The digital market is growing and with it the power of online search. Knowing how to optimize your website can make all the difference between new customers coming through your door or lingering on your competitors’ sites. With more than 90% of internet users using some form of a search engine (Google) to find businesses like yours, it’s vital that you understand what makes people click, and stay on a page long enough to turn them into paying clients.
What is Search Engine Optimization?
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of using a set of techniques to increase your rank in search engines, ultimately resulting in more people finding your website and hopefully becoming paying customers. The three most important factors that determine where your site appears on a search result page are:
- Your Domain Authority—how well known & trusted your domain name is.
- How many other sites link to yours—backlinks from other websites.
- The keywords the search engine receives the query for—the words or phrases someone types into a search bar when looking for a service you provide.
A professional search engine optimization company has tools at their disposal that they can use to boost your rankings quickly, but if you’re feeling adventurous why not do it yourself? There are two problems with this approach:
Firstly, just having great content isn’t enough these days. You need backlinks, social media mentions, and pins to rank high on Google.
Secondly, if you’re going to try doing it yourself then you need a history of success that you can show potential clients as a way of standing out from the crowd. Until recently this was very challenging for small business owners who couldn’t afford to spend their time and money trying to rank for terms that might not be used by potential buyers.
The solution
Hire a professional SEO company to do it for you! Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of making your site and all of its content and features more visible and relevant to Google so that you rank higher. Ranking higher than your competitors has some obvious benefits:
1 – Potential clients can see what you have to offer.
2 – As a result, you get more clicks and thereby generate more business!
3 – Your site stays relevant for longer as it is updated with the latest news and information.
As far as work goes, as long as you keep your website up-to-date there’s not much else that needs doing other than creating new content or updating old content to include keywords that potential customers might be searching for. SEO professionals know which keywords to use and how often they should be used in order to boost your rankings, so ask them what they would recommend and do it! It only takes a few hours every now and then and will pay off in spades when Google sees your site popping up over and over again for the search terms that you’re targeting. The only other common task that an SEO professional might do for your site is link building which can take a lot of time, but also pays off in spades by boosting your rankings even further.
The importance of keywords and keyword research
Keywords are the words or phrases that potential customers type into their search boxes to find you. If your website pops up so do you, which means an increase in revenue for your business. Keyword research is often misunderstood by even experienced website owners, but it’s actually quite simple! The best way to think about it is that by grouping keywords together, you have a better chance of being found when potential customers are looking for your products or services.
For example, if someone were searching for ‘organic vegetables Maitland’, it’s unlikely they would be interested in your business unless they knew you had organic vegetables! However, if that same person was searching for the ‘best place to buy organic carrots in Maitland‘, then maybe they’d find your business more relevant because you’re the best place to buy organic carrots. Of course, this is just an example but hopefully, you get the idea – group related words or phrases together so that people can see what you have to offer. Even if someone isn’t quite ready to make a purchase, they might save your website in their favorites so that when it’s time to buy your product or service then you’re already top of mind.
The importance of trust
When it comes to local business, SEO is not only important for driving traffic to your business but also in gaining the trust of potential customers. When you rank high on Google, consumers are more likely to take notice because they know that Google ranks businesses based on their integrity and popularity among other users online. When people know that a business is reputable and trustworthy, they also stop to think about the other factors that might make them want to do business with you.
Consumers tend to be more trusting of businesses that rank high on Google because those businesses have been tried and tested by many people before them. In fact, some consumers will go as far as only doing business with companies that rank high for their relevant keywords so if your site isn’t ranking highly then maybe your potential customer base is being missed – it’s a little bit like going fishing without bait – nobody knows you’re there!
Optimize your website the right way
Now you know what SEO can do for your business, here are a few quick dos and don’ts of optimizing your site:
Don’t:
As mentioned before, your site should be optimized for a single keyword phrase – don’t try to rank for 10 different keywords at once as this will not only look spammy and unnatural but Google will see what you’re doing and punish you accordingly.
Do:
Optimize your website by using relevant words or phrases that customers might type into the search box of the most popular search engines around today – Google is king, closely followed by Bing. Optimize your images with keywords too so that they show up when people are searching for those specific images online – this is called ‘image SEO’. Have a blog on your site and add keywords in your title, content, and tags so that you rank high for those relevant keywords.
When should I get started with SEO?
If possible, start as soon as possible because being an early adopter has its advantages. SEO is a slow process but the rewards are high so once you’re ranked highly for your relevant keywords then you can sit back and watch the revenue come in. Of course, there’s no point in obsessing over your rankings but it is a good idea to check them every day because if you’re moving up the ranks then that’s a very good sign.
Writing content that people will enjoy reading and sharing with others is one of the best ways to gain attention online. When you optimize for keywords at the same time, then not only are you adding value to your website by giving visitors what they want but also ranking higher in Google so more people can find out about your business. This means an increase in revenue from potential customers who got here from Google rather than having been referred directly from friends or family, which means a potentially larger return on investment for your business.
How to find a professional search engine optimization company
The first step is to research potential companies. Ask yourself the following questions:
1 – Do they have testimonials from other clients?
2 – Are they doing the same kind of work that you need to be done? If not, can they learn what’s needed or refer you to someone who does provide this service?
3 – How much do they charge? (Most reputable SEO companies should be very transparent about costs and include them on their website)
With your list in hand, start contacting potential candidates for an initial discussion. Discuss the scope of work and desired outcomes during this first meeting so that everyone knows exactly what to expect. After all, if you’re going to pay someone hundreds (or thousands) of dollars to do a job for you, you deserve to know the details.
If they manage to meet your initial expectations then ask them to provide a proposal detailing how they plan on doing the work and what results can be expected within a specific time frame. In most cases, the SEO company will have an in-house team that works on your website and creates unique content for you to optimize as well as working on your social media pages.
Go ahead and look over the proposal so that you know exactly what you’re paying for and if the price seems suspiciously low or ridiculously high then contact other companies for comparison to work out whether it’s reasonable or not.
Business Growers is a company in Maitland, NSW that specializes in SEO. They have plenty of testimonials from clients who are happy with the work they’ve done for them and the prices are reasonable for what they offer.
Turning to Business Growers will assist you in obtaining the results you desire for your business. While many businesses invest money on marketing or technology that does not produce any meaningful change, Business Growers only uses methods that work. Our objective is to provide you with far more than you invest in our services every time. Our mission at Business Growers is to assist your company to expand.