It’s 2023, having a website for your business is a must. To the point that if a business doesn’t have a website, many people would not trust it. However, just simply having a website is not enough if no one can find it. That’s where SEO comes into play. SEO, or search engine optimization, is a vague sounding buzz word thrown around nowadays but it is a fundamental part of operating a business. This is even more true for small to medium sized businesses that find their clientele locally.
SEO is one of the best ways to drive targeted traffic to your business. It’s not just about getting people to click on your page, it’s about finding the exact people you want to do business with and presenting them with your products or services. If you run a tattoo shop, you want people in your area to be able to google “tattoo shops in my area” or even just “tattoo shops” and discover your business. That is the goal of SEO.
What’s even better about SEO is the affordability. You don’t need any fancy equipment or some specialty software to understand the techniques necessary to grow traffic. It’s also not like running ads, you’re not paying per click or per client. You’re building a better foundation for your business’ growth.
So What Is SEO?
There’s a handful of important factors that go into search engine optimization. For a site to be successful in driving traffic, it cannot just use one of these techniques. Think of it like baking a cake. You can have all the ingredients in front of you, but leaving one out and you’re screwed.
Let’s start with the simplest strategy. Keyword research is not only the easiest technique to understand but it’s probably the most important. But including keywords in your content isn’t as simple as hashtagging your target terms and phrases. Search engines have quality standards when it comes to all aspects of SEO, so the keywords need to be included organically in bodies of text. There are tons of powerful tools online to help you find your keywords.
Backlinks are another great method of optimising your business page. These are essentially places online where your link is shared. Think reviews, bloggers, social media, etc. The more places you’re being mentioned and linked to the better. That also comes with an important asterisk. Search engines prioritise high quality backlinks. So sharing your website repeatedly on Reddit isn’t an efficient method. You need genuine and high authority links.
Another lesser known method of search engine optimization targets something you’ve likely never thought about. The way you title your images, URLs, descriptions and basically every aspect of your website all play an important role in discoverability. Having images with gibberish as the file title, having URLs filled with random numbers and letters, it all hinders your discoverability.
Another thing to think about is file size and page speed. The larger the files you have contained on your pages, the slower your website will load. Not only do search engines absolutely hate this, but so do consumers. No one likes when technology doesn’t work efficiently. Smaller files that remain high quality will improve your website’s ranking.
If you’re a business wanting to grow and find more local clientele you must optimise your website for discoverability. It’s not a matter of whether or not this works. It’s a matter of whether or not you want to take on the task of building an efficient SEO rich website. If you’re don’t, we will for you.
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