Why SEO is a Need-to-Know

Have you spent hours posting on social media, running advertisements, shooting promotional videos, fine-tuning your email marketing plan — but still find that you’re not getting the results you deserve?

You might be missing a key step in your digital marketing foundation: SEO!

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is defined as the process of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website or web pages through the optimization of key words and phrases alongside a combination of tried, tested, and true methodologies.

This occurs alongside the understanding and manipulation of two things: keyword ranking and keyword number.

A keyword ranking is the place where your site is ranked in search engines for a particular keyword or phrase. The placement of keywords is what will impact website traffic, lead generation, and conversions. 

The keyword number operates on a scale of 1 to 100 and represents the number of optimized pages published on the internet for each particular keyword. The higher the number, the more competing pages there are, and the larger investment you might have to make to get your business to stand out among the rest.

How Does SEO Work?

When done correctly, SEO brings free traffic to your web pages each and every day — no paid advertisements needed!

Essentially, whenever someone searches something, Google’s algorithm scans all the content out there and displays whichever search results it considers the best. SEO works by optimizing your website and the content within it so that Google ranks your business higher for keywords relevant to your field. 

Why Does SEO Work?

SEO is widely considered to be one of the most effective ways to get a higher ROI because it draws traffic to your pages, attracts the right audience, and provides concrete, measurable results so you know just what’s working and what isn’t.

Let’s compare SEO to social media advertising, for example. The latter is becoming more and more expensive, and you’ll never be able to truly tell if the post you boosted actually resulted in a sale — in short, it provides no trackable results.

SEO, on the other hand, is all about tracking and results. For example, a concrete SEO plan will identify how much time a user spends on your web page, how they’re engaging with the content, and determine the number of pages a user visits during a single session. This allows your SEO specialist to identify any flaws in internal linking and navigation so you can ensure your plan is working most effectively.

In addition, SEO also builds trust and credibility for your business. When people turn to the internet for answers, the results that are at the top of the search list are the ones that are trusted — and therefore, visited — the most. 

SEO works to boost offline sales, too. Studies show that 86 percent of local businesses are first searched online — and when you use SEO tactics to up your ranking, who knows who might walk through your door!

Although SEO might require some upfront work on your part, over time, it starts to work autonomously, bringing traffic from every corner of the world wide web right to your front door.

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Getting Started with SEO

Did You Do the Right Research?

Proper research is the key cornerstone of an effective SEO plan. If you don’t find the right keywords — or turn to the right people to find them for you — you’ll never be able to reach the right audience.

To do this, it’s absolutely vital that you understand what it is your audience is really looking for. To get started, brainstorm some common problems someone in your audience might turn to the internet for help for and create an ongoing list. You can also use Google’s auto-complete search feature to help!

Do You Have a Comprehensive Plan?

There’s a lot of working parts and pieces that go into creating an effective SEO plan, and you might not need to waste time or money on each and every one of them.

Having a comprehensive plan before you get involved with an SEO service company is extremely important. At the very least, you need to make sure you’re being offered a technical SEO audit so you can measure results, content optimization so you can increase exposure, and off-page SEO techniques so you can increase sales.

Are You Talking to the Right People?

You need to make sure the SEO specialists you’re talking to are exactly that: specialists. That’s why it’s vital that you do your research before you choose an SEO company, as not everyone who claims to do SEO is actually an expert.

Do They Have Real Statistics to Back Up Their Promises?

Where words fall flat, data speaks.

Whichever SEO company you decide to partner with, you need to make sure they have concrete proof that they can increase your ranking, organic revenues, traffic, and ROI.

Don’t fall for stories — ask to see the statistics, and let ‘em shine.

Also, it’s important to be wary of companies that try to share statistics that seem too high. SEO takes time; it’s not one size fits all. If you see a company promising something like one thousand new visitors in two days, don’t fall for it! It doesn’t work like that.

How Do They Measure Those Statistics?

SEO requires measurable results. If an SEO company does not have the right tools and technologies to effectively analyze your pages, then they won’t be able to iron out the kinks in your plan.

That’s why it’s essential that your SEO specialist partners with the right industry tools.

Are They Trustworthy?

Did you know that you need to have a website that’s designed in accordance with strict guidelines or else you’re at risk of being put on Google’s blacklist where you’re rarely — if ever —  displayed in search results?

There’s a lot that goes into SEO — a lot more than just permutations and methodologies. Your specialist must have a strong grasp on SEO malpractices (like spamming, for example) and do everything in their power to stay far, far away from them.

Do They Stay Up to Date with SEO Technology?

Technology is an ever-growing entity — and if you want to keep growing, too, then you’ll have to keep up.

Your SEO specialist should do everything in their power to learn all they can about the latest tools and techniques so they can implement them into your personalized SEO plan. If they don’t, they’ll be left behind — and so will you.

A Final Note

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog! We hope it helped you embrace the power of SEO.

We know you might have tons of questions about how to build an SEO plan that works specifically for you — that’s why our team here at OpticTour is proud to offer your company the chance to receive more exposure, drive traffic to your platforms and pages, and increase your ROI tenfold. 

The detailed process we employ to learn about the inner workings of your business will allow us to piece together a personalized SEO plan that works specifically for you and your target audiences. Our SEO experts are well versed in curating effective and fruitful on-brand strategies for countless different types of companies, and we’d love to do the same for you!

Whenever you’re ready, you can get in touch with us by filling out this contact form!