What’s With SEO? Our Take

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“The other day I was in some, whatever–coffee place. I don’t know, you can only be in six places—whichever one I was in.” – Comedian Louis CK “Hilarious”

Your customer gathers information on the internet the same way that you do – from one of six places. We all go to Google (or Yahoo or Bing) and fill in that little search box. Every one of us clicks ‘enter.’ Then comes the time to scan through the entries of thousands of pages of search results. After Googling for ten minutes, we’re suddenly all experts. Research for any number of goods or services has become, in entirety, a few clicks and a couple of page views. After a few minutes on the internet, someone somewhere is getting a phone call or an email to begin a dialogue. Thousands of other pages of search results go completely unnoticed.

Why you need SEO.

SEO is an investment in your website, to create traffic 24/7/365 for leads, opt-ins and finally, sales. It is a machine that fosters growth, attracting prospects who otherwise wouldn’t know your specific website, your social media content, your brand.
Search engines are the gatekeepers to the internet because using them to find information is incredibly easy. How old is Keith Richards? What was Al Pacino’s first movie role? How did the NASDAQ do today? What is the best leaf blower?

That last one was just for me.

Search engines have simplified the life of the consumer. In doing so, it does seem that Louis C.K. was right; there are only six places you could ever be at one time. Amazon, IMDB, Apple, Starbucks – each industry has its giants, and if you aren’t one of those “six places,” you aren’t seeing the web business you are expecting.

Without a dedicated approach to SEO, you may never find any marked amount of website traffic. You can have the most reliable, knowledgeable website. But without the proper SEO, you will never track, enhance and earn conversions from website traffic.

What is SEO?

You’ve already Googled it: Search Engine Optimization. But what does that mean? (The first few lines of the Wikipedia page are as dry and boring as anything you’ll ever read.)

Briefly, SEO is the process to increase a website’s traffic by elevating its visibility in search results. Search engines are continually evolving to feature the most effective web content – content that answers the user’s intention, need, or purpose – but at the end of the day, there is a limit to their effectiveness. That’s where SEO comes into play. By optimizing your website for those gatekeeper search engines, you’ll increase the chances of earning more website traffic.

How to Start SEO…

Optimizing SEO is a task that never ends. Great companies are always experimenting, learning, growing, and changing their website based on new insights from SEO. But, there are actions every company should take when it comes to enhancing their website.

Know What A Conversion Is and Track It

SEO work won’t mean much if you don’t know what a conversion is, and why it’s important for your web presence. Every business is different. Each has its own most important goals. Define for your own business what you want users to do when it comes to taking action. Then, track it within an analytics platform. Every month you should know how many conversions are happening on your site.

Get Familiar with Keyword Queries, Impressions, and CTRs

The best way to understand SEO is to understand your website’s current place in the search “market”. What keyword searches are showing your website in search results? How many clicks are you getting per impression? What can you learn from how users are finding you?

Track Competing Websites

You are in a knock out fight and every click counts! One of our favorite SEO experts has a rule. That rule is simple: find competing website content, and create your own that’s 10x better!

Create Landing Pages and Write Blogs that Answer Highly-Searched Queries

Piggy backing from the last point, it’s time to create amazing content. If content is king, then the user is queen, and she rules the kingdom behind the scenes. It’s all about what users are looking for, searching for, and using. Use data. Don’t use your opinion. We always coach our staff, and our clients to trust data over opinion. That means creating landing pages that answer search traffic’s questions. That means writing blogs on topics for which your customers are searching.

Or…

Hire An SEO Agency

This is where an outside firm like Expio can help. Expio’s SEO services include:

• Insights into major SEO data, like keyword rankings, domain authority, links and organic traffic
• Site health (like 404 error detection, broken or outdated links)
• On-Page Enhancements
• Optimizations like meta tags, meta data
• Ensuring your website is mobile-friendly

To learn about your current website, and what we can do to help plan an effective SEO campaign, request a free assessment.