As a digital marketer working on my own, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most effective ways for small businesses to attract customers to their websites via organic search results, as opposed to paying for various forms of outreach such as digital ads. SEO refers to making changes to a company’s website in order to rank higher in search engines (i.e., have greater visibility on Google) for relevant key phrases that potential customers are using when they search online for those products or services.
In developing a successful SEO campaign, the ultimate goal is to create a user-friendly experience that allows you to reach more potential customers via free traffic to your website, rather than only receiving visits from users viewing digital advertisements. The first step in developing an SEO strategy is to find out what commonly used search terms are used by members of your target market. These keyword phrases can then be included strategically in your website’s content, headings, meta descriptions, and URLs so that the search engines will recognize the keywords as being highly relevant to your website and then rank you higher than your competitors for those key phrases.
On-page SEO consists of all of the different ways in which you can optimize your website’s content (general text, H1 tags, H2 tags, H3 tags, images) that contributes to improved ratings for relevant key phrases. Additionally, you can build trust with customers and encourage customers to engage with your company and/or to become repeat customers by publishing high-quality content that provides value to readers. Technical SEO refers to all of the different website characteristics and factors that affect how quickly and easily your website loads, as well as how compatible your website is with mobile devices.
In terms of search engine optimization, off-page SEO is focused on increasing the credibility of your website through the acquisition of backlinks and social signals from trusted websites and through online references to your business. Through off-page SEO techniques, you will improve the perceived trustworthiness and reliability of your website and business in the eyes of Google and the search engines.