How Search Engine Optimization Can Help Your Business
In today’s global online economy, you simply have to make sure that your business has a strong online presence in order to ensure you are getting noticed by the right customers, especially now with so many people using their phones to complete their commerce. One of the best ways to do this is through search engine optimization, or SEO. What is SEO, you ask? Read further for information about the basics of SEO and how the team at Blue Fire Media can optimize your responsive website to draw more customers to your business.
What Exactly is Search Engine Optimization?
In simplest terms, SEO is an ongoing process in which the content on your website is expanded or changed over time to improve the ranking of your website in internet searches on sites like Google, Bing, or others. By focusing the content on key words and geographic locations, search engine algorithms will be able to find your site more quickly when people search for your specific services, increasing both the visibility of the site and the number of people who visit it.
How do Keywords Work?
A keyword, in SEO terms, is a word or short phrase that represents a product or service that someone will type into a search engine to find an appropriate website. For example: say you are on the road on vacation and get a craving for pizza. Naturally, you will take out your phone and type in something like “best pizza” or “pizza delivery” into your search bar to find local pizza restaurants. Those are keywords, and the local pizza places will want to make sure to have those phrases incorporated into the textual content of their website, so Google, Bing, or other search engines can find them. This works for all industries, even in specialized situations – a plumber who offers 24 hour emergency service will want “emergency plumber” in the content on their site; a restaurant with gluten-free options will want to have the words “gluten-free food” in their content; and so on. You can even use geographic locations to narrow down your visibility, like a contractor who only does work in the Kalamazoo are would want phrases like “Kalamazoo kitchen remodeling” on their site.
How does the Process Work?
This is an ongoing process that takes time, and it is rare to see excellent results right away. You start by identifying the areas of your business you want to focus on, including relevant content on your website. Going back to the pizza place, the business owner may want to focus on delivery or on pizza slices for the lunch rush. With the owner including the phrases “pizza delivery” and “pizza by the slice” on their website in numerous places, the search engines will pick up on this and include the website in the search results when a customer types one of the phrases (or a similar phrase) into the search bar. Every month, the owner will get a report that shows how many people are visiting the site and how well the business ranks. It will take a few months for you see significant results in your website ranking, but before long, you will notice your business ranking higher and higher on the list.
Are Their Tricks or Shortcuts?
Yes and no. In the early days of the internet, many business owners would just include a list of all the keywords they wanted to focus on, but the algorithms will notice this and prioritize websites that have the keywords incorporated into more natural text. Business owners will also try to plagiarize content from other sites, as well, but this is a red flag, and the search engines will always prioritize the original source, so this strategy will actually hurt your website. However, by including a blog on your website, you can add original content focused on your keywords to your website every month which will boost your ranking and increase visibility.
Blue Fire Media has a talented team of copywriters who can help you with SEO and make sure your website attracts more customers. From creating original content focused on your keywords to writing and posting monthly blogs about your products and services, we can make sure your website performs the way you need it to, bringing more customers your way. If you would like to discuss building a new website with SEO service, contact Blue Fire Media and let us know what you have in mind today!
