SEO: Everything you need to know about Search Engine Optimization

SEO: Everything you need to know about Search Engine Optimization

SEO, also known as search engine optimization, is the process of maximizing visitors to a website by using approaches that improve the way website content is ranked by search engines. This means that your website will appear higher on the search results without you having to pay additional fees.

SEO content must be engaging and relevant to the people you wish to attract to your website. It also must be written in a way that maximizes the elements that improve your SEO rank. Another important part of having an SEO friendly website is ensuring that the layout and design of the webpage is easy to use. Essentially, SEO is about creating a better website, visually and content-wise.

How Does SEO Work?

Web traffic is driven primarily by search engines. When people need information, they will typically go to Google, Yahoo!, or Bing to find what they’re looking for through key words or phrases. The search engines are then responsible for sifting through all of the content on the web to deliver the most relevant information to the person requesting the information. Without the search engine algorithms, users would get a variety of data that is irrelevant to their needs. SEO helps users by eliminating anything that the search engines don’t view as a helpful or reliable source. In return, the search engines are helping those websites that have pertinent information and friendly interfaces rise to the top of the search results. By making your website a better resource for information, you are in turn increasing the number of visitors to your website through search engines.

It’s important to understand that SEO is about quality, not quantity. The search engines have complicated algorithms to sort through data quickly and efficiently and favor websites that provide high quality content versus those who are spammy or disorganized. A strong website with quality content is your best way to get the most organic views. However, there are additional things that can be done to help bring you even closer to the top of the search results.

How Can I Improve My SEO?

In addition to having a well-designed website and creating quality content, there are a few tips that you can apply to your website that will continue to increase your website views. For example, publishing useful information regularly will help provide more content for a wider audience than if you just published one website post per month. Creating a regular schedule for your posts can also help increase your SEO ranking, plus your readers know when to expect something new from you or your company. It’s also beneficial to make sure that you’re writing for the people who are visiting your site instead of just the search engines themselves.

Provide a great user experience. This can be done a number of ways. Your website users are initially coming to your page for whatever content you’ve posted. However, by having a nice, clean, user-friendly webpage you are also helping them explore other content on your website. These links also increase your SEO ranking. Links which correctly and efficiently guide them towards more information that they may be interested in are going to help them explore beyond what brought them to your website. Internal links which lead to other areas of your site will move the traffic around your website and increase your SEO ranking.

Site speed is also important. While you want a nice looking website, you don’t want to bog your site down with ads, pictures, videos, or anything else that takes a long time to load.  Ensuring that you are using a responsive website will also help increase your SEO rankings and the usability of your site. By having a website that can easily and comfortably be accessed on any platform, you are doing a huge service to yourself. Another tip for creating content for your website, is to aim for content that is relevant over a long period of time. This type of content is typically referred to as evergreen content.

Should My Business Invest in SEO?

If you are not seeing as many views on your website as you would like to be seeing, you may consider investing some time and money into a company that can help guide you through improving your SEO rating. The search engines are constantly updating their algorithms to prevent anyone from taking advantage of them and supplying their users with information that may not be the most relevant to their needs. It can be extremely difficult to keep up on all of the constant changes without a professional who is constantly studying the industry.

Compared to other marketing techniques, SEO is more affordable and typically has a higher return on investment. It’s also not something that’s going to stop anytime in the near future. As people continue to turn towards the internet for all of their questions and needs, SEO will continue to evolve. You don’t want your website to be left behind when your competitors are utilizing this technology to get ahead of the game. If you aren’t moving forward in today’s fast paced online world, then it will pass you by.

If you have any questions about SEO, please contact Portside Marketing at (972) 979-9316.