With so many consumers turning to the internet before buying, having a robust online presence is important for any industry. SEO is a term commonly used to indicate whether or not a website is successful, but to make sure that yours is, it’s important to understand what SEO is and why it matters.

What Does SEO Stand For?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it refers to how popular your website is for a search return query. Users of search engines like Google type in a string of keywords, and then “web crawlers,” or bots, scour the entire internet for results that match the string. Then, users peruse the list of websites the bots delivered to find what they’re looking for.

Being optimized for search engines means that the web crawlers find your website the most relevant for users. However, each search is different, so to be able to be relevant (usually on the first or second page of return results), websites should have enough content to be relevant for many searches relating to their business.

How Can I SEO My Website?

The best way to ensure that your website ranks high on searches is to understand what Google’s web crawlers like. Fresh, unique, and relevant content is essential.

Pictures tell a thousand words

Many users prefer watching a video explaining something than reading a wall of text, and websites that have plenty of unique videos tend to rate higher than those that don’t. Hire a professional to shoot photos of your business behind the scenes, and a videographer to produce a clip of you showing off new products, explaining how to use some of your goods, or you giving tips on a certain aspect of your industry.

Fresh, relevant content

The text content of your website is important, too, so don’t neglect this! Each landing page on your website should be chock-full of keywords that relate to your field of business, words that are commonly used by people when searching online. Incorporate these into descriptions about your business and in blog posts that have up-to-date, relevant content.

Link to other websites

Linking to other, authoritative websites can help boost your ratings, as these links add a sense of authority to your content. However, there is another important kind of linking, which can improve your SEO, and that’s backlinks – sites that link back to yours, whether it’s to quote something you’ve said, an original blog post on your site, or a vibrant video that explains a certain concept, having other sites link from theirs to yours improves the trustworthiness and authenticity of your own sites, which search engines also look for.

Ease of use

Make sure that your page is easy to navigate, with intuitive menus and landing pages that are laid out so that visitors can quickly find what they need. Upgrade your speed or have your website upgraded if you’re having trouble with pages loading – users won’t stay on websites that crash frequently, or pause in loading every time they click something.

Let’s Get Started!

As a business owner, you’re probably very busy day to day running your business, and may not have a lot of time left over for marketing or improving your online presence. Between analyzing user behavior, monitoring how your website ranks with improvements to the content and SEO appeal, and curating a robust online presence, improving SEO can be a full-time job – and that’s why a savvy business owner hires a professional to improve their SEO.