shop, and they clicked on the hours and address pages, and then they closed their browser.
(They also probably followed your coffee journey through the map app and GPS in your phone, but we’re keeping it simple.)
Ultimately, they saw that people didn’t like the coffee wholesaler in that scenario, but they did like the coffee store.
So SEO is taking some extra steps to tell these search engines who would like your site. You’ll get better (and faster) results than if they did it on their own.
How SEO Works For Business
If you want to know how SEO works for business, just think about what we’ve covered so far. You’re essentially teaching the search engine who your ideal customers are, and then they will get sent to you.
Think of how this is a win for everyone:
- You get business.
- Visitors become satisfied customers.
- The search engine gets used again next time because everyone had a good experience.
SEO For Business Growth
Using SEO for business growth is a necessary strategy in today’s world. Tons of people find what they’re looking for by searching online. They may start on Google, Yelp, Tripadvisor, or somewhere else, but you want them to find you when they search.
Why Is SEO Important?
Wait, why is SEO important? Because people are lazy! They don’t want to scroll and think. They tend to click the top result and see if it’s what they want.
Once they find what they need, they stop looking.
If your ideal customer clicks your competitor’s site first, they may have just become a new revenue source to your enemy.
Your competitors are probably investing in SEO, so you want to do it better. And if they’re not, well, then any investment is going to put you ahead!
Factors that Impact SEO
Now that you know why SEO is important for your website, let’s discuss how to actually do it. Before getting into tactics and strategies, think about the different types:
- On-Page SEO: This is where you take specific actions on your website to boost it on search engines. This is partially done with the content itself, but there are also structural ways (such as image captions and the HTML title of the page) that tell the search engines what it’s about.
- Off-Page SEO: It’s not all about you. (Well, it is, but…) It also matters what other sites and people think of you. Getting links from popular pages or a lot of social shares really help your reputation.
- Technical SEO: Let’s get technical for a minute. You can build sitemaps into your site that help search engines find and understand all your pages. They also like it if it’s fast and works well on different-sized screens. This boring stuff makes a huge difference.
That’s the big picture, so now let’s discuss the nitty gritty.
SEO Techniques and Strategies
We’re going to primarily focus on the on-page SEO here because the other two are a much larger discussion.
At the most basic level, think of all your pages as “content”. Whether your homepage, your contact page, or a blog post describing the migration habits of slugs, everything on your website is content. (But please only write about slugs if they’re somehow relevant to your business.)
You should try to understand what your customers want, and then create the content they want.
Find a Purpose for Each Page
Your website is full of “static” pages that rarely change. Think of these as your homepage, your about page, your contact page, etc.
On your “about” page, It’s nice to have the story about your business. But instead of talking only about how you started roasting coffee beans when you were in 4th grade, try to also mention why you wanted to bring “freshly brewed coffee to [your town]”.
It’s important to distinguish between what builds your brand and what builds your SEO.
Some things get people to your site, and others make them choose you over your competitors.
Create Content-Only Pages
Aside from those static pages, you can also create blog posts (or similar) on a specific topic.
Let’s say you sell your coffee beans by mail, and you have a very specific type of roast you do. Writing an article about that type of roast will help other people find it (even if not in your town), and then they will hopefully buy from you.
The aim here is to become an authority in your field.
Do Your Research
Before you dust off the old typewriter, make sure people are searching for what you’re writing about. There are a ton of free and paid tools to find what people are looking for, but they are the starting point of a solid SEO strategy.
In SEO, Every Little Bit Counts
Now that you have a better idea why your business needs SEO, you might be wondering where to start. The good news is that SEO builds over time, so any effort you make now will likely pay a lot of benefits in the future.
The easiest way is to work with a company that specializes in SEO, and we happen to do just that! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about what to do to get started.
As you may have noticed, we love talking about SEO!
