Browsing the web for marketing advice will result in countless articles about the benefits of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It can be tough to weed through these sources for a simple review of SEO. With the right SEO, you can net hundreds of visitors, but with the wrong moves, you could bury your website deep in search engine results. You want to make sure you make the right moves for your website, so it’s important to understand the power of SEO. The following will simplify the basics of SEO and help you better understand how this tool can bring valuable traffic to your website.

What does SEO mean?

SEO is a way to grow your website’s visibility in organic search engine results. By implementing the principles of SEO, you can expand your website’s reach without having to spend money on ads. SEO includes both the creative and technical elements necessary to increase awareness in search engines and drive traffic to your website.

There are several aspects to SEO. Optimization includes ensuring your website is structured in a way search engines can understand, and it also includes the use of specific keywords related to your business. Even though a large part of SEO involves building websites that are search-engine friendly, it’s also about making sure your website is better for visitors too.

Why your website needs SEO

Web traffic is driven by major search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. Social media can drive traffic to your website, but search engines are the main method of navigation for most web users. A search engine provides target traffic – people who are looking for the services you offer. Think of them as a roadway, guing users to their destination. The destination may be the menu page for a restaurant or the service page for an auto-body shop. If a search engine cannot find your website when someone is searching for a service that you offer, you will miss out an opportunity to drive traffic to your site and gain new customers.

The words people enter into the search box can be used as valuable keywords on your website. We know from experience that search engine traffic can make or break the success of some organizations. Target traffic can provide revenue and exposure like no other method of marketing. Investing in SEO can provide a phenomenal rate of return compared to many other types of promotion.

Why search engines need the help of SEO

You may be wondering why a search engine needs help finding your business. Shouldn’t simply stating the nature of your business and its location be enough to drive traffic? Major search engines are constantly working to improve their ability to search the web and return better results to users, but they still need help. You can help your website by using the right quantity of industry-specific keywords and frequently updating your website with SEO copy.

You want to be as visible as possible, so it’s best to be on the first page of search results when someone types a keyword relevant to your business. Getting to the top takes work, but it’s possible thanks to SEO. If you are a bakery, people might find you by searching for things like “cake”, “cookies”, or even searching for “bakeries in the area”. Depending on the size of the industry in your area, the user may find a dozen other bakeries through the search results before they find yours. Most people won’t weed through several pages of search results. They’ll likely go with one of the first few bakeries they find. If you want to be a top contender and show up first, you can use SEO instead of paying for expensive ads.

Getting help with SEO

The basics of SEO are easy to understand, but actually implementing it on your website can be complex. Optimizing a website takes times and you may want to hand that job over to an expert. Circles Co. Collective is a full-service marketing company. We are here to help you expand your reach through SEO, social media, and website design. Contact Us if you would like to discuss your marketing goals and see how we can help bring you to the top of search engine results in your area.