Learn more about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and what it means for you and your business.
What is SEO or Search Engine Optimization?
Have you ever not known the who, where, what, or when to some topic? Then you had the idea to just “Google it.” That is the search part of SEO. Like you, customers are searching for a service or a product they want or need, and this is happening more often than you think.
On average, 40,000 search queries are processed through Google every second. Keep in mind that Google only makes up about 85% of all searches, so some people are searching on other search engines like Bing and Yahoo.
When your potential customers are looking for your services or products on search engines, the engine optimization part is making your website appear first and stand out. This is what is called organic visibility – not to be confused with paid search results. See example below:
Why does it matter?
If your website isn’t optimized, you can miss out on qualified leads of potential customers looking for products and services like yours. At this point, you should be thinking about the value of a lead to your business.
When it comes to being optimized, don’t just settle with your website being on the first page. Ideally, you want to be the top choice. According to Smart Insights, the top position is clicked on 30% of the time vs 15% of the time for the second position. Clicks on lower positions decrease exponentially from there.
What does this mean for you?
To be part of your potential customer’s journey, you need to have an online presence when and were they need it. This means that you need to become the authority in keyword topics that they are searching for as well as topics related to your business.
There are two main ways to do this:
Onsite (on your actual website): This is anything that you can do to your own website to help search engines understand what your site is trying to offer. By strategically placing keywords throughout your site and regularly publishing fresh content, you improve the chances that your site will rank higher.
Offsite (through the website of others): Do others see you as the authority within your category. If so, there is a possibility that other websites will link to your site and boost your ratings. This also requires you to be active in getting links from other websites, posting on social media, or even writing guest blogs for other websites.
The takeaway.
On a high level, this post talks about the fact that tens of thousands of searches are happening every second by potential customers, and you need to be a part of those conversations by optimizing your website to show up on search engines through SEO (Search Engine Optimization). If not, then you are potentially missing out on dozens of qualified leads every day.
Lastly, you can influence your websites position on search engines by what you do to your own website or by having external websites reference your site as an authority within your domain of expertise.
You should now have a high-level understanding of what SEO is and how it benefits you.
Ready to make the most out of SEO?
If this post has provided you with more clarity, great! Run with it and optimize away. If not, that’s okay too. Truly understanding how SEO works takes time.
For additional resources on SEO and additional small business marketing topics, check out our blog here (click here).
If you want to get a running start with your SEO and website, feel free to contact Marketing Nomad directly (click here).
