What is SEO and how can it increase your website traffic?

SEO by definition

SEO is simply an acronym for Search Engine Optimization. Optimization in this case means to influence the content of your website online so that a preferred search engine will show the said content as a top result in an online search of selected keywords. Google is the most popular search engine and as result most web searches begin with it as the first step.

There are three parties involved in search engine optimization: the searcher, the search engine and the content creator. SEO therefore compels the content creator to have the search engine provide your content as a top result to the searcher.

According to Google, 67% of clicks from Google searches are from the first five results, it is vital that your results appear in the first page of a search engine results. Rarely do searchers ever get to the second page.

There are two types of search results: organic and paid results. Since paid results appear as advertisements of top of organic results and are ranked by how much advertisers are willing to pay for their content to be visible, they are not the focus of SEO. Organic results are those that the search engine deems the most relevant and trustworthy to the search query. There is no way to pay the search engine to rank the results higher. For a result to show up higher in searches, google provides results for the websites that are linked to other sites.

It differs from local search engine optimization which optimizes a searcher’s local search that is restricted within a certain geographical area. SEO focuses on national and international searches.

Some of the most basic strategies of SEO include;

using keywords in your titles that people searching for certain products will use in search of them. These keywords will influence results and a business that uses them will have their links appear in the first results. Examples of keywords include long-tail keywords which offer more information as compared to short keywords. Long tail key words will attract more precise traffic to your site. The othere type of keyword is the location based keywords which provide the geographical location of a search item.

Some other SEO tactics include writing interesting content in your website that will generate interest in the visitors of your web page, making it easy for people to share and link to your content, making your website user friendly, have an impressive user interface that is both appealing to the eye and fast to navigate. The last thing you need is a user to be frustrated once they get to your website. Additionally, making your website secure from hacking and other online attacks is vital since most search engines do not like unsecure sites. Continuous repition of this cycle will eventually result in your business appearing in the first results of a search engine.

Why Search Engine Optimization is beneficial to a business

There is a noticeable increase in traffic to your website

As more of your website’s content appears on the top results of an engine search, more searches will find themselves in your business’ website. By using analytical tools, you can observe a significant increase in traffic over time. Out of the many visitors, there will be an increased amount of sales to your products and services.

It improves your brand’s trustworthiness

When your brand shows up higher than other reputable brands in google searches, customers will tend to trust the credibility of it. As more people find this information, it becomes a market competitor as it rivals other existing competition. Traffic therefore increases as interested searches will visit your site to view your products. As compared to advertisements, top results are more trusted since the latter is seen as a nuisance leading to installation of ad blockers on browsers.

Better return on investment

As compared to advertisements which need payment per a certain number of clicks, SEO is more beneficial. Search Engine Optimization is generally at no cost and implementation of it will result in improved traffic to your website. Since ads will appear on any search, most searchers will not tend to buy because they were not really interested in the product in the first place, they will only visit out of curiosity. SEO appeals to most searchers because the keywords will contain what they are actually looking for. Visiting your site will probably result in sales.

Growth of the business as a whole

As more traffic is generated, it becomes essential for the business to improve its site or its online presence. This results in a general improvement of the server to manage the increased sales and traffic. Additionally, due to vast number of visitors, feedback from the customers may compel the business to increase their stock or improve on certain areas. Larger servers and consequentially higher traffic will eventually increase the businesses size.

Searchers’ preference to the first results

As earlier mentioned, most searchers will most probably visit the first five results as they are unwilling to click on many links. Appearance of your business in this category will definitely improve traffic to your website.

SEO implications are permanent

When a business uses Search Engine Optimization, its results are permanent on the search engine provided it continues to use the same tactics to stay within the first page of the results. This is unlike paid adverts where you will have to keep paying for a number of clicks over a period of time. Once you stop paying for the advertisement, your links will stop appearing above other results thereby resulting in diminished sales and traffic within that period of time where it has not been paid for.

Accessibility

Finally, to add to another shortcut for better employment of SEO as a business solution is hiring freelancers to do the work for you. Freelancers are virtual assistants who help you with every technical and not so technical activities in your planning. At Fiverr UK, you are bound to find such qualified assistants. This online platform is a dedicated company for finding qualified people offering freelance work to help you with your SEO predicaments.

Conclusion

The idea to implement SEO in your business is basically a no-brainer for any person interested in improving traffic and their digital footprint as a whole. In a world where almost every business has a website, it is vital for you to use SEO especially if your product is in a competitive industry. If you choose not to use it, your competitors will. It is a proven method of increasing traffic without paying for advertising which will bloat your budget, particularly for small businesses looking to minimize their operating costs. As SEO is starting to become a popular method of advertising, not using it will spell doom to your business in the long run. Even if you offer better products and services, searchers will not be aware of it. In conclusion, utilization of SEO will be beneficial in this age where most of the businesses are run online.

References

The 3 Crucial Elements of SEO that Increase Your Website Traffic https://www.webfx.com/internet-marketing/does-seo-increase-traffic.html

Benefits of SEO https://rankexecutives.com/benefits-of-seo/