93% of actions online begin with a search engine.
Running a small business in the digital age is all about ranking higher on a results page than your competitors. To do this, you need to know how SEO works and how to employ it in your favor.
The only problem is that SEO can be a confusing concept. Without a strong sense of how to do it, the benefits of SEO will be out of reach.
In this post, we’re going to tell you how SEO works and why it’s a never-ending process for small businesses. It’s time to get more website visitors, so keep reading and we’ll help you do it with SEO.
How SEO Works
In short, use search engine optimization to organically help your site rank higher on search engine results pages. Google uses over 200 factors to determine which landing pages are ranked where, so it’s all about appealing to as many of these factors as you can to get ahead of the competition.
A few of the factors include things like page speed, navigation, keyword usage, number of backlinks, and mobile-friendliness. If you do it right, SEO is a cheap and effective way to boost your web traffic, which is so crucial to the success of your company.
SEO and Keywords
One of the best ways to make SEO work for you is to integrate the right keywords into everything you do, from landing pages to content, even as far as the HTML meta tags. To get the right keywords, you need to do your research.
Getting the right keywords requires you to know a bit more about your audience and the intent behind their searches. There are plenty of tools available to help you with keyword research and implementation. The way keywords are used is always changing as consumer search habits change.
SEO and Social Media
Social media doesn’t have a direct impact on your SEO, but it does play an important role. If you can build a loyal social media following, you can use it to increase content distribution, boost online visibility, and get more organic traffic to your website. All of these things affect key SEO metrics.
Local SEO
For many small businesses, the most important side of optimization is going to be local SEO. When someone does a map search or looks for a business “near” them, Google uses a different set of metrics.
Things like how many local backlinks or how many local keywords you use in your content matter more. Having lots of positive ratings and reviews is important as well. You’ll also need to fill out your Google My Business profile, in addition to any other listings sites you want to be mentioned on.
If you have a strong local SEO strategy, you’ll see tangible results and a snowball effect may occur. More and more people will find your business, making it more and more visible because of SEO.
No Breaks with SEO
The second you stop paying attention to how SEO works, your business could fall off a cliff. There’s a fluidity to SEO trends that you have to pay attention to, which can be a full-time gig in itself.
That’s why it’s so helpful to have an SEO specialist on your side. At Dot Edison, we help Birmingham’s best and brightest businesses develop unique and effective organic and paid advertising campaigns.