What exactly is SEO?

WHAT IS SEO?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of increasing the number and quality of visitors to a website by improving rankings in the algorithmic search engine results, primarily Google.

Research shows that websites on the first page of Google receive almost 95% of clicks, and studies show that results that appear higher up the page receive an increased click through rate (CTR), and more traffic. SEO, involves making sure a website is easy-to-use, technically sound, uses words that people type into the search engines, and provides an excellent user experience, with helpful and high quality content that helps answers the user’s search query.

SEO TERMS YOU SHOULD KNOW.

‍On-Site SEO - refers to activities on a site to improve organic (w/out paying for paid advertisements)visibility. This primarily means optimizing a website and content to improve the accessibility, relevancy and experience for users putting information into Google.

‍Keyword Research – Google Trends is an amazing free resource provided by Google. Google Trends provides keyword-related data including search volume index and geographical information about search engine users. This tool is extremely helpful for any small-business, and should be used with your on-site SEO.

SSL certificate - A “Secure Sockets Layer” is used to encrypt data passed between the web server and browser of the searcher. This is technically not an SEO word, but I'm amazed at how many customers come to us without an SSL certificate setup. Because of this, the first thing a user sees when arriving on their website (a website w/out an SSL certificate) is the text, "not secure" --- Not a good start, and will hurt your ranking on Google.

‍Link Building - While “building” sounds like this activity involves creating links to your website yourself, link building actually describes the process of earning links to your site for the purpose of building your site’s authority in search engines. Google's search engines are smart and this has to be done legitimately. A easy place to start is by linking your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Yelp, LinkedIn and Instagram accounts on your website.

SORRY. THERE IS NOT MAGIC TRICK.

There is no holy grail, or 'hidden secret' to SEO. It's just hard work, creating good content, and having the perseverance to stick with it. Focus on serving your customer's needs and answering their questions in a thorough and empathetic way. Focus on your customers/clients/users, and use practical steps to make sure that search engines (mainly Google) can find your stuff.

Hope this helps! If you need any help with SEO, or have any questions feel free to contact us.