With the digital landscape constantly evolving, search engine optimization techniques have had to adapt as well. Search engine optimization (SEO) has continued to prove its effectiveness as a marketing tool.

This post will give you the foundational knowledge of search engine optimization and show you how it can be effective for your business.

SEO: The Basics

With over 3.5 billion searches conducted on Google each day, there is no better place to market your goods and services. Search engines are user-friendly and readily available via smartphone, tablet, and computer, making them a go-to for most consumers.

Gone are the days when consumers had to scour through phone books or dial 411 because sites like Google comb through billions of pieces of content to match your query in a matter of seconds.

Once you press that search button, Google will go through its cataloged content and order it by how well it matches your query in a process referred to as “ranking.”

Search results will contain both organic and paid content. High-ranking organic search results are earned by the use of SEO, which appears more trustworthy to consumers. On the other hand, of all American searches, only 2.8% of people click on paid search result advertisements.

Now that you have a solid understanding of the importance of organic search results, the remainder of this post will help build your confidence in SEO.

Position Ranking and Traffic

For any business, one of the main concerns about search engines is making sure prospective customers are finding your business rather than a competitor’s. Research has shown that top-ranking positions result in significant impressions, bringing more exposure to your site.

As search engines have evolved and improved, society has come to view top organic results as more trustworthy. If you think about yourself as a consumer, would you continue to scroll through pages on Google or reword your query altogether in a new search?

In recent years, the layout of Google’s first search result page has undergone some changes, with the top 3 search results yielding the highest number of impressions. Search engine rankings are visible proof that SEO is effective.

So, how can you use SEO strategies to boost your ranking? Here are a few essential tips that you should know:

  • Analyse to determine the keywords that make it easy for consumers to find you. Use these keywords in text elements like blogs, webpage titles, and descriptions.
  • Improve user experience by designing both a computer-friendly and mobile-friendly site that users will spend time on.
  • Earn backlinks from high-authority sites.

If you are new to the practice of SEO, Paton Marketing can help your business climb in the search result rankings.

Cost-Effectiveness

Search engine optimizations strategies are among the best marketing tools when it comes to returning on investment. While cold calling can still be effective in some industries, SEO is a more economical and much less time-consuming strategy.

SEO directly targets users who are actively searching for your goods and services, allowing you to dedicate less time and money towards finding your target audience and potential customers.

Rather than dedicating your resources to find customers via pay-per-click advertising, paid social media advertising, or email marketing, SEO allows you to establish a presence on search engine results pages.

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Keyword research strategies provide your business with high-quality leads, customers that are more likely to purchase your goods and services. The average conversion rate is much higher for SEO leads when compared to traditional marketing methods.

Working with an SEO agency will continue to provide benefits for the long term. To stay in the top rankings, SEO has to be continuous. Working with a professional SEO agency will help you see results faster with a customized strategy and any other digital marketing strategies you may need.

While other marketing methods may help your business, SEO remains the foundation of your online presence.

Need to Know: SEO

Before you go ahead and implement SEO strategies, you should create a list of goals to guide your tactics. Your main goal might be to increase organic traffic to your website, which should be quantifiable and measurable.

Familiarize yourself with web analytics software before implementing an SEO strategy. Analytical tools will show you what strategies are working and which are not, so you don’t have to worry about wasting resources on an ineffective tactic.

Make any needed changes and updates to your existing website, and optimize it for desktop and mobile use. Determine your loading time and remove any unnecessary elements that slow your website down.

When blog writing for keyword searching, write with your audience in mind, not the computer. While blogging with keywords alone will improve your ranking, your audience will appreciate well-written, engaging content rather than a blog written solely for SEO.

Pay attention to any URLs connected to your website. Search engines are designed to follow users, and if your URL doesn’t tell users anything about the content, search engines won’t understand it either.

Publish unique content by referring to your keywords and coming up with a new topic. To remain among the top search result rankings, you need to post relevant and unique content. Think about it, who wants to click on a result that was published in 2014?

SEO is just one tactic to implement in your marketing strategy. With over 1 billion users on Instagram, 2.8 billion on Facebook, and 740 million on LinkedIn, don’t neglect your presence on social media platforms.

Social media platforms can be considered search engines of their own but require different tactics to optimize traffic and interaction. With almost 60% of the global population using the internet somehow, the possibilities are endless when it comes to generating leads via organic traffic.

Climbing the search engine result ranks can take time, but it will be worth it when you start to see the generation of leads. If you require an SEO expert to get started, Paton Marketing can help you create and implement a custom SEO strategy that will benefit your business for years to come.