Imagine your business launches your website and you go to search for it on Google, Bing or Yahoo. You enter your company name and hit search. You scan the results and there is your company… located all the way at the bottom of the first page. Or worse, it’s not even on the first page. What! How can this be!?
As a company, we understand the feeling. We don’t want to be ranked on the second page either. So, what can you do to increase your search engine ranking? First, we need to understand how and why sites are ranked.
Businesses don’t often think about the additional details that go into website rankings. You might be thinking, “All I need is a website and I need it up as soon as possible.” However, there are literally thousands of other entrepreneurs thinking the exact same thing right now. Additionally, there are even more businesses that have created their websites and have already published them. If everyone is doing the same thing, how are your customers supposed to find your business online? That’s where search engines come in. Let’s use Google for example. Google created a ranking system that helps sort through billions of web pages to help individuals find what they are looking for. These ranking systems are compiled of multiple algorithms that present users with the most relevant search results. Multiple factors, including the freshness of your content; page usability; source expertise; and user’s settings, location, and search terms are taken into account and weighed based on each query. That combined weight then generates your placement within user search results. If your business isn’t ranked where you’d like it to be, don’t worry. The good news is your ranking is ever-evolving and it can be improved.
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a process consisting of multiple actions and strategies that help improve your website’s ranking within search engines. Good SEO includes several on-page components (quality content, strong keywords, correct HTML) and off-page elements (backlinks, location, solid social presence). We explain more about these items in a later article.
The key is to simultaneously improve these items together while continuing to serve your customer’s needs. You can do this by managing these items internally or by working with a skilled company. SEO benefits all businesses in all types of industries, regardless if you are a new company or an existing business that’s been around for over 20 years. Some benefits of SEO include:
Website traffic: the websites that rank higher in search engine results receive more user clicks compared to those ranked lower on the page and far exceed those ranked on any other page.
Brand awareness: Top-ranking listings receive more user impressions, which in turn results in more people seeing your company name and web address. In addition, the longer your company stays in these top-ranking spots, the more trustworthy and reliable your brand will appear to users.
Engagement: we already noted that higher-ranking sites receive more user clicks in the first bullet. However, part of the reason you are listed higher is that your site has been reviewed and ranked based on your website content, layout and authority, meaning your optimized site will do much better at engaging users and keeping them on your web pages longer than a company who’s site isn’t as user friendly.
One thing to note is that search engine algorithms are changed and updated as trends, technology and user actions change. SEO is undoubtedly helpful in making your company successful in today’s digital sphere. Ensuring your website continues to remain in the highest-ranking positions will require some follow-up to ensure you are addressing any algorithm changes.
Need help with your website SEO? Contact the Hopkins Creative Group today.
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