If you have not explored the world of search engine optimisation, doing so for your business may well be one of the best decisions you can make when it comes to having a significant online presence. So, what exactly is search engine optimisation?
Firstly, it is important to realise that you do in fact require some sort of prominence in the world of the web, as opposed to merely on other media such as television. This seems obvious, but over a third of all corporate entities are still not online, while two thirds of those who are online may as well not be because they do not rank very high up on Google search results.
So how does SEO help?
This is where search engine optimisation offers a proactive approach to ensuring that Google provides internet users with search results that are both relevance from their side and generate traffic to your site—it is a win-win situation. Search engine optimisation (or SEO) is also referred to as Search Engine Marketing and is a form of marketing that utilises Google analytics and algorithmic formulas to rank higher up, preferably on page one. You may have wondered: How on earth does Google decide what to rank where? It is certainly not a random process and while site popularity plays a role, one of the most prominent contributing factors to how you rank is content.
The content you create on your website, the way you label it with page titles and the layout of your site can all influence this side of your marketing mix without even actively advertising to your client base. While search engine optimisation may be seen as a more “passive” approach, this is not the case. It is about actively creating content on your page and blogs in order to bring across a desired message, but one that is actually visible as well as relevant. In that sense search engine optimisation is exactly the same as any other form of marketing and it is one of the more affordable internet marketing options, mostly because any costs incurred are offset by sales conversions. Conversion is a useful term to differentiate between site traffic which generates sales and “empty traffic.” As much as you wish to have your site visited as often as possible, if the traffic you generate does not translate into greater revenue for you it is not very useful. SEO, because it is aimed at ranking your relevant product or service high up for specific key searches, can reduce this problem. The end result is that the expense of overhauling your online presence to be SEO-friendly pales in comparison to the value of sales you may generate from it.
Did you know that the average person spends thirteen hours a week on the internet using a computer or smart phone as of 2012? Compare this to the thirty seconds you have to make an impact with a television ad and you may well be missing out on key opportunities.
