What is Search Engine Optimization?
Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) aims to marry online searcher intent with the perfect result… the absolute best answer to the question. It's always learning - and we have it from inside sources that Google would like to fully implement AI (artificial intelligence) to direct SEO efforts.
At its core, SEO is about taking the guesswork away from search engines.
Before you read another word, does your website include the "keywords" people search for when looking for your products or services, or are you only listed in google for your business name?
If the answer is the latter - you need SEO.
SEO MATTERS - ESPECIALLY LOCALLY
If you search Google for "pizza" on your mobile phone, do you ever get anything but what is nearby?
Approach your SEO and online marketing with that experience in mind.
Google MUST deliver the best result to the searcher - that is what it was built for! What Google considers the best answer is the website that gets the #1 organic search result spot. (Usually waaaaay down below all of Google's Pay Per Click advertising!
SEO: GETTING TECHNICAL
Today, search engine optimization indexes the words that appear on your web pages to create a 'semantic' picture of what you're offering.
By analyzing searcher intent and marrying AI and important related business and website information, SEO should be able to return a result that satisfies a precise requirement and a lot more... maps, photos, news, etc.
Search engines crawl the internet non-stop, collecting data on all the web pages they can find and trying to make sense of them in a tidy index. Whether a person is searching for an answer, a product, service, image or recipe, search engines try to index ALL pages on that topic and present the very best one.
The web page that owns the #1 position in search engine result pages (SERPS) is the one that is considered the ‘topical authority’.
WHAT IS A TOPICAL AUTHORITY?
Topical Authority boils down to, "Is this the very best page on the web for this precise question / content / idea / service?"
Many additional factors play into the search engine algorithm's ability to make that decision. In addition to a page's content and structure (on-page SEO), the number and types of links pointed at a web page (off-page SEO), also matter. There are even more factors that affect a website’s topical authority including site speed and whether or not it is mobile-device friendly, for example.
TOPICAL AUTHORITY AND SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Your website is not cohesively designated as "good or bad". If you have a killer web page, it can, in theory, out-rank every other website in the world.
This is measured by ‘Page Authority’. If you want to grow your business in numerous directions, consider that the more pages a website contains that have great page authority, the better the site's overall ‘Domain Authority’. Marked on a scale of 0-100, The New York Times scores 94, while Google.com scores 98.)
SEO TAKES (A LOT) OF TIME
When done well, and a website provides specific, focused and original content – on topic – that addresses the searchers intent in the best possible way – the site should receive the #1 position in organic searches. When this happens, a tremendous amount of traffic – and business can be won.
Becoming a TOPICAL AUTHORITY is an achievement that is won over time. Care to rank #1 for the search term ‘hamburger’? All you need to do is create the world’s most useful, informative, comprehensive and original web page on hamburgers (updated daily).
Considering how much content is online, the idea of SEO makes you appreciate the value of Wikipedia (and it’s no wonder Wikipedia turns up at the top of the SERPs for almost everything).
DO I NEED SEO (SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION) SERVICES?
In a word, yes - but you DO NOT need to hire someone to do it for you (although an agency like ours does it well and we do it quickly). Keep in mind that SEO is about taking the guesswork away from search engines. It's NOT enough to show up in search engines for your business name alone.Adding the phrases that match what people are searching for is a great start. Then consider what they read when they click on your website in a search engine. How can you engage them?
Think about it this way...
For most people - and especially businesses - optimizing a website for generic and highly competitive search terms like "cowboy boots" simply won’t work because there is far too much competition (and it is far too vague).
SEO-minded websites try to identify unique opportunities to bring searchers (i.e. web traffic) to their site. The more unique and focused the content is on the searcher, the better - and this is where a business can begin to build its TOPICAL AUTHORITY.
To continue the example, you are far less likely to rank for “cowboy boots”, than you would be for “yellow cowboy boots with blue cow embroidery and silver spurs”.
This is where the concept of long-tail keywords comes into play.
The details matter!
In all cases for online marketing, smart businesses convey unique selling points and separate themselves from competitors. They also incorporate 'trust factors' such as incorporating experience and expertise through commonly “unknown” advice and perspectives. If two websites sell the same product or service, think about how to make yours more useful and appealing.
Make it easy for visitors to see that you are the expert
Make it easy for visitors to buy
Make it easy for visitors to contact you
WHERE TO BEGIN OPTIMIZING YOUR WEBSITE?
SEO marries the art of writing with the science of human behavior. We cannot stress enough how important it is to understand how people search for your business /product / service. This needs to be at the core of your content. Always remember, you are trying to answer their question... and the more you can offer, the better.
An obvious motto for SEO is, ‘if it’s not spelled out IN DETAIL on your site, you shouldn’t expect to RANK for it’.
In other words – put the plain English text on your web pages. Give Google and searchers exactly what they want. Consider all of the related issues associated with the search and make it work for you.
There are certain elements of a website that need to be fed to continue to grow... this is mostly done today through content marketing via a blog. 10 years ago, there were quick and easy SEO signals that worked instantly to get your site ranking higher. Today, those strategies have evolved into more complex content writing problems because of the way algorithms work.
You, as the expert should put on your best marketing hat to figure out how to connect your expertise with your website content.
COMMON SEO MISTAKES TO AVOID
Google needs text to crawl and index. It’s how Google develops a picture of your site and what you do - sell - produce - whatever. Content means words on the page… but SEO is about underpinning those important words and keeping a precise focus on how you are answering searcher's inquiries.
Here are a few more things you should consider:
Poor user interface / User Experience (UI/UX)
Poor site structure
Slow site speed - most websites are built to last just 2 years
Calls to action
Relevance
Of course, your business does more than one thing. That’s why you should build more web pages. Again, building good page authority leads to building good domain authority. And what’s amazing is that it all comes back again to topical authority.
If you want to be #1 in Google, all you have to do is become the topical authority. But remember – it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
SHOULD I HIRE AN AGENCY TO DO MY SEO?
Like any good plumber, an SEO expert knows where to look, what screws to turn, or what pipes to tap. It’s a matter of pushing the buttons that Google and other search engines respond to – measuring them – then continuously improving the performance of your site.
SEO doesn’t happen overnight. Or even in the first couple months. Google comes along and crawls your site on a relatively predictable schedule - along with every other site online. That’s why it’s important to feed new content to help build up your website's value.
When it comes to the web, content should be well-supported with search engine ‘optimized’ titles, headers, links, images and more. With the relatively young nature of SEO, opportunities abound... and of course, there is a lot of internet and marketing noise which SERPs are trying to make sense of, while indexing pages at a rate of who-knows-how-many-websites-went-live-today.
A good SEO specialist not only builds a strong foundation for a website... but knows how to keep it growing, by creating great content that will live forever and ALWAYS serve the audience. Today, SEO is about unique insight, news, perspectives and information continue to attract new searchers for years to come.
It has become content marketing.
LET'S TALK MORE ABOUT SEO
lemonstake prefers a symbiotic relationship.
You’re the expert on your business. We’re the experts in digital marketing – including what your competitors are doing, what Google expects or considers best practices, and where the next opportunities to boost your business can be found.
For many business owners we talk to, there is no time to dedicate to online marketing, so lemonskate can take 100% control of your digital strategies and report our progress back to you. We'll manage your organic, paid, including social media and pay-per-click advertising. We provide the strategy, data and guidance you’ll need to improve your business online and offline... for years to come.
Just remember, if you’re not working on your online business right now, someone else is.
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