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Search Engine Optimization & Internet Marketing Techniques
More than 2.4 billion people use the internet every day? 90% of those have purchased something, or contacted a company online in the last 12 months! WILL THEY FIND YOU?
Welcome to our comprehensive SEO services designed to elevate your online presence and propel your business to new heights. Our team combines expertise and innovation to deliver tailored strategies that optimize website performance, enhance visibility, and drive organic traffic. With a focus on leveraging industry-leading techniques, we ensure your brand stands out amidst the digital landscape, securing higher rankings and sustainable growth.
Is your website invisible? Buried deep in the search engine rankings where no one can find you?
You’re not alone. Many businesses struggle to get found online. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
With some simple SEO strategies, you can skyrocket your website to the top of Google and get floods of qualified leads.
It all starts with keywords. These are the words and phrases customers type into Google to find solutions to their problems. Target relevant, high-traffic keywords and Google will reward you with better rankings.
But keywords are just the beginning. You also need great content. Don’t just cram your pages with keywords. Create useful, engaging content that solves your ideal customer’s needs.
Include keywords naturally throughout your content. Break up paragraphs with relevant subheadings. And structure your pages so readers and search engines can easily digest your content.
Still not enough? Combine SEO with content marketing, social media marketing and email marketing. Spread your content far and wide across the web. The more quality links back to your site, the higher you’ll rank.
SEO isn’t rocket science. With strategic keyword research, optimized on-page content and link building, your website can be found by your ideal customers.
Drive more traffic, leads and sales with SEO. Let’s talk about how we can optimize your website today.
WebWise With Team 218 – Podcast
Building Your Brand Awareness With SEO
Want more visitors to your website? More leads and sales?
It all starts with SEO.
We know SEO can seem overwhelming. That’s why we offer a free website audit to analyze your site’s current SEO health. Our experts will pinpoint exactly how to boost your rankings. Just use our audit form below and we’ll take care of the rest.
Think of SEO like a spotlight shining on your website. Without it, your stunning website is hidden in the dark basement of search results. SEO brings your site into the light so customers can find you.
It’s all about ranking higher in Google so you appear on page 1. Most searchers never go past page 1. Landing on it means more visitors, leads and sales for your business.
How do you snag that prime real estate? With magnetic content packed with relevant keywords. This tells Google exactly what your site is about.
An optimized user experience is also key. If your site is hard to navigate, visitors leave and Google drops you in rankings. Ensure a seamless user journey.
Optimized meta descriptions also boost clicks by enticing searchers with compelling summaries. More clicks = higher rankings.
Becoming a search star doesn’t happen instantly. But with time and focus, your site will attract its ideal customers.
A beautiful website is only part of the equation. With strategic SEO, it will work hard for your business 24/7, attracting customers and driving revenue.
Unlock the power of SEO for your business with a free audit today.
How Laura, Used SEO To Build Her Brand
Laura’s first step was to make a website for her business. She made sure to include all the important details about her products and services, as well as a way for people to get in touch with her and buy things online. She made sure to submit her sitemap to the Google search console in order for her pages to be crawled and indexed by the Google search engine.
Then, Laura focused on search engine optimization. She learned how important keyword research is and how to use keywords in the content and metadata of her website to optimize it. She also made sure that her website worked well on mobile phones, since more and more people were using them to go online.
Laura also dabbled in social media marketing. She made accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and started posting interesting content to attract and keep followers. She also learned how to pay to advertise on these platforms and how to make her ads more relevant to certain groups.
As Laura’s marketing efforts started to pay off, she saw more traffic from searches, more people visiting her site and more sales. She was thrilled with the results and knew that investing in digital marketing for her business was the right choice.
Laura found that digital marketing was a field that was always changing and that it was important to keep up with the latest trends and methods. She made a promise to keep learning and getting better, and her business did well in the digital age.
So, Laura’s story is a good reminder to all small business owners that SEO can be a powerful way to grow and expand your business.
Ranking Your Website Should Be Easy, Right?
You’d think it would be easy – create a website, publish it on the internet and you’re done. People will flock to it cause it’s a pretty great website, right? Wrong!
It’s tough to get a brand new website to show up in the search engines. We’ve seen new sites take as long as six months to begin ranking.
Improve Search Engine Traffic With Organic SEO
Organic SEO – This type of search engine optimization refers to the process of optimizing your website so that it ranks highly for certain keywords without having to spend money on ads or links from external sites.
The best way to do this is by using SEO. The process involves building backlinks to your website, adding relevant keywords to your website content, and improving your website’s design. You should also add new keyword-rich content regularly. Organic SEO is not all that difficult to learn but it requires you to continually study due to how quickly the algorithms and strategies change.
