Search Engine Optimization is the hottest term in online marketing right now. If you don’t understand how it works and why it matters for your business, you desperately need a crash course to find out what is SEO!

What is SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?

So what IS SEO? SEO is an acronym that stands for Search Engine Optimization. The business dictionary has a pretty good way of explaining what SEO is, so here is the definition they provide:

(Search Engine Optimization) “…refers to the process of improving traffic to a given website by increasing the site’s visibility in search engine results… Going through the search engine optimization process typically leads to more traffic for the site because the site will appear higher in search results…”

The goal of SEO is to target people based on online activity. Marketing through search engines is an extremely worthwhile practice, and SEO is a highly effective way to do it. Virtually all industry leaders use SEO to drive traffic to their websites. More and more business owners are adopting these methods everyday as SEO proves to be hugely instrumental in boosting sales. We are at a point where SEO is an integral part of online marketing.

Tons of people are using the Internet to research and gain information before making a purchase. Search engines data can tell us exactly what people are trying to learn about, and where they are going from there. This provides business owners with a huge opportunity to identify those in your specific market, target leads and connect with high potential customers. If you aren’t using SEO, you haven’t even tapped the surface of the sales that your website could be bringing in. Like thousands of others, your website is setup to fail, because without SEO you are practically nonexistent.

Use SEO to find people who are looking for a website like yours

I’m asked all the time, “What is SEO and how can I use it”? Search Engine Optimization is all about meeting your customer halfway. It allows you to find people online who are looking for a company or product like yours. It works to find and target shoppers, and point them to your website where they will find choices consistent with their search criteria.

Websites built for SEO always rank better and attract more visitors than websites that are not optimized. There’s nothing random or lucky about high web rankings and traffic patterns- it’s strictly scientific. Doing SEO the right way takes time, but it ultimately works to drive a ton of leads. Even your conversion rate will be higher, because you’re targeting people according to their specific wants and needs.

SEO is arguably the most effective digital marketing method today, and it also tends to cost less than other methods. If you’re not getting the web traffic you think you deserve, improve your website’s SEO. Do this immediately, because you are missing all of the action!

SEO is the way to get your website on the SERP

The SERP (Search Engine Results Page), aka Page One, is the one place every business wants to be. Practically all traffic gets sucked up by websites on the SERP. When shoppers search for items that you carry or services you provide, you want your website to appear on the SERP. Optimizing your site for search engines will dramatically improve your visibility and make your chance of being listed on the SERP much greater.

If your business isn’t listed among the search results on the SERP, your website will be overlooked by online shoppers and your SEO-functional competitors will pick up all of the valuable traffic. Keywords and content tweaks made on the backend of your website make an huge difference in traffic and sales conversions. Keep your website updated and keyword optimized to effectively increase your ranking in search engines.

Mobile friendly websites are better for SEO

Besides making your website more visible in search engine results, it’s important that your website is engaging. The first step to an engaging website is to make sure it’s mobile friendly. According to a report by comScore, 60% of time spent using digital media is accessed using a mobile device. This means that most of your visitors are accessing your website with a smartphone or tablet. If your website is NOT mobile friendly, they will have a bad user experience, because your pages will not load properly and text won’t be legible on a smaller screen.

Mobile-friendliness directly increases SEO power. Google punishes websites that are not mobile friendly. If your website is not mobile friendly, your ranking will drop so low that you’ll essentially be dead to search engines. A mobile friendly website is not just a luxury- it’s an absolute necessity. You cannot skip this step if you want to improve your website’s ranking and get more traffic to your webpages.

Take advantage of SEO and keep your website listed at the top!

Unless you are staying on top of Search Engine Optimization, you are missing out on huge opportunities to gain customers through your website.

Now that you know what is SEO. Keep your site at the top of Page One and use SEO to target motivated shoppers, and you’ll be amazed how easily your leads convert into customers!