What is SEO and Why is SEO Important?
In today's digital-first world, appearing on the first page of Google isn't just an advantage; it's vital for any business looking to grow and succeed. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the backbone of digital marketing that ensures your presence is felt in the vast online landscape. But what exactly is SEO, and why should businesses care about it? In this blog post, we'll explore the intricate world of SEO, go over its components, and understand its undeniable importance in driving quality and quantity in web traffic. Have you ever wondered how SEO can transform your business? Alterior Digital has put this guide together to help you understand what SEO is all about. We believe in providing value to our clients and the general public and share our knowledge as much as possible. If you are a small or large business looking for a Premier SEO Company, look no further, we are here to assist you in this journey and help you show up on page one of Google. Remember to grab your free SEO Audit. Ok, enough of that, let's get started with this guide.
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is increasing both the quality and quantity of website traffic and exposure to your brand through non-paid (also known as "organic") search engine results. Despite the acronym, SEO is as much about people as it is about search engines. It's about understanding what people are searching for online, the answers they seek, the words they're using, and the type of content they wish to consume. Knowing the questions the audience is asking and you, as an expert in your field, answering these questions will allow you to connect and attract more organic traffic to your business.
Why is SEO Important?
In the vast ocean of websites (over 1.8 billion, to be exact), it can be challenging to stand out and be noticed by the right audience. Here's why SEO is your lifeline:
- Visibility and Ranking: Good SEO practices improve your visibility, making it easier for potential customers to find you when they search for something you offer. Ranking on page one of Google can be synonymous with credibility and user trust. Google really cares about this and the value you bring to individuals searching for specific things.
- Traffic Increases: The better you rank, the more traffic you get. Over 60% of all organic clicks go to the top three organic search results. Please re-read this again - Over 60% of traffic goes to the top 3! If you are on page 2 or above, forget about it. Luckily, you can count on Alterior Digital to get you to page one of Google and rank you in the top 3.
- Credibility and Trust: Websites that appear higher in search results are generally considered more trustworthy and credible. Fewer than 10% of people make it to the second page of Google.
- User Experience: Google loves a seamless user experience. SEO involves optimizing your site to make it more user-friendly, thus enhancing user experience and satisfaction.
How SEO Works
Ok, but how does SEO Work? We got you; here are the quick basics:
- Crawling: Search engines send out web crawlers to gather information about all the content they can find online.
- Indexing: The information crawlers acquire is used to create an index for all the web pages they've visited. Think of it as an index in a library, which tells you where everything is located. Yes, images and videos can be indexed as well. Depending on your SEO settings, you can have certain websites as a non-crawl zone, meaning the search engines will not crawl a specific website, and it will not be indexed. We will write about this in a different blog.
- Ranking: When a user performs a search, search engines sift through their index to provide the most critical and relevant information in the search results, commonly known as the search engine results pages (SERPs). This is where Alterior Digital comes in, to help you get on the top organic rankings.
Critical Elements of Effective SEO
Effective SEO strategy involves three core components:
On-page SEO
This involves ensuring that your site can be read by both users and search engine robots effectively, which consists of optimizing:
- Content: Ensuring the content is high quality, relevant, and appropriately uses keywords.
- Here's a simple table to understand key on-page factors:
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Title Tags | Headlines of your web pages seen on SERPs |
| Meta Descriptions | Brief descriptions of what the page is abou |
| Headings | Structured headings help organize content on a page |
| Internal Links | Links to other pages on your website help SEO |
| Image ALT Text | Descriptions for images, important for SEO |
Off-page SEO
This includes external optimization practices away from your site, such as backlinks from other credible sites, guest posts, and social media presence.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO refers to actions taken to help search engines crawl your site and improve user experience (UX). This includes site architecture, mobile compatibility, and site speeds. The aesthetics of a website are really important, as this could either get you a converting client or not. Page speed is crucial as well. Have you ever gone to a website and are just waiting for it to load? Ultimately, you give us as it is not loading and decide to go to their competitor? Yup, it's very important.
Common Misconceptions About SEO
- SEO is a one-time setup: On the contrary, SEO requires ongoing effort and updating as search engines evolve and business goals change. There will be new emerging keywords, and older ones might be getting different traffic than before. So, it is always an ongoing exercise that businesses need to do. As always, Alterior Digital is here to help and lift that burden off the business's shoulders.
- Keyword stuffing is key: Overusing keywords can actually penalize your ranking. If you have knowledge that your SEO Company is doing this, ask them to stop immediately as more often than not, you are hurting your rankings. If you are still determining what your SEO Company is doing and would like us to take a look, we would be more than happy to do so and produce an SEO Audit for free. Click here -> Free SEO Analysis.
Let's Wrap This Up
We hope this blog has provided enough information on the fundamental importance of SEO. We will continue producing blog content to help guide small businesses to improve their SEO on their own. As mentioned before, we want to provide as much value to you, so you as a small business don't have to hire an agency which will add another expense to your financials.
You might be asking, "If you provide 'How To' Tutorials and Blogs wouldn't that put you out of business?"
We believe that most clients tend to want to focus on growing their business instead of taking the time to learn, implement and execute the SEO of the business. Now, some of you will do so and we HIGHLY encourage it, and if you decide at any given point you need our help, we will be one call or form submission away.
Call to Action
Are you interested in boosting your site's SEO? Contact Alterior Digital, your trusted Premier SEO Company, to learn more about our SEO Services Los Angeles and how we can help you achieve your digital marketing goals.
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