If you are the owner of a small to medium sized enterprise you may have heard endless people telling you that you simply “must pay attention to your SEO.” Maybe you knew exactly what they were talking about, or perhaps you simply nodded knowingly before rushing to the loo to Google the term – no matter what, you do need to know that buzz word – SEO is important for every business in 2015 and beyond.
Let’s start with the basics
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, as it is a process that attempts to gain traffic from search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. While no one on the outside of the company is 100% sure how Google’s unique algorithms work, experts do know that they reward websites that provide valuable, organic and useful content to their users.
The higher your ranking on Google, the more users will find your website – and ultimately the more users who will reach out to you to purchase goods and services. A high Google ranking can be the difference between success and failure for small businesses, and so it is no wonder that more and more savvy entrepreneurs are turning to SEO experts to help them achieve a better place in the rankings.
Content is king
A regular flow of unique, well written content is one of the most important things that you can do for your Google rankings. A well written, regularly updated blog, engaging social media content and interesting, unique product descriptions will all help to boost your rankings.
Keywords
Using a well curated selection of keywords that your target customer demographic would be likely to search for is a great way to make your website content stand out when it comes to search engines – but be careful! Google’s algorithm can easily ascertain if you are ‘keyword stuffing,’ or using these terms in disingenuous ways – ensure your keywords are used organically and seamlessly in the writing.
Links, links, links!
Links are important in two different ways. Imagine that every link leading to your page and every link you post to another page create a sort of spider web – Google can see this spider web. If your site is connected to many other reliable sites then Google assesses that your page must be valuable. Links directed at your page are more valuable than links you post leading away from your page, but both are important. Remember – your page should only be linked to reliable sites! A lot of links generated to your content from purely promotional pages created for the sole purpose of link generation will actually harm your rankings.
What should you do next?
Now that you have read through some of the basics you should either feel equipped to read on about specific SEO strategies, or you may elect to hire a skilled professional to ensure that your SEO is done correctly, effectively and creatively. An expert in the field can truly help to increase your sales and improve your bottom line – get in touch today with Studio Link 11.
