As a business owner, you probably hear a lot about SEO these days. If you had your website professionally designed, you may think you've got it handled. But if you don't keep your website programing and content updated, your SEO could be out of date.
SEO is one piece of an Internet marketing puzzle involving everything from the words you use to the programing behind the scenes. When you talk to a marketing strategist, they will often talk about SEO as if it is a magical formula, but it's not.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a strategy based on how search engines work, what people search for, the actual search terms (called keywords), they use, and which search engines target audiences prefer. To optimize your website for search engines, you may need to edit its content, HTML, and background code to increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to search engine indexing programs.
Because of this, SEO can often be one part marketing and one part computer programming. A marketing expert can help your company identify its target audience, and narrow down the message that works best for them. A web designer or content writer can create website content for you that conveys that message in ways both users and search engines will respond well to. Then the web developer can step in and make sure that message is heard clearly by the search engines.
As search engines have evolved, SEO has changed. If you haven't updated your website in a couple of years, strategies that could have been ideal before could actually be hurting you now. Keeping up with Google's methodology and techniques for ranking Web content is a full-time job. That's why it is a good idea to check in with your marketing and web development professionals at least annually to make sure your website is still working for you.
But you don't have to know every detail of how Google's search engine algorithm works to make wise decisions about your website and online marketing. Over the course of the next few blogs, you will learn the basics of modern SEO, so that the next time you and your development team decide to update your website, you'll be able to make better decisions for your business.
Provisio Technology Solutions provides web development solutions to small to medium businesses. If your website isn't working for you, contact Provision Technology Solutions to schedule a meeting