What is SEO and how important it is for your Warsaw business?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.  For most business owners that is about as clear as mud.  Understanding the purpose and effect of SEO on your business sounds important, but you have no idea where to start.  Whether you work in and around the Warsaw, Indiana area or the other side of the world, this blog post offers the following definitions and guidelines to help you better understand why you likely need and want SEO services for your website.

1. What is a Search Engine?
2. How does SEO help you be more visible to your customers?
3. What are Keywords?
4. SERP? Why are rankings important?
5. What is organic search?
6. What are link backs and how do I get them?

1. What is a Search Engine?

A Search Engine is web software designed to crawl the Internet for matches to keywords. When you open Google and type a few words in the search box, you have engaged a Search Engine.  In the beginning, Google developed algorithms and software to create an index of information on the World Wide Web. As time has gone by the explosion of online users has increased the demand for search engines to develop better and faster methods for accessing information.

2. How does SEO help you be more visible to your customers?

In 2017, Google changed its algorithm 13 times.

—According to MOZ

SEO is the technical and scientific side of making your website content more visible to your customers, hence the need for Search Engine Optimization. You really want to optimize your website to appear on that first landing page of results. If you doubt the importance of that placement try to remember the last time you clicked through to page two when you were searching the Internet! Understanding the ever-changing landscape of search algorithms is a specific skill set. Creating the correct sequence of words and knowing where to place them in your content is a science. SEO professionals have access to analytics pages and rankings statistics to make sure your content is relevant and searchable.

3. What are Keywords?

According to Google: 50% of mobile phone users are likely to visit a store on the same day they conducted their Google search.

—Google

Using SEO for marketing your company allows your website content to be more interesting to search engines. The science of SEO is figuring out how the average person might search for your product or service. Realistically, there will be about four words typed into a search engine. Those words are the “keywords” the search engine will match to show relevant sites.  Keywords must be specific and direct.

Typing the words “Doggie Daycare” will return thousands of results.

Typing in “Doggie Daycare near me” will likely narrow the field to local businesses.

Searching for “doggie daycare with grooming services” will narrow the search even more.

So if you own that doggie daycare and you also offer grooming services you want your website content to be filled with those type of specific keywords to make sure the customer finds you when they search the Internet.

4. SERP? Why are rankings important?

“Ranking” is that all-important goal of appearing on the first page of results.  Keywords are powerful, but they are just a part of how your website is ranked when returning a search query. Specifically, the term “Ranking” is defined as a website’s position on the search engine results page also known as SERP. Keywords are not enough to get you ranked at the top.  Internal links and site speed are crucial when a search engine is deciding if your website is relevant.  Your SEO will know where to insert links to other content on your webpage to make sure search engines recognize that your information is connected to the search query. Google is very good at adjusting their search engines to weed out false links and content. For that reason, online marketing is a moving target. SEO is an ever-changing science and keeping up with powerful keywords and links are significant to your customers finding you and your services.

5. What is organic search?

Speed matters. A slow loading website is quickly dismissed. Even after rectifying your slow speed, users will be reluctant to return to your website.

—Also Google

SERPs drive analytics and those resulting graphs and statistics drive the software behind search engines. Everyone is looking for a leg-up when it comes to rankings and results. There are two ways to get to the top of a search page: paid advertising and Organic Search. Honestly, how often do you click on the Ads at the top of the page?  Those businesses have paid to get top ranking, but they don’t always get results. Alternatively, Organic Search is the process of ranking through powerful SEO in your content. Statistically, the public clicks on results found through Organic Search more often than paid advertising sites.  Research suggests 70 to 80 percent of people ignore paid advertising!  The importance of effective SEO is pretty compelling!

6. What are link backs and how do I get them?

Finally, the all-important link-backs. In a nutshell, Search Engines want to return reliable and safe results when searching for information.  Your website may be ticking all the right boxes but so is your competitor. A search engine will do a quick survey to see how many other websites and users think your content is interesting and have “linked back” to your page or site. This sounds like a popularity contest because it is! Capturing links from other users is indeed a science and using professional SEO services is a whole lot easier than trying to cultivate those link backs on your own.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this helped to clarify the inner-workings of Search Engine Optimization and why it is essential to your marketing strategy. Streamlining your website content by keeping your keywords and internal links fresh is the best way to achieve more online results for connecting with new customers and creating profit!

Interested in adding SEO services for Warsaw, Indiana and surrounding areas? 1Eighty Digital is happy to discuss SEO options to support and help navigate this crucial marketing process. Call us at 574.376.2002 to talk about your site!

Live Look at Someone Viewing the Second Page of Search Results… Maybe