It’s widely recognized search engines power the Internet. After all, how else would we make sense of the dizzying number of websites and pages that are online? There are now more webpages than there are people in the world. Search engines help disseminate and organize this vast library of information. So why do you need a guide to search engine optimization?
If you run a website – whether that be a hobbyist blog or a full e-commerce shopping site – Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a term you should familiarize yourself with quickly. SEO is an integral part of attracting visitors to your site and can, in many cases, mean the difference between success or failure online. This guide to search engine optimization can help your get started.
The basics of SEO
Modern search engines employ complex algorithms and increasingly smart Artificial Intelligence (AI) software to generate results. As clever as this AI is, as a website owner, you can also help search engines understand your site better by offering additional information and clues about your site’s content.
Search Engine Optimization plays a critical role in this process. If done right, it will increase the quality and quantity of traffic to your website. As search engines drive most Internet traffic, SEO aims to improve your website’s visibility and ranking within those engines. Therefore leading to more site visitors and increasing your online profile and visibility.
Analyzing and understanding user behavior
At its heart, SEO strives to understand user behavior and the terms people might typically use to find content. Search engines can’t simply guess at what a user might be looking for – they can only generate results based on the keywords and phrases a user enters. By studying these phrases, site owners can get a better handle on how best to make their site more likely to be found under the precise terms people use.
The relationship has two sides; however, and user behavior is only part of the story. While a search engine will do its best to understand what users are looking for, to match content to searches, it also needs extra information – from the website itself and some other additional sources.
By understanding how search engines crawl and rank information – coupled with an understanding of how users search for information – website owners can put themselves in a far better position to start appearing higher in search results.
This three-sided relationship benefits everyone. Search engines provide better results. Users find better information more quickly. Website owners get increased traffic and better-quality site visitors.
The advantages of bringing in an expert
Numerous online resources will give you some background to how SEO works. However, if you want to have a real impact online and see the best results, you’d be well advised to commission the skills of a leading SEO company like PWD. SEO is a highly competitive and intricate process and using a specialist company is far more effective than trying to learn the ropes on your own. It goes way beyond just understanding search behavior, and a search specialist will employ a vast array of tricks and tools to improve your search engine ranking.
Placing high in search engines can expose your company to global markets and tap into previously unimaginable resources. It’s little wonder SEO, and online marketing are now the fastest-growing areas of internet development. A well-designed campaign can reap the rewards far beyond what you might expect from traditional offline marketing.
SEO is part of the marketing mix
Social media, paid advertising, and offline promotions will always have their place. But these days, the majority of your marketing budget should go on SEO.
The money you invest in optimizing your site and content will generate a higher Return on Investment (ROI) than any other type of marketing you can do. Compared to online advertising, search engine results appear far more impartial to the user. They also have a significantly higher click-through rate than paid advertising. Statistics show that SEO generates 20 times more traffic than adverts alone (recent studies found less than 3% of US users click adverts).
Moreover, SEO isn’t just a one-time investment. Unlike so many other forms of marketing, good SEO will continue to pay dividends long after the initial flurry of activity seen at the start of a campaign. In many ways, SEO acts almost like compound interest; the money you put in at the beginning to get a foothold and generate attention lays the bedrock for your on-going site development and promotion.
While you shouldn’t expect to stay top of the rankings without further work (and possibly some additional investment). The initial appearing in listings lays the foundation for moving forward, and any on-going SEO will further solidify your position. If you want to start take advantage of on the enormous opportunities that exist online, you should invest as soon as possible in some form of SEO.
Use the steps from this guide to search engine optimization and start to see results for your website.