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About SEO or ”Search Engine Optimization”

Search Engine Optimization or simply, SEO, is the practice of optimizing the various elements of your website, with the purpose of improving the visibility of the website in the Local & Organic search results.

Why SEO should be an integral part of an Online Marketing Strategy

If your small or medium-size business is in the process of choosing an SEO Company, we encourage you to take a few minutes to become familiar with Search Engine Optimization or SEO. Learn how your business can reap its HUGE benefits, and why it should be an essential part of any Online Marketing Strategy. The facts are, an online marketing strategy that does NOT include a cost-effective Search Engine Optimization campaign is incomplete and a lost opportunity.

We have also provided you with insight into how Organic & Local Search Engine Optimization works, and how the different ranking factors work together to deliver some of the best ROI of any digital marketing tools.

Increased Visibility & Traffic

The biggest and most important benefit of Search Engine Optimization is more website traffic. The fact is, when you increase the visibility of your website in the search results, naturally, you increase the number of website visitors which increases the number of leads. Ideally, it should increase sales and ultimately revenue.

An effective Search Engine Optimization strategy that provides high positioning (top 5), receives the majority (65-75%) of local & organic impressions, drives a significant amount of traffic and subsequently, clicks.

Additionally, sustainable high rankings drive brand awareness.

SEO is Trackable & Measurable

Organic and Local Search Engine Optimization is trackable and measurable. Through Analytics & Search Console, our SEO Agency can track the following metrics;

Ambassadors and Advocates for Small & Medium Size Businesses

Ranking
Site visitors
Demographics
Search location
Search device (e.g. desktop, laptop, mobile)
Content Performance
Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)
Month over Month, Year or Year KPI’s
*User Experience (UX)

*User experience and engagement metrics are weighted in the Google algorithm (as ranking factor)

Cost Effective SEO = Exceptional ROI

Another HUGE benefit of an effective SEO campaign is high conversion rates which can provide exceptional ROI.

Leads generated through a Search Engine Optimization campaign are generally of better quality, with high buyer intent. There is a direct correlation between high ranking websites and conversions, the basis of which has proven to be TRUST. Simply put, consumers trust websites that enjoy high ranking and visibility.

How Does Search Engine Optimization Work?

On-page SEO Elements & Factors

There are many elements and/ or factors that determine high ranking in the Search Engine Results Pages. In fact, there are so many, we have a Periodic Table of SEO Success Factors. For this reason, we’ve tried to simplify our material. If you have any questions, feel free to schedule a no obligation and free consultation.

With so many factors, there are two that an SEO Expert should focus its resources on. The first is the On-page optimization, which we touch on below and that accounts for 30% of Google’s algorithm. The other is the Off-page optimization, which is the determining ranking factor and the core of Google’s algorithm. We elaborate on Off-page SEO further down this page. For now, let’s start with effective On-page beginning with keyword research.

Keyword Research

Keyword Research is the first step in determining an SEO Strategy. Keywords or keyword phrases are what consumers type into a search engine to find a product, service or simply to find what they are looking for.

Keyword research and analysis is provided by our SEO agency and it consists of gathering data (number of monthly searches, their competitiveness and even cost-per-click) from various platforms including, Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool and our own proprietary platform.

The focus of an Expert SEO should be on revenue-driving Keywords and Keyword Phrases. The keywords to be targeted will determine what goes into content or to what extent existing content requires keyword optimization.

Content

Simply put, the content on a page is what makes it worthy of a high ranking. Great Content is what users are looking for and Search Engines like it too! Keywords and keyword phrases are layered into content to provide answers and solutions which makes the content highly relevant, likeable, linkable, and sharable. Well written content populated with revenue driving keywords also provides you with an infinite number of keyword possibilities from a ranking perspective. content populated with revenue driving keywords also provides you with an infinite number of keyword possibilities from a ranking perspective.

Title Tags

After content, Title Tags are the next most important element as they specify the title of a web page or pages. Title Tags are populated with keywords or keyword phrases. Title Tags are what you see in the Search Engine Results Pages or SERP’s and is the clickable headline for a search result. Without question, fully optimized Title Tags heavily influence ranking.

URL Structure

URL is the acronym for Uniform Resource Locator and is a reference to an address of a web page on the Internet. A proper URL structure will benefit your SEO strategy and ensure your web pages are easier to identify for users who find them.

A proper URL structure looks like this www.letsgetoptimized.com/Local-SEO, whereas many we find in the search results look like this www.letsgetoptimized.com/abced&####.

A Proper URL structure is essential because it helps search engines understand what the page is about and determines the relevancy of a web page with respect to keyword matching. It’s also helpful from a linking perspective because people are likely to link with relevant words or phrases if the keywords are included in the URL. We will touch on the importance of linking further down the page.

H1 or Heading Tag

The H1 or Heading Tags are an influential ranking factor and an important signal to search engines about content on a web page. Just as importantly, it tells site visitors what the page is about. Ideally, H1 Tags should match what is in the Title Tag and URL Structure.

Image Alt Text

Search Engines cannot see images on a website page like we can, so Alt Text or Alt Tags are an opportunity to describe the image on a web page. By implementing an image title with a keyword rich file name, it’s another opportunity to provide search engines with signals about the content of the image.

Meta Description

Meta Descriptions are what you see in the Search Engine Results Pages or SERP’s, just below the Title Tag, and is NOT clickable. Meta Descriptions summarize a page’s content, however, it’s also an opportunity to implement calls to action, phone, and other contact information which makes for a great user experience.

Off-page SEO Factors

Off-page SEO which determines a website’s trustworthiness and authority is the determining ranking factor or CORE of Google’s Algorithm.

Off-page optimization is the process of improving a websites trustworthiness, authority, popularity and relevance. This is done by having other trusted and authoritative websites linking to your website, ideally because of the content of your website. Think of links as votes for your website, however, the emphasis should be on the quality of sites linking to your website, and not the quantity. Topical or relevant backlinks are more weighted than non-topical or non-relevant links.

Link Building Strategies & Local Citation Links

Other SEO Factors

Modern CMS or E-commerce Website

Other factors that are a requirement for an effective SEO Campaign include a modern website, ideally a content management system such as WordPress or if your site is e-commerce, Magento.

Mobile/ Responsive

With mobile search about to exceed 50% of all searches, having a website that’s formatted for every type of device is paramount. As matter of fact, Google algorithm is ‘’mobile first indexing’’ meaning they will use the mobile version of the content for indexing and ranking.

Site Speed – Page Load

Google has gone on record as having site speed/page load as a ranking factor. Site speed affects user experience or UX. Long load times typically have high bounce rates, low time on pages, and fewer page views.

SSL – Encryption

Google has also gone on record as giving sites using encryption a higher rank in the search results. Encryption scrambles data from server to server and makes it more difficult for hackers to compromise your website and any exchange of client data

User Engagement

We touched on this when reviewing On-page elements, however, this is an assessment of how site visitors interact with your website. For example, time on site, page views, downloading of documents, blog commenting, videos etc. User Engagement can influence ranking.

We have covered the fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization, how it works, and how & why your business would benefit from it. While we’ve tried to demystify SEO, we know in some cases it may provide more questions than answers. If you have more questions and wants answers, contact us at 1-888-232-6036 or schedule a free consultation.

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