The term “SEO”, or “search engine optimization,” has been part of our collective business vernacular for some time.
Most business professionals have a basic understanding of SEO and how important it is to a company’s digital marketing efforts.
Right?
Sure, most of us have at least heard the term “SEO,” but far less truly understand its role in a business’s overall online marketing strategy. It’s safe to say that most of us have looked for something on Google or another search engine platform.
But then what happens? When a user types in the term they want to find (for example, “home security systems”), that simple keyword triggers a whole host of searching mechanisms behind the scenes.
Google and sites like it use various algorithms to generate a list of search engine results ranked from best to worst, which include the term “home security systems”.
SEO is driven by a few main factors, namely keywords and strong content. As the Internet has evolved over the years, SEO has evolved with it.
Ten years ago it was standard practice to cram a website full of keywords. Now, Google and sites like it have sharper filters to flag those sites which are clearly spam or clickbait. Today, quality content rather than repetitive keywords is the way to get a site noticed and make the most of its SEO.
There are two types of SEO—white hat, which are the SEO techniques, best practices, and strategies that follow search engine rules, and black hat, which are the techniques and strategies that attempt to spam or “trick” search engines. This type of SEO is risky and those who practice it could have their website penalized or removed from search results.
SEO still plays a major role in a company’s search engine rankings, among other important functions:
Increases Traffic
Search engines drive most of the online traffic. When a user types a term into a search engine, this is known as an organic search (which means the user’s search is not influenced by spam or other key indicators sometimes flagged by these platforms).
When a user enters a keyword, sites containing that term will be ranked in the search engine results list. The higher a site ranks in the search engine, the better the odds of users clicking on it (users are more likely to click on a site ranked in the top five).
Serving As A Key Component Of A Company’s Marketing Plan
Even business owners with limited knowledge of SEO have come to recognize its importance to their company’s overall marketing plan. Today, it’s very difficult for a company to get noticed without some sort of online presence.
Even if the company prefers to focus on their social media platforms rather than a website (as many businesses do—particularly small start-ups), they basically need some type of digital business card so potential customers can find them.
\Again, a user will type in a search term, and even a small business’s social media page will show up in the rankings, so pay attention to all marketing content, as Google and other search engine platforms will pick up on it and rank the site accordingly.
Improving User’s Experience With A Company’s Website
Businesses with a fundamental understanding of SEO must master the first rule of SEO: keyword research. This is how customers will find you, so be sure to embed the most important keywords in your website copy, social media “About Us” pages, and any other digital marketing you may use.
When a customer browses through your website using the “Search” function, they expect to find what they’re looking for. What is your business and what makes you stand out from others?
What would a customer need, want, or expect from your company’s website? These are your critical keywords and should absolutely be in your text.
While some companies entrust SEO to their marketing manager, others hire SEO specialists to focus solely on this aspect of digital marketing. Their main responsibility is to optimize a site for search engines; the goal is to improve a site’s rankings in the search engine results pages (SERPs). Job descriptions for this type of position can vary widely, but the typical responsibilities of an SEO specialist include:
- Possessing a depth of knowledge of the different types of SEO and how to work with each one
- Improve site structure and usability
- Optimize webpages
- Monitor site rankings in various search engines
- Optimize content for both search engines and users
- Know how to create, analyze, and interpret SEO reports using Google Analytics and other tools
- Have a good working knowledge of HTML
- Being able to identify and troubleshoot technical SEO issues
- Work closely with other members of the digital marketing and SEO teams
- Design and implement an SEO marketing plan
Business owners and their marketing professionals can no longer afford to ignore the vital role SEO plays in their overall marketing efforts. Virtually every consumer does some amount of business online (whether they purchase something outright, read reviews of a particular business’ products or services, or enters search terms to get more information) and a company with weak SEO runs the risk of losing business to a competitor because their website was not user friendly, lacked important keywords, or had too many keywords. When it comes to SEO, it’s all about balance, timeliness, relevance, and consistency to keep a website’s rankings high.
What is the role of SEO in your company, or clients you’ve worked with? How has your outlook on its importance changed over the years?
