Even if your business is extremely popular or unique, your customers must be able to find you online. Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) is an important tool to use to attract and keep an online audience that is broad and deep. When you optimize your web pages, social media sites, blog, and other sites, SEO ensures your pages display as high as possible in search results – ideally at the top of the first page. Here are two tips to get you there.
1. Choose keywords and terms that the public uses in searches
To get to the top of a search page, first you must use terms and keywords in your web page titles and descriptions that are the same words the public uses to search.
Think about the last time you searched for something online.
- What words did you use?
- Which links did you click on from the search page?
- Did you just look at the paid ads at the top of your search or the first few organic links?
- Did you go to the second page?
- It’s worth noting that we rarely, if ever, look at search results on the second page, unless we are not finding what we need on the first. People often refine their search terms and search another time rather than go to a second page of results.
2. Optimize your content to make it easy to find
Then, you optimize your content by using those same terms and words in your message to make it easy to find, or “search friendly.” A big caution, however. Don’t pack your content with those terms; it will make for awful reading. Use them sparingly, but smartly.
The best SEO results are obtained by posting accurate and valuable information on your sites. This helps draw an audience interested in your products or services – a qualified prospect. Many would conclude that no marketing message is successful unless it includes strong content. If visitors are not attracted to your offerings, they won’t become qualified prospects or customers.
Your primary goal is for customers and prospects to find you even if they don’t know they are looking for you.
