Search Engine Optimization is nowadays more important than ever and it is necessary for every web master to understand the true meaning of SEO as well as the potential it creates for every business.
What is SEO :
SEO is the art or science of gaining top search engine placement for relevant keyword phrases through making search engines believe your site is more relevant than your competition’s websites. It is a set of rules that can be followed by web site (or blog) owners to optimize their web sites for search engines and thus improve their search engine rankings.
In addition it is also a great way to increase the quality of their web sites by making them user- friendly, faster and easier to navigate. SEO can also be considered as a framework since the whole process has a number of rules (or guidelines), a number of stages and a set of controls.
Why is SEO important?
In today’s competitive market SEO is more important than ever. Search engines serve millions of users per day looking for answers to their questions or for solutions to their problems. If you have a web site, blog or online store, SEO can help your business grow and meet the business objectives.
Search engine optimization is essential because:
The majority of search engines users are more likely to choose one of the top 5 suggestions in the results page so to take advantage of this and gain visitors to your web site or customers to your on-line store you need to rank as higher as possible.
i. SEO is not only about search engines but good SEO practices improve the user experience and usability of a web site.
ii. User’s trust search engines and having a presence in the top positions for the keywords the user is searching increases the web site’s trust.
iii. SEO is also good for the social promotion of your website. People who find your website by searching Google or Yahoo are more likely to promote it on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or other social media channels.
iv. SEO is also important for the smooth running of a big website. Web sites with more than one author can benefit from SEO in a direct and indirect way. Their direct benefit is increase in search engine traffic and their indirect benefit is having a common framework (checklists) to use before publishing content on the site.
v. SEO can put you ahead of the competition. If two websites are selling the same thing, the search engine optimized web site is more likely to have more customers and make more sales.
What are the main stages of the Search Engine Optimization process?
SEO is not a static process but rather a framework with rules and processes. Search Engines like to see certain things either on your web pages (Onsite SEO) or to see information about your web pages elsewhere (offsite SEO).
On-site SEO: Your content and website infrastructure
a. Targeting the best keyword clusters
b. Matching existing content to target specific keyword clusters
c. Creating new content to target specific keyword clusters
d. Having the best website infrastructure and architecture
Off-site SEO: How your website is referred to from other online sources
a. Developing a profile of high quality, on-theme incoming links
b. Having a relevant and active social media presence
c. Creating citations (non-linking references) about you
d. At least half of your SEO outcomes are influenced by elements outside your direct control and everything else is about strategy, techniques, tactics and finesse – the Search Engines look at over 200 “signals” when evaluating web pages, and every year they add over 400 refinements to their formulas and data analysis methodologies.
SEO – Cost effectiveness :
SEO is one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies because it targets users who are actively looking for your products and services online. SEO’s inbound nature helps businesses save money as opposed to outbound strategies like cold-calling. While cold-calling can still be an effective strategy, the leads generated cost 61% more than leads generated by an inbound strategy like SEO. And since SEO also targets users who are actively searching for products and services like yours, the traffic resulting from SEO is more qualified than many other marketing strategies, resulting in cost-savings for companies.
SEO – Brand Awareness :
Since top position rankings result in significant impressions, having your website in these top positions on the result pages translates to more exposure for your website. Plus, being on the first page for your targeted keywords not only helps users to associate your brand with those keywords, but it instills trust, since companies on the first page are generally perceived to be more trustworthy. The more your pages and content rank in high positions in the search engines, the more chances you have for users to see your content and associate with your brand.
For more information on how SEO could be beneficial to your website, or for a onetime SEO consultation, please contact us and we would be happy to help.