Organic search engine optimization refers not only to natural but also free and ethical methods used by businesses looking for better visibility online. The goal with this strategy is usually long term growth. Looking to improve your website’s visibility? Consider using SEO to help you build your site’s digital presence more efficiently. With organic SEO, you’re not only optimizing your site for Google and other search engines, but you’re also significantly increasing the likelihood of driving more traffic to your page. This method utilizes numerous strategies to make your site more appealing to these search engines. By doing so, it allows your site to rank higher on Google’s search page, thus attracting more visitors.
SEO isn’t a one-time task, though. It’s a continuous process and needs to be integrated into your site’s routine maintenance. Your page should always be optimized to cater to the changing algorithms of search engines. By consistently improving your SEO, your page becomes more compatible with Google’s indexing and ranking process, pushing your site up in search results.
One key aspect of organic SEO is focusing on making your site user-friendly. Google takes into account how users interact with your site when ranking your page in their search results. So, it’s crucial that your site is easily navigable and provides valuable content to your visitors. By doing so, you not only improve your site’s performance in terms of SEO, but you also provide an enjoyable experience for your users, thereby encouraging repeat visits.
Moreover, never underestimate the value of keyword selection in organic SEO. By targeting specific keywords relevant to your site’s content, you’re signaling to search engines what your page is about. This helps increase the probability of your site appearing in relevant searches, boosting traffic to your site. Remember, improving your SEO isn’t a quick process, but with time and effort, your page will climb the Google ranks and bring more users to your site.
SEO Can Be Confusing
SEO is probably the most misunderstood and confusing aspect of web development. That’s why is especially important to utilize SEO best practices in your SEO efforts .
SEO is often the most overlooked, yet most important step in a company’s marketing plan. It can lead to higher rankings on search engines and increased traffic to your site. SEO has many components including conversion rate optimization, pay per click advertising, social media campaigns and more. To help you get started with your organic SEO efforts, here are some basics:
Search engines build an index of web pages much like a book is indexed. Just imagine trying to locate a specific word or phrase in a book without the aid of an index.
Same goes for the online world. You look in the index (in this case, Google, Bing or Yahoo) for a term or phrase and you’re presented with a list of web pages containing the items you searched for.
SEO techniques are used to try and get your web page closer to the top of the pile of pages presented as a result of a search (SERP).
People Are Impatient
Having your web page in the top 2 or 3 positions of the pile increases the chances of a visit to your website. People (i.e., your potential customer) are impatient, and not inclined to look further than they have to. Think about your own online habits. When you’re looking for something online, how far do your scroll through the list of search results before clicking on a website? If you’re like most people the answer is NOT VERY FAR. Usually you’ll pick something in the first 10 search results.
That’s what this is all about. If your web page is on the 3rd or 4th page of the pile, the chances of getting much traffic on your website is slim.
SEO Misinformation
If you bring up the term SEO with business owners, the usual reaction is a groan or a frown. They know it’s important but they also know it’s very confusing and involves a lot of work. SEO is a complex subject. To compound matters, there is so much misinformation about it.
You’ll find lots of people who claim to be “SEO experts” and promise to get your website ranked at the top of Google.
One of the common tactics targets recently registered websites. SEO “vultures” send an email to tell you they can make your website rank right up there at the top of the search rankings (for a tidy fee of course). You should be wary of anyone who makes promises like that – in fact, RUN.
All these things make for a whole lot of confusion and frustration so let’s cut through the fog.
Why is SEO so confusing? Search Engines Constantly Evolve! Especially Google.
Google, Bing, and Yahoo all use different algorithms to deliver their search results.
Not only are they different but they are evolving almost daily so it takes some effort to keep up with them. Google reportedly makes upwards of 2,000 updates to their algorithm every year.
How Do Search Engines Work?
Search engines are a fundamental part of the modern internet. When you type a query into a search engine, it scours the internet for pages that match your search terms and displays them in a list, ranked in order of relevancy and authority. But how do search engines actually work?
At a high level, search engines use algorithms to crawl the internet, index web pages, and match relevant pages to user queries. Here’s a closer look at each step:
- Crawling: Search engines use automated software, called crawlers or spiders, to discover and scan new and updated pages on the internet. Crawlers follow links on web pages to discover new content, and they add the discovered pages to the search engine’s index.
- Indexing: The search engine’s index is a massive database of web pages and their content. When a page is added to the index, the search engine processes and stores the page’s content, such as the text, images, and videos on the page. This allows the search engine to quickly retrieve and display the page’s content when a user types in a relevant query.
