If you are in business you know that without leads, you really don’t have a business. While many businesses have many ways they get qualified leads, one sure-fire way is with SEO. SEO or Search Engine Optimization is done on a website to get it ranking in the search engines. Most people don’t go past page one when looking for quotes or products. They search with their favorite search engine and click on the top-ranking ones to find what they are looking for. While the search engines do work hard to keep their algorithms clean and in good working order.
You might remember when the search engines were not so helpful. You would put in what you were searching for and you would be dealt with a pile of websites that really wasn’t about your search. While those days were really annoying, we have come a long way since then. The search engines have improved a long way since then. Now, they can actually read what is on your website as well as who is linking to your website.
On-Page SEO
On Page SEO is what is done on the actual page of the website. This can mean a lot of things. However, basically it means anything that is done on the website itself. Things such as:
- image optimization
- website loading speed
- internal linking
- external linking
- SEO optimized content
- positive user experience
These are simple things that all work together to build the trust of your website in the search engines. Having a great website design is important for the search engine results but also for the user experience. The point of the website is to sell whatever is for sale on it. However, if the user cannot understand how to use it, then there is a problem. Balancing what is needed for the search engines along with the user experience will give you great website design.
Improve user experience
This will improve your website’s experience and get you more leads and sales. SEO is to get your website ranking in the search engines and getting you more sales. However, if they land on your website and it is ugly or hard to use, many times they will leave without contact or further communication. This is not something that is helpful. An SEO agency should take the time to not only rank a website but to fine-tune it to get the conversions that the site is after.
SEO for Business
SEO is an ongoing service and is not meant to ever stop. This is because you need your website to rank in order for people to find you and your services. It is important that once the design and page are done, off-page will need to be worked on. Off-page SEO are things such as social profiles, citations, and branding. It is important your brand is built up for what it offers. Social profiles are things such as your Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter to name a few. These sites have places where you can put in your business information and name. This helps show the search engines that you are really an actual business and not just a website. It is important to the search engines to see you using these accounts as well. Growing these accounts and being active can bring in even more leads and sales.
Paid Ads vs. SEO
The goal of having a business is to grow the business and have more leads and sales along the way. Without SEO, your website is going to be lost in the endless sea of websites that are trying to compete for your keywords. When people are actively searching for your products or services that means they are ready to purchase. You have probably heard of Google ads and Facebook ads. These ads are presented to people through another set of algorithms. While Google ads are served up to people searching for the keyword you are bidding on, Facebook ads are more used to getting your name out there.
People on Facebook are simply not looking for your service. However, they might have in the recent past, which is why they see it. They aren’t a warm as the people actively searching in search engines and are a little harder to convert. However, these are also great ways to get your business out there and noticed.
SEO puts your website in front of people that are actively searching for your product or service. It can work for all kinds of searches and isn’t limited to just one keyword phrase, as the Google ads are. SEO is sort of like casting your net over a bunch of related keywords and seeing results. It is important that keyword research is done to ensure you are targeting the keywords that people are using to find you. Sometimes what people are actually using and what we think are two totally different things. You want to capture all of the leads that are searching. SEO will help your website do just that.
Combine SEO and a Positive User Experience
SEO combined with a nice user experience will get you results. SEO is the marathon though and this will not happen overnight. It takes time for search engines to find all the links that were built and see the improvements you have made on your site. It is not something that you can simply turn on and off. So, be sure that you are prepared for the additional business as well as understand that it takes a little patience. But, once you start seeing the results, you will continue to grow and see more results as long as you continue using an SEO service. Once you stop the service, your rankings will begin to fall. This is not because of the SEO agency but because of the lack of activity and backlink building.
It is important that you work with a professional SEO agency and not try to do this on your own. SEO is something that takes skill and knowledge and is forever changing. As a business owner, you simply cannot afford to try to do the job of your marketing and SEO services Company. This means that you are taking the time away from your business and trying to do that of another business. Typically this ends in disaster as the algorithms of the search engines are in constant change.
