What Are SEOs and Why Are They Important?

What Are SEOs and Why Are They Important?

SEO stands for search engine optimization, or the practice of positioning websites so they rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs) and attract more organic traffic. SEO should be considered an integral component of any integrated marketing strategy, with both technical and content strategies deployed for success. Today, most marketers understand its value as a way of expanding brand audiences and driving conversions.

No matter if your company is small and local or an international enterprise, SEO can help your brand establish itself online and outshone the competition. With the proper techniques in place, SEO can position you near the top of search engine result pages (SERPs), drawing in traffic that converts into customers organically. But results usually take time – four to twelve months are usually needed before real return is seen on investment with SEO efforts.

Approaching SEO takes many forms, but the most successful methods involve creating high-quality content that speaks directly to the needs and desires of your target audience. You can do this by understanding which keywords people are searching for and providing content that answers those queries; alternatively you could also set up clear calls-to-action and provide value propositions to potential customers.

On-page SEO refers to optimizing your website content – such as meta tags and internal links. This process involves writing keyword-rich blog articles, creating a sitemap and submitting it to Google Search Console, as well as making sure its structure is easy for search engines to crawl.

Off-page SEO refers to promoting your content across other websites and social media platforms in order to drive organic traffic back to your website. This could involve posting quality blog posts on relevant websites, sharing relevant social posts with followers and gaining backlinks from reliable sources.

Though some techniques may be effective, they are often considered “black hat” and can damage your reputation with search engines. Examples include keyword stuffing and link purchasing as attempts to “cheat the system.” Attempts like these could end up getting you banned entirely from SERP results or flagged as spam and removed altogether from search results pages.

Effective local SEO practices combine on- and off-page optimization techniques with an understanding of user intent. Claiming and optimizing a Google Business Profile, for instance, can ensure you appear as one of the top results when searches related to your product or service appear in your city or region. Local SEO should be part of any integrated marketing strategy; it allows smaller competitors to compete against larger ones that have the resources for paid ads campaigns. Success lies in consistent optimization over time so as to achieve long-term sustainable results.