The term Search engine optimization, or SEO will likely be part of the pitch when an online marketing company is hired. But what exactly is SEO? Simplified, it is a technique that allows the search engine to rank one’s website higher in the list of results than other related or competing websites when one conducts a search. With a higher ranking, one will then be able to have more people clicking on their website link, increasing the traffic to one’s site, with the overall aim of ultimately converting this traffic to sales. When users type a question into the search box, a long list of results pop up, most of them with the words typed into the search box. For most users, the likelihood of clicking on the results at the top of the first page is high, since these are identified as being the most useful to the question asked. Search engine optimization is almost always the reason why some sites are ranked higher than others.
Search engine optimization focuses on improving the traffic driven to one’s site. However, every Utah SEO company will likely stress the importance of attaining both quality and quantity in terms of traffic driven towards one’s site. Quality of traffic refers to those visitors to one’s site that are actually genuinely interested in the details of the products or services that are on offer on the website. Quantity refers to the sheer number of visitors attracted to the site. Good search engine optimizations should find a healthy balance between quality and quantity.
SEO can be further divided into two distinct parts. Every reputable online marketing company will stress the need for both on and off page SEO. Basically, on page search engine optimization focuses on ensuring that Google, and other search engines, can locate one’s page quickly enough so that they can display them on the search results when a user types a question in the search box. On page SEO has been extended in the past few years to the efforts that make sure or rank the page according to its ability to provide descriptive, useful and appropriate content to the search phrases whose results are on display.
Off page SEO refers to the search engine optimization efforts that use other sites to try to convince Google about what one’s site is actually about. The sites used are often ones that have their own authority in the online industry, and often have their results exhibited fruitfully. The execution of off-site SEO is mainly through backlinks and link building from authoritative websites.
Small and medium companies looking for a foothold in the industry can gain a lot from SEO. Spending money on quality SEO means having a higher ranking on search engine results pages. Neglecting SEO means rankings sliding much lower down in the rankings. SEO helps in
- Discovering new markets
- Building and maintaining a user friendly website
- Finding new customers and achieving better rates of conversion
via Stephanie Clarke
Stephanie M. Clarke is a respected Utah SEO expert. She has extensive experience working with the industry’s leading companies and managing online marketing campaigns for successful startups. She also runs her own blog and offers advice to beginners.
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