- Matching: When a user types a query into a search engine, the search engine looks for pages in its index that match the query. To do this, the search engine uses algorithms to analyze the relevance and authority of the pages in its index. Relevance refers to how closely the page’s content matches the user’s query, and authority refers to how trustworthy and authoritative the page is considered to be.
- Ranking: Based on the analysis of relevance and authority, the search engine ranks the pages in its index and displays the results in a list, with the most relevant and authoritative pages at the top. The ranking of the pages is important, as it determines the order in which the results are displayed to the user.
In summary, search engines work by crawling the internet, indexing web pages, and matching relevant pages to user queries based on algorithms that analyze the relevance and authority of the pages. This process helps users find the information they are looking for quickly and efficiently.
How Does Search Engine Traffic Affect Your Business
Search traffic can have a significant impact on a business, both positive and negative. Here are a few ways that search traffic can affect a business:
- Visibility: One of the main benefits of search traffic is that it can increase the visibility of a business. When a business’s website ranks highly in search results, it is more likely to be seen by potential customers, which can lead to increased traffic and potential sales.
- Brand reputation: Traffic can also affect a business’s reputation. If a business’s website ranks highly for relevant keywords, it can increase the credibility and trustworthiness of the business in the eyes of potential customers. On the other hand, if a business’s website ranks poorly or is not present in search results, it can damage the reputation of the business.
- Revenue: Search engine traffic can have a direct impact on a business’s revenue. If a business’s website ranks highly in search results and attracts a significant amount of traffic, it can lead to increased sales and revenue. On the other hand, if a business’s website ranks poorly or does not attract much traffic, it can negatively impact revenue.
In summary, organic search results can have a significant impact on a business’s visibility, reputation, and revenue. It is important for businesses to focus on improving their search rankings in order to attract more traffic and potential customers.
Ranking Your Website Should Be Easy, Right?
You’d think it would be easy – create a website, publish it on the internet and you’re done. People will flock to it cause it’s a pretty great website, right? Wrong!
It’s tough to get a brand new website to show up in the search engines. We’ve seen new sites take as long as six months to begin ranking.
Where To Begin With SEO?
SEO should be the foundation of any great website. It begins with thorough research of the client’s organization and a solid strategy for SEO.
Links remain a very important ranking factor. If you have links from quality websites then your site is likely an a quality site with authority on your topic. Link building is almost an art unto itself. Remember though that even the best network of links will fail if the links point back to an inferior web design so make sure your page is rock solid so other sites will want to link to it.
SEO should be one of the factors in the initial planning stages of a website. It’s a good idea to have your SEO strategy in place and incorporate it into the design of the website. It needs to be a core component of the website’s design.
How Web Design Affects SEO
If you’re interested in internet marketing techniques, you’ve likely stumbled across SEO. So, how does your site’s web design play into all this? Let’s dive in and find out how web design impacts SEO. The way your site has been built can either enhance or weaken your SEO strategy. Web design can affect SEO significantly; it’s not merely about aesthetics or user experience. Google’s smart algorithms are designed to rank pages based on various factors — one of them being your site’s design and ease of navigation.
When users land on your page, their experiences play an important role in how your page ranks on Google. Let’s say your page loads slowly or is difficult to navigate, it could result in users leaving your site, and this can harm your SEO. You see, Google prioritizes user-centric factors, thus a well-designed, user-friendly site can optimize your rank.
Think of an efficient and appealing web design as building your brand awareness with SEO. A site that’s easy to navigate, is fast, and has clear information not only facilitates your SEO but also helps to build your brand’s reputation.
So, when optimizing your site, don’t just stop at integrating keywords or crafting quality content. Optimize your web design. It could be the difference between a first-page ranking and a second-page obscurity on Google searches. By focusing on both the quality of your content and your web design, you’ll have an optimized page primed for maximum site traffic.
The design of your website should be structured to maximize the UX (user experience). If you have a design that is cluttered or a site that is difficult or confusing to navigate, people will not stick around very long. This increases your bounce rate and Google’s algorithm factors that into your search ranking. Your goal should be a clean, uncluttered and easily readable design. Your visitors should be able to navigate your site simply and move from page to page easily. You want your most important content on each page positioned “Above The Fold” where it is readily visible without the user having to scroll the page. Your page structure and hierarchy should not be nested too deeply. Ideally you want your most important pages to be reached with 2 clicks.
Create Great Content
Content is still king. You can apply all the SEO techniques you like to get people to visit your website. But once they show up on your site, there had better be some quality content to keep them there or they’ll bounce quickly. Too many bounces and Google devalues your site and you certainly don’t need that. Get more information on content from an article we wrote titled, How Much Content Do I Need To Rank In Search Engine Results?
