SEO: What It Is, And Why You Need It.

What Is SEO?

A simple definition of SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, would be, the practice of convincing the AI responsible for ranking websites on a Search Engine to rank your website higher. 

There are plenty of types of SEO, but the one that most SMEs need to be concerned with is something called Local SEO, which we will get to a little later. 

What Does Google Have To Do With SEO?

The rules for SEO are constantly changing. Google owns about 92% of the search engine market, which means that Google sets the rules of the SEO game, and SEO agencies have to play by them in order for their efforts to be successful. (https://bit.ly/38ApUHJ) 

The key thing to remember about Google is that they are user-centric. Their main goal is to make the lives of their users easier (so that they keep using the search engine). It’s this goal that drives Google to constantly update its AI to prioritize user experience over everything else. 

This forces SEO agencies to continually study and adjust their SEO practices in order to keep their client’s websites ranking competitively and avoid penalties. 

How Does SEO Work?

Google uses over 200 factors to determine where a website ranks, with the website that best matches those factors ranking first, and the one that matches them second best ranking second and so on.

These factors can seem incredibly small, and often arbitrary, but with Google’s total web page index estimated to be somewhere between 30-50 billion (https://bit.ly/3FsPA5L) the smallest thing can mean the difference between ranking on the first page, or the second (and think about it. When was the last time you went to the second page of Google?)

Some of these factors only make a .1% difference in where you rank, but that can add up, and the benefits of ranking high are immense. 

The 5 major factors that Google considers are Content, Mobile Optimization, User Experience, Load Speed and Security.

• Content

Content allows you to incorporate things like keywords and backlinks which signal to the AI that your content is the best answer to a user query. It also allows you to showcase your expertise and keep visitors to your website on your page for longer.

The better your expertise, authority and trustworthiness (E-A-T) are showcased in your content, the higher you will rank. 

• Mobile Optimization

Most Google searches happen on a smartphone. This has forced Google to prioritize websites that are mobile-optimized. 

Make sure that your site can be easily accessed on mobile screens and that images and font are appropriately sized. 

• User Experience

How is your website designed? Do users get confused or frustrated when using it? Are the fonts in complementary, easily legible colors that do not hurt the eyes? Are your users constantly bombarded with irrelevant ads (or too many popup ads in general)?

If your website is optimized for user experience, people are likely to stay longer, which will result in a higher ranking. 

• Load Speed

Does your site load in 2 seconds or less? If not, consider compressing images, or switching to a faster web host. 

• Security

Is your website able to protect the personal information of your clients? The more secure your site is, the higher you will rank. 

Why Should I Care If My Site Ranks High?

Because the first result on a SERP (search engine results page) attracts 30% of the visitors, and the first 3 attract over 60%. (https://bit.ly/38ApUHJ), and a whopping 75% of people never leave the first page.

That means that if your website isn’t on the first page of Google, then around 2/3rds of the total number of Google Users (total number of users = about 4.3 Billion) (https://bit.ly/3UXsQ3t) your site simply doesn’t exist.

But if you do rank on the first page, (and you rank in the top 3) then you can attract up to 60% of people already searching for your services. 

So Yes, SEO Is Important.

We are comprised of a team of content creators, strategic thinkers, and innovative technologists; digital is our native language. Because we know that good knowledge of how search engines work is necessary to get results, we only choose team members with SEO-specific experience. Our team also understands the three tiers of digital marketing: technical (site structure), on-page optimization, and off-page optimization.

To discover how we can help your site rank on Page One, book a short Introductory Call with us by going here: Introductory Call