Back to the basics of SEO

So, you’ve heard the term SEO when talking about websites and the world wide web, but what exactly is it and how can it help your business? Let’s break it down. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and we already know what a search engine is, right? Google, Yahoo, Bing, and many other websites serve as search engines, where a visitor types a phrase or word into a search box and a list of results pops up instantly. These sites look through every page of every website on the world wide web and matches results to the phrase or words searched. Optimization means making the best and most effective use of this resource, or in our case, designing your website so that search engines list it near or at the top of their search results list.

How does it work?

There are many things that catch a search engine’s attention: the website page text, page titles, headings, meta titles, meta descriptions, image names, and anchor text are just a few. In order to improve a website’s rankings on search engine lists, these elements should include words that their target market will search for. These words and phrases are what we call Keywords.

Let’s say you’re looking to hire a landscaper for your new home. You just moved to town and you aren’t familiar with the local businesses around you. You pull up google.com and search for “best landscaping companies in Cullman, IN.” The first websites you check out are generally the first ones that come up in the search results list. Makes sense, right? As a business, you want your website to show up at or near the top of those search results lists. This brings more people to your website leading to more sales and more attention.

How can I improve my SEO?

Now that we understand what SEO is and why it is important, let’s talk about how to improve it. Here are some basics:

• Make sure your website pages link together correctly, that they don’t lead to an error page when clicked on.
• Page titles and headings are very important, these help visitors know where to find what they are looking for quickly and effectively. Create detailed, clear titles and headings.
• If possible, include a healthy amount of keywords and phrases that if searched for on google will lead the public right to your site.
• Include detail in your meta titles and descriptions to help search engines categorize your website better. Metadata is used to describe individual pages on a website, which allows search engines to understand what each page portrays.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, these are just a few of the many ways to improve your SEO. Unfortunately, this process also takes time, and you will not see results quickly. It takes time to monitor the traffic coming to your website and how they are finding it.