What is SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
As the title suggests, SEO is short for Search Engine Optimization.
SEO is the work that can be done to ensure your website is found when people search for you. This work can take a variety of forms which I will summarize briefly below. Some of the work is obvious (Page content, Page titles you see) and other is 'behind-the-scenes' know as Meta tags or element attributes.
FACT: It doesn't matter what you think your website is about, it matters what the search engines, and now LLM A.I.'s such as Perplexity, Chat GPT, Grok and others think your website is about. Even if you don't use any of those, keep in mind every mobile phone company is going to include A.I. as part of their devices as quickly as they can. Apple's Siri, Alexa and Google Nest are all integrating this latest LLM A.I. technology.
SEO Makes sure your website comes up when people search for your products or services, not just your business name.
One of the key takeaways is that people probably aren't searching for your business name, unless you've done a bunch of marketing to get your name out there. Mostly people just search for what they want and the search engines give them a list.
How do I get on that list?
In the early days of the internet Key Word Stuffing became a thing. Then Google came along and stuffing went away as Google would blacklist people for doing it because we had websites stuffing with non-relevant key words in the hopes of tricking people.
Google figured out a more natural way of finding relevant websites and people flocked to them from the other search engines because Google seemed to get it better than all the others. Anyone remember Ask Jeeves, Alta Vista or Netscape?
These days, we balance your important (relevant) key words and phrases with good natural content. This provides the search engines the information they need to determine what they think your website is about and they can then rank it accordingly.
What Actual Things do you do?
Without getting too in depth into each one, this is a generalized list of things that are regarded as Search Optimization, though some are more marketing designed to drive traffic to your website. They aren't optimizing your site directly, but are often used in conjunction with optimization efforts to improve traffic and more importantly, conversion (people contacting you or buying from you.)
On-Site Optimization.
These are things that can be done to the code of your website directly, including the Meta Tags, The content itself (Both how much and how well written), making sure your images and links are constructed properly. Making sure your images aren't too "heavy" and your site loads quickly.
Listing your business address, having a Privacy Policy and Site Map are also important.
FACT: Having all your services listed on one page as a bulleted list isn't as good as having one page for each service as a way to have content that is specifically optimized accordingly.
Off-Site Optimization.
Google Ad words, Social media advertising and posting, submitting blog posts or commenting on relevant blogs with links back to your site are all things that can be done.
NOTE: I do not offer any of these Off-site services as I do not have the staff to handle the amount of work required. These are typically handled by Marketing Firms more so than web designers.
It's not a Golden Ticket any longer
Back in the beginning before everyone had a website and search optimization was new people like me were able to get their customers ranked really well, quite quickly typically.
Today, however, everyone has a website and there is very limited space on any given search results page. Not everyone can be on page 1 and maybe not for many pages after that depending upon your specific circumstance. If there are a dozens of competitors in your immediate area, you might have different results than someone who is offering a more unique product or service.
As much as I'd love to say, I can promise you top billing, it's just not possible. Don't believe me, ask anyone who says they can if they are willing to wait to get paid until your results match what they are promising.
FACT: This one might break your brain, but search results are no longer static. Everyone gets a different list of result based upon their location and also their search and browsing history
Marketing used to be wasting half your money but not knowing which half
While you may end up spending money that doesn't bring business in while you figure out what works best for you, these days the ability to see what works is far easier to determine.
Traditional Marketing is Back and Relevant
Some of us remember needing to list your business in the Yellow Pages (a paper book with business listings), direct mailers, billboards, radio commercials and more.
I encourage my customers to consider engaging in a broader marketing mindset and strategy. Not everything works for everyone, but you need to think about how to stand out and also think long term continuing results.
Other Marketing Ideas to Consider
- Google Ad Words
- Billboards (along various roadways)
- Social Media Posting (not just buy from me, but tips, tricks, idea. Utilize video especially.
- Stickers or Fridge Magnets
- Yard Signs (while you're there working)
- Vehicle Wrap. Your car/truck as a rolling billboard
- Podcast sponsorship. Relevant content or target audience
- Podcast 'Super-chatting'. Many podcasts read out paid "super chats" live while they are streaming. You can turn those into mini live ad reads.
- Do your own podcast. Become the expert in your market
- Do a YouTube or Tik Tok Channel. Create short How-to videos or reviews, show before and after or the work you do. Become the go to expert in your market.