SEO stands for search engine optimization which is a fancy way of saying 'helping websites show up in relevant Google search results.'
Most clients come to us knowing they need SEO to increase web traffic, form leads or e-commerce sales. However, they don't know what exactly goes into good SEO.
While people outside the digital marketing world think of SEO as a magical unicorn that helps businesses achieve their goals, it's actually a calculated process that takes a lot of planning and time to accomplish.
Much like a great dinner recipe, search engine optimization requires many different ingredients working in harmony to improve search engine rankings for your website. What are those ingredients? We have you covered.
Page Content
This includes copy, headings, images, graphics, videos and anything else users can interact with on your page. The more engaging your content is and the better it answers the user’s question, the more likely your page is to show up in search results.
Mobile Friendly
Today more than ever, people turn to search when they need answers and most of the time those searches are done on their phone. More than half of all searches are done on mobile devices, and that number grows every year. If your site doesn’t look great on phones and tablets, you might be left in the dust.
Speed
Slow websites are the worst. And Google is increasingly pushing page speed as an important aspect of SEO. The faster your site is, the better experience users will have—especially on mobile devices.
Inbound Links
When a blogger, chamber of commerce or industry affiliate links to your website, it improves your SEO. Be careful though – links from spammy directories can get your site punished.
User Experience and Design
The better experience users have on your site, the longer they’ll stick around and the more pages they’ll visit. Search engines can tell if users leave your site soon after they arrive from a search, so the longer they stay—the better.
Internal Links and Site Structure
Does your menu navigation make sense to your customer? Navigation should be easy to use and allow users to find what they’re looking for in a few clicks. Because no one (even search engines) wants to work hard to find what they need online.
Meta Data
This is the behind-the-scenes stuff like page titles, meta descriptions and image alt text that Google uses to figure out what your page is all about. Don’t worry too much about the technicalities, but just know that a good SEO partner will make sure they’re taken care of.
Brand Equity
If Google determines that your site is a reputable or authoritative source, your pages will likely rank higher. This can depend on a lot of factors like history, trust and notoriety just to name a few. Nike will rank higher than Joe’s Garage Shoes. Every time.
Security
Starting in October 2017, Google will start labeling sites ‘not secure’ in search results when they have forms or sell products and aren’t secure. The easiest way to tell if your site is secure is to check whether your domain starts with http or https. If it’s https, your site is secure.
Social Media
Believe it or not, your social posts can show up on search engine result pages. And social media is a great way to build inbound links. Don’t overdo it though—too many sitelinks in social posts make for a lame Facebook page.
That's a lot, we know. But we're always here to help if you have questions about SEO, even if you're not our client. Ready to to cook up an awesome SEO recipe and serve it to your Ohio or South Carolina business? Contact us to get started!
