Search Engine Optimization can feel like trekking a mountain… But imagine the view.
Search Engine Optimization can be a daunting task. With on-page, off-page, and user experience all playing a huge role (not including links, influence, and so on), there isn’t a wonder why people tend to avoid it.
But it can’t be avoided any longer.
So, what exactly is SEO and what does it do?
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, determines what comes up on search results when someone uses Google, Bing, or the Yahoo search tool.
When you or your client or customer goes to Google looking for a cotton candy machine rental store, for example, they may type in “cotton candy machine for rent” and may also add their city and state to narrow down the results.
What comes up first, second, third, and so on is determined by how well optimized, how closely related, and the influence Google feels your site has within that topic or search query phrase.
As a SEO web writer, I want to be aware of your company, your clients, what they’re looking for, want, need, and what they steer clear from. Because SEO has become so much more psychological, many large marketing companies have taken on the art of SEO rather than leaving it to the technologically-savvy.
For those who know SEO, many choose to stay away from it.
Why?
SEO is constantly changing to make the internet marketplace far more user-friendly. Google is working hard every day to figure out what your clients or customers are searching for before they even search for it.
How do they know if we haven’t done it yet?
Humans are creatures of habit. We also love research. It’s rare that we buy anything of significance spontaneously.
I mean, have you ever gone into a mattress store without researching a little first? Perhaps even before we realized we needed a mattress, we looked up back pain or ways to combat the afternoon sleepies.
Google documents this. And with this information, works to better the result page you or your client may be looking for.
SEO is very specialized. It is not a one-size-fits-all packaged deal. In fact, SEO is so highly specific to each individual company that for each client, we give a free consultation to get to know them, the company, and their ideal client.
When consumers are looking for very specific things (otherwise known in the SEO world as “long-tail keywords”), we need to narrow down the exact person who would be looking for your company.
And everyone knows that your ideal client is not the same as your neighbors.
A middle aged man looking on Google for his next fishing reel wouldn’t be interested in a website specializing in our cotton candy machine rentals. In fact, that cotton candy machine rental shop may tailor their SEO even further for mothers of pre-teenage and teenage girl birthdays or whimsical weddings–places where people will want their cotton candy candy (and to eat it too).
Your SEO should serve your audience what they want.
Why mothers? They tend to be the ones who plan their daughter’s parties at that age. To take the SEO even further, they may want to write in a voice that the mothers could understand and appreciate, a beckon in the chaos of party planning.
As I mentioned earlier, there is numerous elements that effect the rankings in a search result page. But starting from scratch, a successful business is determined by reliability and trustworthiness–things SEO is all about, really.
Consumers want to feel important, and rightfully so. They can make or break a business.
So when starting out with SEO, try to make them feel special. Let your website show how much you care about them and their time.
But most of all, you should always be testing your SEO pages to see where small changes may reap the best benefits.
For a free consultation, email us at lindsay@lindsaydinkins.com or call or text (336) 692-8719. We would love to help take your business to that SEO sweet level.
