Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and What Every Business Owner Needs to Know
Search engine optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a marathon rather than a sprint, yet many business owners fail to recognize this. They make SEO a priority when first starting out, but neglect it as time passes, and this can do a great deal of harm. The process of researching, analyzing, and modifying one’s site to ensure search engines rank it highly needs to be ongoing. As the majority of consumers now turn to the Internet to research companies, falling behind in this area can be disastrous. When a company struggles in this area, they may need to turn to a provider offering digital marketing and internet marketing services. Doing so typically provides a good return on investment when the company selected is a reputable one.
Why Is SEO Important?
Websites must be easy for visitors to navigate and search engines to understand. SEO provides clues that the search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo can use to understand the content of the site and rank it. This content structure is an essential part of search engine optimization, as it takes into account the limitations and abilities of the search engines and their algorithms. The bots utilized by the search engines all operate in the same way. They crawl the Internet, follow links found on a site, and use massive databases to index content, but there are limitations. Uncommon terms may throw the bot off, and language subtleties often interfere with the bot’s ability to collect information. For example, the bot doesn’t consider honor, and honor to be the same term. These are only two limitations seen with search engines that must be overcome during the optimization process. Following are more.
- Online forms cannot be completed by the bot, thereby obscuring any content found behind the form.
- Website crawling directive errors tend to block a search engine completely.
- Search engine bots tend to have difficulty reading rich media content.
- Mixed contextual signals may confuse the bot.
- Location targeting, when incongruous, can interfere with a bot’s ability to match the query to the content.
- Search engines struggle with duplicate pages because they are searching for original content.
- Poor link structures lead to a search engine overlooking parts of a website.
Penguin And Panda Proofing
Many clients now believe all link building is bad, but this isn’t the case. Although link penalties continue to increase, companies find they may obtain the links they need to complement their SEO strategy with the help of reputable sites. Never purchase links, as this will be discovered, and Google takes a very negative view on this, dropping a site in the rankings quickly when they detect the purchase. In addition, undergo a link audit on a yearly basis, if not twice each year. Doing so ensures no shady links have been added intentionally or unintentionally.
Obtaining Powerful Links
Content marketing allows one to obtain reputable links, and Google has been contemplating providing boosts to those companies considered to be an authority in their fields. Content must provide value to the site visitor, and quality always needs to take priority over quantity. When combined with reputable link building, companies find their site moves up in the search engine rankings. Nevertheless, these are only two areas where SEO practices need to be put into place. Google looks at more than 100 elements when ranking a site, and companies need to determine which areas to focus on for the best results.
Mobile Search Marketing
Google and the other search engines recognize mobile searches continue to increase in importance, thus they are now taking this into account when ranking a site. To ensure a search engine finds a mobile site, companies must take certain steps. Following are some tips to use with mobile search marketing for great results.
- Make use of responsive design because doing so makes it easy for users to interact with the site and for the search engines to find the site.
- Streamline navigation for use on touchscreens as this allows users to focus on the key pages of the site.
- Place links to the main desktop page on every site page to ensure users can visit the full site if needed.
- Rich content needs to be used sparingly and file sizes reduced for better visibility.
- Ensure the site is engaging to keep users interested and on the site.
Services to Look For When Choosing An SEO Provider
- Mobile device search engine optimization
- Reputation management
- Configuration and optimization of Google Local Account
- Directory submission of local citations
- Advanced SEO techniques
- Google + and Google Authorship
- Expertise article submission
- Creation of Yahoo and Bing Local accounts
- Development of an Internet marketing strategy tailored to one’s business
iKonix Studios takes the above into account. Competition is fierce when it comes to business, and a company cannot afford to fall behind. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) must be an ongoing process for optimal results. Never fall behind in this area, as doing so could lead to failure in a short period of time.