Search Engine Optimization, popularly referred to as SEO, is a critical part of your overall marketing strategy. Search engine optimization refers to the process of fixing up your website to improve its overall visibility and ranking on search engine results pages, or SERPs, for the specific words and phrases people are most likely to use when searching for the information presented on the page: in the case of a business website, your goods, and services.
Ultimately, the goal of SEO is to drive organic, or non-paid, traffic to your website as potential customers or users naturally search, surf, socialize and shop online for information on what you have to offer.
Keyword Research
Doing your keyword research is critical to knowing what words, terms and phrases you actually need to optimize. Keyword research lets you know what people are using when they have an interest in your industry.
While short-tail keywords focus on specific words and phrases, long-tail keywords may include longer phrases, questions customers are likely to ask, and other critical information about the words you need to focus on as you build your search engine ranking.
On-Page Optimization
On-page optimization is a critical part of developing your website. It looks at the essential elements of your website and allows search engines to figure out what it's about. It includes title tags, or relevant titles that contain the keywords you want to focus on; meta descriptions, which lay out a clear description of what each page covers, including the keywords you want to focus on; and keyword usage throughout the page.
As you work on more detailed on-page optimization, you may also want to look at your URL structure, headings, and image descriptions along with your alt tags, all of which play a critical role in how search engines view your pages.
Off-Page Optimization
While a large percentage of your SEO efforts take place on-page, some of your efforts will need to occur away from your website. Primarily, you want to build backlinks from other high-quality, relevant websites. Backlinks show that your content is relevant, that it has value to your readers, and that other sites consider you trustworthy.
Creating high-quality content can help you naturally get backlinks. However, you may also want to utilize other strategies, including guest posting, to help attract more attention to your website.
Technical SEO
As part of your SEO efforts, you need to pay attention to the technical foundation of your website. Search engines look at the keywords you focus on and other elements of your website's design, including your site speed, mobile-friendly nature, and a secure HTTPS connection.
You may also want to check your XML sitemaps and canonical tag use, both of which can help you more clearly establish your search ranking.
Content Creation
Ultimately, when it comes to raising your overall search ranking and showing exactly what your website is about and why customers should trust you, content is king. High-quality, relevant, valuable content is a crucial part of building your search ranking and showing customers what you have to offer. You need content that will not only draw customers to your website, but also keep them there. High-quality content not only brings in organic traffic, it will help raise your overall search ranking over time.
User Experience
Search engines aim to provide users with the sites they are looking for, so they highlight pages that take user experience into account. Factors like page load speed, mobile responsiveness, and easy navigation are a key part of your SEO efforts.
Regularly testing your website, including checking it out from the user perspective, can give you a better idea of what type of user experience you're creating. Your paid search efforts may help showcase overall user experience for your users, which can help raise your organic search ranking over time.
Search Engine Crawling and Indexing
Search engines use automated bots known as crawlers to browse the internet and look at new or updated content. Once those bots have crawled the content, it is indexed, which means it can be found by search engines.
Updating your page regularly can help keep crawlers aware of what your site has to offer and why searchers may be interested.
Algorithm Updates
Search engines like Google continuously strive to create a better experience for their users, including combatting spammy tactics and dropping pages that do not provide a strong user experience from their top results.
Those updates change the way search engines rank websites, which means that search ranking can change overnight as search engines roll out their latest algorithm updates. By staying on top of those changes, you can keep your website higher on the ladder in overall search rankings.
Mid-West Family Springfield Illinois Can Help Improve Your SEO
SEO is a critical part of maintaining your brand and your website. Achieving and maintaining high rankings takes consistent, ongoing effort, both with your content creation and as you monitor changing trends and algorithms.
At Mid-West Family Springfield Illinois, we can be the hero of SEO for your website in partnership with our own website company, Webstix. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you improve your search engine ranking.
