The Power of SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Sometimes it only takes some little letters to scare the heck out of you. Mention the SARS,IRS and people feel faint. The SAPS, NPA, HAWKS, FBI, CIA is outside your door? Yeah, that’s never good news. And when you’re talking about websites, SEO is often viewed as the big bad wolf.
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is one of the most misunderstood, yet most important digital marketing topics out there.
What is SEO?
Let’s break it down. SEO is an organized process to improve your organic (or non-paid) ranking in an online search. SEO is sometimes referred to as organic search, free search or natural search.
Whatever you call it, it’s all about where your website falls in the list of search results when someone searches for your product or service.
That premium position near the top of the search has MANY BENEFITS. When your page ranking increases, you improve your discoverability — in other words, people can find you. Being found results in increased traffic to your website and increased brand awareness. Alternatively, when people can’t find you, you miss out on all that traffic, potential leads and sales.
How do the Search Engines Find You in the First Place?
Your page rank listing is based on how relevant your brand/company is to what the user is searching for. Search engines like Google and Yahoo “crawl” or review websites to display the information that matches the user search. The better the match, the higher the page ranking. The key to improving search engine ranking is to ensure your site has all the elements the search engines are looking for.
How to Improve Your Search Engine Ranking
Here are a few helpful guidelines:
Viewable
Ensure your site can be viewed across any and all devices: phones, tablets and laptops. Your site should be optimized, responsive and user-friendly. Site speed and load time can also impact the SEO process. So, make sure your site loads quickly and runs smoothly.
Secure
Your site should start with https, especially if you require sensitive information or have e-commerce functions.
Content
Make sure your content includes keywords or phrases that reflect what you do and how users search for you.
Images
Search engines crawl your images within your website. Make sure all of your images have “alt text” and image files are named appropriately. For example, “red convertible car” is better than “image_13.”
Titles
Include unique meta-titles and descriptions for each page on your site. Think about meta-titles as chapters of a book — they summarize the contents of each page. For instance, “Online Store Midrand” is better than “page3b.” Make sure your URL structure is user friendly too. For example, “/blog/tips-for-SEO” vs. “/blog/article54.”
There is no quick and easy way to get more traffic to your website and that is why we stand by our morals to only use natural techniques that will keep you on top for the long run.
Send Bennie a quick message if you need help with a website that can help you beat the Goliaths/Competition in your industry online and search engine.
