8 SEO Tips

8 Things You Should Know About SEO

While many businesses choose search engine optimization (SEO) as a way to generate leads and grow their business, what they don't understand is that successful SEO depends on various factors to be most effective. For instance, did you know that responding to customer reviews, even the bad ones, helps increase your rankings with local search engines?

Online reviews make up more than 10% of how search engines determine rankings for local search results. By going the extra mile to respond to reviews, it signals to search engines that you are a credible business that values its customers; therefore, they reward you with high rankings. Some other factors you should know about hiring an effective SEO agency include:

Not Every Business Benefits from SEO

SEO may not be the answer for all businesses. For instance, to some companies, simple word-of-mouth can be most effective for generating new customers; therefore, SEO may be unnecessary for your business type. On the other hand, if you are a business that thrives off online leads, then you may consider SEO as a way to significantly boost your online presence for increased leads.

To determine if SEO is the right option for your business, you can perform a business assessment to identify the specific marketing needs for your business, so you don't waste funding on a noneffective marketing strategy.

Copied Content and Inconsistent Information Impacts Your Ranking

Google, as well as other search engines, values online presences that are robust and loaded with creative work and reliable information. On the other hand, copying and pasting the same data across various platforms causes search engines to view the content as spam, in which case it can affect your ranking.

Accurate information across all business listings online is another crucial factor in effective search engine optimization. However, information that is outdated or misspelled information, such as a street address, anywhere on the internet, can negatively affect your ranking. 

Keywords are not the Only Factor That Determines Your Ranking

The right keywords help you place higher in search engine results pages; therefore, it often causes many people to put keywords as the highest priority when developing their content. However, businesses should know that specific performance signals and metrics are also used to govern your ranking and not just keywords.

It Takes Time to See SEO Results

As exciting as it is to view your site at the top of search engines in hopes of gaining new customers, you should understand that it may take a fair amount of time before you actually see results. In fact, this is true with any type of marketing, including traditional marketing, so be patient. For instance, just as purchasing a bench advertisement does not instantly generate new customers, you should anticipate the same wait for SEO marketing.

SEO Does not Assure Leads

Effective online marketing is designed to help customers locate your business via search engines; however, it does not assure that traffic will result in sales. When a customer searches for products and services on the internet, they have various options for making a purchase decision. For instance, they may spend time on your website, or they may check multiple reviews before finally contacting your business or making a purchase.

PPC has no Bearing on SEO

Though pay-per-click is one of the most significant strategies for online marketing, it has no impact on SEO listings. SEO governs the process of optimizing your website, which has nothing to do with paid advertisements. Meanwhile, paid search advertising methods, such as pay-per-click, are used to assure you increased visitors via search engines. However, PPC can be used in combination with SEO when launching a site to gain more visitors.

SEO is an Investment

Some people simply view hiring a local SEO company as a considerable cost that requires a sizable budget to get started. However, if the search engine rules are correctly followed, in time, SEO will prove itself as an investment and not an expense. In other words, the returns gained by investing in SEO are so advantageous that you will be glad you made the choice.

SEO Requires Maintenance

Once you have an effective SEO campaign in place, it is important to maintain it to continue to experience results. If you fail to maintain your campaign, it is just a matter of time before wrong or outdated information spreads, which can lower your ranking. Likewise, new reviews can go unanswered, which can also affect your ranking.

Therefore, take time to maintain your SEO efforts across your various online accounts, including your social media account, to continue to reap the benefits of your campaign. Or, if time is an issue, consider enlisting the help of an established SEO Agency who is experienced in SEO strategies and can work overtime to maintain your online presence for you.

SEO, when fully understood and implemented correctly, can yield amazing results like you wouldn't believe. We know the key elements that go into successful SEO marketing and welcome the opportunity to work with you in building your campaign.

As a Local SEO Company, we can also help you increase your small business through organic, algorithm-friendly results, including optimizing your site, sustaining your social presence, and developing search citations with reliable business listings. 

About the Author

Craig Corbel is Vice President of Operations at Solution Web Designs, a leading web design firm serving small and mid-sized businesses.