The web, computers and technology in general have brought previously unimaginable benefits to firms of all sizes in all sectors. However, in a world where there are now more web pages than there are people, it’s getting harder and harder for companies to stand out and generate unique visitor traffic.
As the world moves increasingly online and the boundaries between the real and virtual realms continue to blur, more and more of our day-to-day processes are taking place in the digital arena. For example, where once shoppers may have visited a local store or checked directories like the Yellow Pages before making purchases, today, it’s estimated around 70% of all consumer journeys start with an online search, most typically on Google which accounts for approximately 92% of all search-engine-generated traffic.
Why Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is so important
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the highly detailed and involved process of boosting the position of websites up the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) on platforms like Google. In today’s highly competitive online marketplace, it is a vital component in any successful company’s overall sales and marketing strategy and can mean the difference between expanding into new markets or simply languishing in online obscurity.
Steps you could take today to improve the SEO of your firm’s website
While it’s undoubtedly true that SEO is highly complex and to get the best results takes the skills of a qualified practitioner, there are still nonetheless some simple steps you could take today that will have an impact and will help drive qualified traffic to your pages. Below are just a few of the more basic tricks you could try.
Pick a great domain name that includes keywords: If you’re just starting out, one of the key ways you could drive additional traffic to your site is by picking a great, keyword-rich domain name. For example, if you’re a web design company based in Boston, choosing a derivative of Bostonwebdesign.com/.net/.us may well drive you instantly higher up the SERPs.
Do keyword research for each article/page you publish: Getting high SEO rankings is a little like fishing – if you don’t use the right bait, you’re never going to get found or ranked under searches people are making for products or services just like yours. By spending a little time before you write any page or article to find out the most common keywords people are using, you’ll be way more likely to get ranked.
Remember ‘Content is King’: When Bill Gates first published his era-defining article, Content is King, back in 1996, even he surely couldn’t have realized just how true those words would still ring today. One key thing unites all successful sites and online businesses – namely, they all feature and produce great content.
Study your code and optimize everything: Unless you have experience in design and coding, you’ll likely need to enlist the skills of a specialist for this step. Optimizing code, images, URLs, tags and sitemaps is work that would normally be considered far beyond the talents of most casual web users yet will have a dramatic effect on your SEO. If you’re in any doubt, you’d be best advised to hire a pro developer.