Watch The SEO Video
Here is a great YouTube video courtesy of Search Engine Land that is a great resource for understanding SEO concepts. It’s a quick 3 1/2 minute explanation of basic SEO and I highly recommend you watch it!
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) FAQ
What is Search Engine Optimization?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving a website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). It involves optimizing various elements of your site to make it easier for search engines to understand and rank your content. The goal of SEO is to help a website appear higher in search results for relevant keywords and phrases, which can increase traffic and visibility. Proper SEO involves various strategies, such as keyword optimization, content creation, and technical improvements to your site’s structure.
How does SEO work?
SEO works by making your website more attractive to search engines. It involves optimizing different aspects of your website, such as its content, structure, and links. By using relevant keywords and providing valuable content, search engines can better understand your site and match it with users’ search queries. SEO also involves activities like link building, which helps improve your site’s authority and credibility.
How can I do SEO by myself?
You can definitely do basic SEO for your website on your own. Start by researching relevant keywords related to your content and incorporating them naturally into your website’s pages. Create high-quality, informative content that provides value to your visitors. Ensure your website’s structure is user-friendly and easy to navigate. Utilize tools like Google Search Console to track your website’s performance and identify areas for improvement.
Can I do SEO for free?
Yes, you can implement many SEO strategies for free. Keyword research, content creation, and optimizing your website’s structure can all be done without any cost. Additionally, tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics are free to use and provide valuable insights into your website’s performance. However, keep in mind that more advanced SEO techniques, like link building, might require additional resources or investments.
How do I start SEO for beginners?
Here are some tips for SEO beginners:
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Research your target keywords – Identify the main keywords and phrases you want your site to rank for. Use keyword research tools to find high-search, low-competition terms.
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Optimize website content – Include your target keywords naturally throughout your site’s text, page titles, headers, image names, etc. Create content focused on your keywords.
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Improve website speed – Faster sites tend to rank better. Compress images, minify CSS/JS, and optimize code to improve load times.
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Build backlinks – Earn backlinks from reputable websites to boost domain authority and rankings. Outreach and guest posting can help build quality links.
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Create XML sitemaps – Sitemaps help search engines crawl your site more efficiently. Submit XML sitemaps through Search Console.
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Analyze metrics – Track keyword rankings, organic traffic, backlinks and other SEO data to measure progress. Adjust efforts based on the results.
How do I use SEO on my website?
To implement SEO best practices on your website:
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Research and target strategic keywords that are relevant to your content and offerings.
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Optimize page titles, meta descriptions, headers, image ALT text and body content for your focus keywords.
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Improve website speed by minimizing HTTP requests, enabling compression, implementing caching, and optimizing images.
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Create XML sitemaps and submit them to search engines through tools like Google Search Console.
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Build high-quality backlinks from reputable websites through strategies like guest posting.
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Monitor organic traffic, rankings, backlinks and other metrics to refine your approach over time.
Is SEO a good career?
Yes, SEO can be a great digital marketing career path for several reasons:
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In demand – Good SEO professionals are in high demand as search marketing continues to grow.
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Valuable skill – SEO knowledge directly helps businesses drive more organic traffic, sales and visibility.
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Variety – SEO roles involve a mix of technical work, content creation, data analysis, client relations and strategy.
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Growth potential – With experience, SEOs can become team managers, directors and executives.
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Lucrative – SEO salaries are competitive, especially for those with proven skills and expertise.
The combination of strong demand, valuable expertise and long-term growth makes SEO a worthwhile career investment for the future. Studying ongoing trends, honing analytical skills and staying up-to-date are key for SEO success.
Want to learn more about SEO and how to improve your website’s visibility? Feel free to contact us for personalized guidance and assistance using the form below.
We’re Always Ready to Help With Your Website SEO
We look forward to hearing from you and learning more about your business or nonprofit. If you have any questions concerning Web Design, SEO, Website Management, or any other web-related topic, we’ll do our best to guide you in the right direction. Best of all, we’ll do it without any high pressure sales tactics or obligations.
I welcome your questions or comments, however please note that any messages containing advertising, marketing materials, or solicitations will be deleted. I aim to respond thoughtfully to sincere inquiries but cannot entertain commercial offers or spam. Thank you for understanding.You Can Talk To Me. Let's Go!
About The Author
?Hi, I'm Chuck Hersey. I'm a partner at Team 218 Web Services and I created this content. I've been building websites and working with SEO projects for over 20 years. I started Team 218 in 2014 with a goal of offering quality, affordable websites to Iowa small businesses and nonprofit organizations. I wanted to provide a complete website package solution to make getting a website easy, fun, and affordable.
You can contact me...
- by email (chuck@team218.com)
- through our Contact Form
- text or phone at 319-333-0815