What is SEO? Do You Really Need It?

What is SEO? Do You Really Need It?

1. Do you have a website for your business?
2. Do you want people to be able to find you when they look for the products/services you provide online?

If you answered yes to these questions, then you definitely need SEO!

SEO Explained

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. It is a complicated process which ultimately (if done correctly) helps you to move your way up the search rankings on search engines including Google.

For example: You are a small florist who wants to sell your beautiful bouquets across all of Tyne & Wear. You need to appear when customers search for terms search as “Florist Newcastle” or “Wedding Flowers Gateshead”.

If your business is on the 10th page of Google, you’re not very likely to even be seen.

Search engine optimisation is what puts your website above others with the ultimate goal of getting on that first page of a search (which is not an easy task!) and getting more visitors to your website.

If you are struggling with website traffic, or you’re not sure where you rank in search engines right now, read the advice below.

How well does your website rank right now?

There’s an easy way to check. Firstly, you need to open your browser in incognito mode. This lets you browse in private and basically means that the search engine won’t have any memory of the things you have previously searched for to skew the results. You can find out how to browse in incognito mode here.

Once you’re browsing in incognito mode, do a few searches for your business. Use terms you think that customers would use when looking for your products and services. Go through the pages until you find out where your website appears. If you’re on page one then you’re doing really well! If you’re on page 29 – your website needs work.

How Can You Improve SEO?

Keywords

There are so many aspects to SEO. Firstly, you need to really think about your business message. How do you want people to see you online? Then you need to think about specific keywords. What would a customer need to search for to find your business online?

Keyword Research

Once you have that list, you need to  carry out keyword research to see what your potential customers are actually searching for, and the you need to work those keywords into your website strategically. Please do write like a human though – don’t just drop keywords in anywhere!

Keywords and writing optimum website content is only the start. You also need to build up links to your website, and you need to make sure that you don’t let your web content lie dormant too. i.e. Don’t redo some of the content and then just leave it for the next 2 years. Search engines like fresh content.

If you’d like a SEO audit, please get in touch. It provides some really useful info to help you understand why your website might not be performing as you’d expect.

Why isn’t your website on the first page of Google?

SEO takes time. I’m sure you can imagine just how complicated search engines are behind the scenes and there are literally over 1 billion live websites out there!

There is a lot of competition so you have to take SEO seriously and really work at it to make a difference. Then you need a little patience. Google indexing takes anywhere from 4 days to 4 weeks so don’t expect to see results immediately.

Need help with SEO?

Hopefully the tips above will help you to drive more business to your website, but if you need some help putting all of this in place, please get in touch! Helping North East businesses with websites, marketing and SEO is what we do and we can help you get your business noticed online.

We also offer a range of services to help you – from self-help guides through to full SEO management: