More and more, companies are turning to digital marketing solutions to grow their business, capture leads, and enter the minds and hearts of potential customers. One of the most efficient digital marketing tools to achieve this is Search Engine Optimization.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a simple concept. SEO is a way to improve the ranking of your website in various internet search engines (think Google, Yahoo, and Bing) for specific search terms by optimizing your website so it is prioritized over your competition.
For example, let’s say a prospective client searches “design build companies in Nashville, TN.” If your website is optimized for that keyword/keyphrase, then you will rank at (or near) the top of the first page. Is that important? Well yes, it is! According to Nielsen (you know, the ratings people), a study of 1.4 million search engine users found that people clicked organic search results 94% of the time! Only 6% of people clicked the paid results (ads)! Additionally, it’s important to be on the first page. In a recent study by Moz, 72% of all clicks come from websites listed on the first page of a search. Not a big surprise here; when was the last time you went to page 2 of Google?
How does it work?
Search engines review your digital presence and judge for authority and relevance. There are some different techniques that should be applied on a daily basis to keep your website consistently ranking high.
- Keyword Research – Make sure the keywords you want to target are worth it! By doing keyword research through a 3rd party application like Moz and SEMrush, you can get monthly search data for the keywords you are targeting.
- Blog – One of the best ways to show up in Google is to produce relevant content on a regular basis. By blogging regularly, you are able to impress the search engines as well as your potential clients by creating authority and thought leadership.
- Website Content Audit – Make sure your current website is up to par. Google looks at several factors when ranking a website, and the most important is user experience. Is your website mobile friendly/responsive? Does it load quickly? Are there dead links? Is the non-visible data on your site optimized for search engines? Having a professional audit your current website is a very important step in seeing an increase in traffic on your website.
Monitor Your Industry
How does this apply to you and your business? In the fast growing business scene of Nashville, it is more common than ever to receive cold calls from potential customers and clients looking for partners in their business. And how do these people find you? Well, often, it’s online.
Be sure to monitor your website. You may be surprised by how frequently (or not) people are visiting your web page. You can also filter your analytics to tell you exactly who’s visiting a certain page or filling out a form to better streamline your conversion goals. This will help you to meet your goals and reevaluate strategy if you needed.
All these things can be incorporated into your marketing strategy by training the staff you already have, or by hiring a search engine marketing agency. And as with most things, the more work you put in, the better your results will be!