Does My Website Need SEO?
Search Engine Optimization
is a buzzword that has been gaining momentum over the last decade…but what is it, and does your website need SEO to help appear in search results and create more brand awareness?
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
SEO is information added to a website that helps your website and company appear in search results (like Google, Bing, Safari, etc) for FREE! When your website appears in someone’s search results based on SEO, it is called “Organic Search Results” because it appeared for free.
Organic Search Results (SEO): search results ranked solely on a website’s SEO content matching what was searched. No advertising money was paid to search engine companies to rank higher in the results.
91% of websites receive zero traffic due to a lack of professional website design and SEO [hubspot.com]
What are the key elements your website needs for SEO?
The first thing to understand about SEO is that the ranking criteria for displaying search results are always changing. Google and Bing are constantly changing their requirements and algorithms, but generally speaking, here are the most important factors to add to your website to rank and appear in search results:
KEY ELEMENTS OF SEO on a WEBSITE
Quality Content relevant to what is being searched
Keywords and long-tailed keywords
Meta, Titles, Descriptions
Links to other websites and referral links, known as backlinks
What is SEM and is it different than SEO?
SEM is Search Engine Marketing. Instead of appearing in search results for free, like SEO, a company can pay advertising costs to Google, Bing, and/or other search engines to appear at the top of search results when certain words are searched for in a search engine.
Paid Search Results (SEM): search results of companies that pay advertising costs to Google and/or Bing, etc, to show up in certain searches
SEM vs SEO Search Results
Here is an example of SEM in search results. **My tip for the day: whenever you see “Sponsored,” skip it because someone is paying for you to see their website. Instead, keep scrolling to the first search result you see that does NOT have Sponsored in front of it…that is where the authentic, organic search results begin.
Since most businesses are trying to find ways to cut costs, the remainder of this article will go over how to show up in search results for FREE, utilizing SEO.
Why Does My Website Need SEO?
The average person uses Google for three internet searches a day [FitSmallBusiness.com].
When SEO is applied correctly on a website, you will notice the following benefits:
Increase in brand awareness
Attracting new clients by showing up in search engine results for free
A better understanding of your company and offerings
More website traffic from internet searches and referring links
Is SEO Worth the Initial Investement?
Traffic to your website (from internet searches) is responsible for 53% of all your website traffic [FitSmallBusiness.com]
If you decide to add SEO to your website, understand that there are several levels of SEO — which can range from $100 - $1000’s. The more expensive SEO companies will find other companies to add your website to their website (which helps increase your search result ranking). However, I have found that you do not have to spend thousands of dollars to have your company appear in search results. If the keywords and descriptions are done correctly, you will still notice a major increase in website traffic without spending thousands for backlinks.
Utilizing SEO on a website is one of the smartest investments you can make because 65% of internet searchers click on an organic (free) search result. [FitSmallBusiness.com]
