What is SEO and Do You Need It?

SEO is the acronym for Search Engine Optimization, but what does it mean? Basically when someone decides to look for something on the Internet they type in a few words and hit search.  A list is then generated of possible items that meet the user’s inquiry based on the words he used to search; this is called a SERP (Search Engine Results Page). This listing of web pages is ordered from highest to lowest ranked relevant pages containing those keywords.

This is where SEO comes into play, to put it simply it is a way to improve your web visibility either a website or webpage via “natural” or “Organic” searches results.

If you are a business utilizing the internet to market yourself then this topic is one you should be aware of as it does relate directly to you, and yes, you need it.  However before you get overwhelmed with the complicated workings of how the algorithms of search engines work to determine rankings and become fixated on being at the top of every list here are a few simple techniques to give your website competitive standing without compromising your integrity.

5 Ways to Boost your Web Visibility

• Metadata gives you power from behind the scenes.  This means having page titles, meta-descriptions, and keywords built into the code. Users may not see it, but search engines do.
• Page titles should vary to feature relevant keywords specific to each page of your site.  These titles are part of metadata that shows in the top of the browser and not necessarily on the actual page.
• Know your keywords.  Develop a list based on your product/service and incorporate them into every aspect of your SEO efforts.
• Link building with internal/external links from one page of your site to another for ease of navigation to relevant information, and having good anchor text linking to the related content within your website will have more of an impact on your rankings than promoting links via social media.
• Check yourself.  There are a number of free tools available on-line for you to utilize to check your site’s standing with SEO.  Staying aware of where improvements can be made, and what is working is one of the most direct ways to keep your business competitive.

Useful Resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_results_page
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization