Search Engine Optimization, or SEO is a very broad term used that explains the visibility of a website. Simply put, if you want your website to be found when being searched for, SEO is a necessary step/tactic to take to increase the odds of being found. Why is it necessary? A recent study found that 64% of web traffic to sites comes from organic searches whereas only 6% of site traffic comes from paid searches. Organic searches are the searches that appear naturally on the search engine results. Paid search results are those ads generally at the top and side of the page. Now that we know SEO is an important step to a successful website, we need to understand how to get there and improve our search engine optimization. Knowing what search engines, such as Google, look for in a site can tremendously increase your sites odds of being ranked well, found and ultimately could increasing your client base/market size. What Search Engines Look For:
  1. Relevant Content This should go without saying, but your content on your site needs to be relevant to what your market is searching for. Making sure there are keywords that resonate with what someone would be search (for example, for us keywords would be “web design” or “graphic design” because these are the services we expect our clients/market to search for). Make sure your site is filled with content/keywords you think your market will search for AND that the content is up to date.
  2. Social Media/Engagement With Your Audience Love it or hate it, social media can play a huge role in if your site is found through searches. Knowing which platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.) are the most popular with your market and the proper use of them will increase how your site is ranked. Simply put, the more active you are online, the more search engines will notice.
  3. Performance + User Experience In terms of performance, it’s important to make sure all links are working properly, all images are optimized for web and the site in general loads and runs smoothly across all platforms. There are specific ways to determine the user experience such as knowing the bounce rate, knowing if users are finding what they are looking for, average session duration and average pages per session.
  4. Headings/Meta Tags/Alt Text Without totally overwhelming you, these are also important parts of a website that search engines use to rank sites. Headings will correctly allow them to pull topics of your site. Meta description tags give a peak in to what content will be on the page. Alt text is another attribute to an image tag. This is all stuff your web designer should take care of when building the site as long as it’s done by a professional and properly.
This is really just the tip of the iceberg with SEO however it is some pretty simple things anyone can watch for to greatly improve their search engine rankings. While it may seem relatively easy, it is a very strategic process that requires a professional if you want the absolute best results. Simpatico offers web design and search engine optimization services that can assure you your site is being ranked and seen. We use analytics and data to guarantee your site is working well and meeting needs of your site users. Send us a message today to get started on a website that will get your business found! Sources: