SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION AS A SMART MARKETING STRATEGY
If you have a business that you want to market effectively, you will need a strategy that not only draws consumers to your website, but also makes your website easy to find. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is essential for this. SEO is a strategy for improving your website’s ranking in search engine results.
Regardless of what product or service your business offers, your target customers are likely using online search engines like Google to get information about it. Sources say that more than 8 out of 10 consumers look for businesses online using search engines. In our tech-savvy, digital world, a good SEO strategy will help get your company noticed.
The good news is, there are some basic steps you can take to improve your website’s SEO, and over time, your website’s ranking will climb in those Google searches. That way, when a consumer does an online search for a product you offer, your company will be higher on the page, and therefore more visible and accessible.
There are two basic types of SEO, onsite and offsite. Both are important in improving your search engine rankings. Onsite SEO refers to actions you take to make your actual website more search engine-friendly, while offsite SEO consists of actions you take (other than advertising) to promote your website on other sites or platforms. Rather than going into a lot of technical details, this article will give a broad overview and some basic tips.
ONSITE SEO IMPROVES BOTH YOUR ONLINE RANKING & YOUR AUDIENCE’S EXPERIENCE
Onsite SEO is the work you can do on your actual website to help it rank higher with Google, so when a consumer does an online search for a product or service you offer, your company will come up higher on the list rather than buried on some distant page of an online search. Also, in doing this work, you are improving the website itself, making your audience’s experience with your business better.
The first is identifying keywords that a consumer might use when searching for your product or business, and then using those keywords in your title, the body of your page, the meta description, and alt text in your images. If this seems a bit overwhelming, a useful tool is an SEO website plugin that helps you organize this. For WordPress websites, the Yoast plugin is a great SEO help. Also, making sure your website is mobile-friendly is important, since the percentage of consumers using their phones for online searches is growing.
Perhaps the single most important aspect of good onsite SEO is supplying quality, unique, and current content. If you have interesting content, readers are going to be drawn to it and will be more likely to share it, increasing your visibility. One way to showcase original content is to have a blog on your website that you can update with new articles regularly.
OFFSITE SEO SPREADS THE WORD, BOTH LOCALLY & DIGITALLY
Offsite SEO, on the other hand, consists of actions you take (other than advertising) to promote your website on other platforms. This strategy is sometimes referred to as building legitimate inbound links from trusted sources.
Not only does this make your business easier to find through other channels, but it also boosts your SEO ranking with Google, making your website come up more prominently when an online search is conducted. Registering your company with local directories falls into this category, and is one of the most important ways to connect with your community.
Garnering positive reviews on Google, Yelp, and other review sites is great, as this creates ways for consumers to learn about your company, plus they provide links leading back to your website. Maintaining social media channels for your business is another popular way to increase visibility and SEO. Facebook is very popular with adult consumers, so keeping up with a company Facebook page is a valuable way to communicate, in addition to providing links to your website.
There is no doubt that Search Engine Optimization helps a website’s visibility, which in turn draws more consumers to your company. It takes some work to implement these strategies, and it can take some time to build your SEO ranking, but it will be well worth it in the long run. This article gives a broad overview of a complex, yet essential issue.
If you need any advice or help with SEO, both onsite and offsite, the professionals at Total Local would be more than happy to help. We offer several different programs for both onside and offsite SEO. Visit our website at www.TotalLocal.com or give us a call at 517-663-2405 to schedule a consultation.