There was a time when most business was conducted in person or over the phone, but that’s not the case anymore. In today’s world, almost every business needs to have a presence on the internet in order to succeed.
While this might not seem incredibly complicated, it’s fairly difficult when you consider the sheer number of websites on the internet. This is why most businesses need to invest in SEO or search engine optimization. If you want to know more about SEO and why your business needs it, here are some basics.
What Is SEO?
To understand what SEO is, you first need to understand search engine rankings. Think about some of the most recent Google searches you’ve performed; what did you search and which results came up first? These search engine results are crucial because the higher you rank on a search engine results page (SERP), the more traffic you can expect to get from Google searches.
SEO is the practice of working to improve a website’s rankings on a SERP, meaning more potential customers see the website in Google searches. There are various parts to an effective SEO strategy, including putting the right content on your website and making sure the code is optimized for search engine rankings. Because of the complicated nature of SEO, it’s best to hire a Denver SEO company to take care of it for you. Considering the effect SEO can have on sales and visibility, it’s a great investment to make.
Optimizing Code
Whether you paid somebody to build your website or used a website builder to create it, there are hundreds if not thousands of lines of code making your website work. The thing is, there are a lot of different ways to write code, some of which are considered the wrong way to do it. While your website may look and function as it should, there’s a chance the major search engines don’t like the way your code is written.
When you hire a Denver SEO firm, you’re getting professionals who know how to optimize the source code of your website. If part of your website was created using tables instead of DIVs, or there’s a similar mistake somewhere in your site, an SEO professional can spot that and fix it. Of course, this is only part of the puzzle when it comes to climbing the search engine results pages.
The Importance of Content
As a business owner, you know how important it is to provide a quality product to your customers. However, what some business owners may not know is that their website content is actually a part of the product they provide. When a potential customer finds your business on Google, the first thing they’re going to do is check out your website and read some of the content on it. This is why it’s important to make sure you have useful, relevant content on your website that isn’t attempting to force customers to buy a product or service.
The interesting thing about content is that it’s not just important in the context of how your customers view your website. In addition to this, the content on your website has a big effect on your SERP rankings. There was a time when the easiest way to climb the rankings was to stuff content full of relevant keywords, but Google has a way of knowing when you do that now. As a matter of fact, you’re actually penalized for keyword stuffing these days. The best thing you can do is write in a natural tone that’s helpful to the customers and let the keywords naturally flow.
Links are another important part of SEO. If numerous other websites link to your website, Google sees you as a credible source of information. For many business owners, paying to have guest blog posts written on other websites is a good way to go.
The fact of the matter is, you need an online presence if you want to run a successful business today and in the future. The good news is, SEO can help with that. If you’re having a tough time climbing the Google search engine results pages, consider investing in SEO services for your website.
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