What is SEO (short for search engine optimization)? It is the process of gaining online visibility for a website or a web page, in a web search engine’s unpaid results. Why is this relevant?  It is how consumers find your company through the internet. In short, it’s the primary source of a websites traffic. It’s important to improve rankings, drive traffic, and increase awareness for your company and brand within search engines like Google. Here are the three main reasons you should start optimizing your website for SEO ranking.

Become Visible on Google

Most people go on Google to find an answer to a certain question they might have. They may also be looking for helpful information, or even searching for services for whatever needs they want taken care of. This means your listing needs to come up so that they won’t go to someone else.

Approximately 80% of consumers look for services and products online.

It’s important to informatively provide insights and services that your potential clients may be searching for, because chances are, they will find it regardless of your presence on Google.

SEO for Brand Awareness

A great search ranking builds credibility. Remember, that keywords are what people use when they are searching for their answers or services. Utilize keyword research and connect it with your brand to make it relevant by creating content for keywords that you want to be associated with your brand. You also want your company to be seen as authoritative, which actually happens when you are showing up on the first page of google. Being on the first page of Google creates the ultimate brand authority. Not only do visitors see your company as trustworthy, but they are also more likely to carry out their actions through your site. Your brand will have much more credibility, which makes it more relevant to your audience.

Local SEO

Showing up on the first page of Google when you are a small or local business can seem daunting. In fact, when you’re competing against the giants, it is almost impossible! That’s where local SEO comes in.

Get on local listings! According to Google’s research, somewhere around 50% of consumers who made local searches on their smartphones, ended up actually visiting the stores they searched for within 24 hours! Make sure to get listed on all of your city’s local listings. This doesn’t mean calling into your local Yellow Pages and trying to get into one of those old books that everyone tried tearing in half. It does, however, mean getting into YellowPages online database. People may not be using books to search for local businesses, but they are using their phones. Depending on what kind of services your business may offer, it’s important to get into the most popular databases. Yelp, for example, will be beneficial for businesses who offer local services to their customers. Google Maps is a valuable, and free, method of ranking locally. In fact, that will be some of the first things searchers see when they use the term, “near me” after their search. The goal is to make sure your company is coming up for all of the local results, and leading searchers to your website. A study by SearchEngineWatch found that 70% of mobile users click to call a business directly from Google search results using their mobile phones. If you don’t have a Call To Action get visitors to be able to get in contact with you yet, you are going to miss out on many new customers! A great solution is to try a call back button like, “Callback Tracker”, which enables visitors to request a callback in just 24 seconds! Make sure you don’t lose out on valuable contacts and get your information easily accessible now.

How do I start?

It’s important to start ranking in Google by improving your search engine optimization now. Some of the most prominent methods of ranking are through domain authority. This is done by providing relevant, high quality content on your site that would help and benefit your target audience. Make sure to use the appropriate keywords your audience would use to search for your company’s information and products. Remember, you’re trying to make your content the most accessible content for your audience to find. Get on all of the local listings you can find, and make sure to add your website to every single one of them so you can be seen, starting with:

• Yelp
• Superpages
• Foursquare
• Yellow Pages
• Google My Business.

The next step would be to get some other authoritative sites to give you backlinks through methods like: blogging, reviews, and “top 10” lists. The process of ranking takes months, however, so have patience! Starting with these methods of optimizing your SEO will provide you with a solid foundation of being seen and ranking on your favorite search engines.

Remember, SEO is very important for your business, no matter the size or type of your company. People are using the internet now, more than ever, to search for their every need. It’s important that your company is there to provide the answers and help they may need. Start your SEO campaign now, and make sure you are consistent, knowing that results may take some time to start being seen. Get your business seen locally, nationally, or even globally by investing some time and money into search engine optimization for your company today.