So you have a website for your business and you’ve heard about search engine optimization (SEO) but aren’t sure if it’s really that important. After all, who cares if you have 10,000 visitors to your site if none of them turn into customers? Maybe you’ve had conflicting information; someone said SEO isn’t important, if your site is relevant it will turn up in search engines; someone else said they can guarantee you the number one spot in Google and you’ll get so many customer that you’ll have to turn them away. Let’s cut through the confusion and myths about SEO so you can make an informed decision for yourself.
What is SEO?
According to Wikipedia, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” or un-paid (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results. Typically, the earlier (or higher) a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine.
What does that mean for me?
Without SEO, you’re taking a gamble that search engines will find your site and show it to people searching for your relevant terms. Search engines don’t automatically know your website exists or what it is about; you have to make the search spiders notice your site. From there, the search engines have algorithms that evaluate your site to decide which position it deserves in the ranking results. Some of the things that these algorithms evaluate include incoming links to your site, alt-text in images, domain name age, and of course content. SEO is not about fooling searchers into visiting your site, it’s about ensuring the right searches find your site when they are searching for your products.
What results should I expect?
Do not expect instant results. No one can guarantee your results, if someone tells you otherwise, be leary. With continued work, your results will continually improve. After 6-8 months, you should see significant improvement in your results. More than just search rankings, expect to see increased visitors to your site.
What about increased sales?
The goal of SEO is to get more of the right people to your site. Converting those visitors into paying customers is an art. To gain conversions you need to make it as easy as possible for those visitors to contact you, or place an order. Make sure your content is relevant to your products, focus on the benefits to your customers, place contact forms throughout the site. Measure and track your results and adjust your strategy accordingly. Treat your website like another sales person; you’ve got the customer in the door, now it’s up to that sales person to make the deal.
What are you waiting for?
If your competitors have already been optimizing their site, you have some catching up to do! The sooner you start the better an advantage you have. Let the experts at MLT Group optimize your website and attract the targeted traffic you need! Call or email us today: 507-281-3490 or sales@mltgroup.com
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