What is SEO & Why Should Your Business Invest in It?

You have a business. You want customers for your business. That much is a given for most business owners. What may not be as clear is how to get those customers. Many methods exist that allow you to attract more potential visitors. However, one of the most effective in terms of visitors to your site and cost to implement is search engine optimization or SEO. If you’re serious about investing in your business, you’ll want to develop a solid SEO plan. Here is the lowdown on SEO and how it can help you.

1. The Definition of SEO

In a slideshow by Stevens Henager College, SEO is described as using keywords as a means to tell the search engines—like Google or Yahoo—what your site is about. Basically, what this means is that there are certain words or phrases that people use when looking for a specific product or service such as “SEO marketing.” If you use these words and phrases throughout your text on blog posts, on landing pages, etc., you’ll be aligning your words with the searchers’ intentions. This make it easier for these potential customers to find you. The words you use on your site send a signal to the search engines (and to your site visitors) that what you have on your website is relevant to what they are looking for.

2. Long-Tail Keywords

All keyword searches start with a main keyword like “SEO.” The goal is to rank for a particular keyword in your niche. Ranking means that when a potential customer for your business does a keyword search, your website will be one of the websites that shows up at the top of the page. Ideally, your website will stand at the top spot. These spots get the most visitors.

However, all website owners have this same goal in mind. That makes for some stiff competition for potential customers. That’s when you want to use long-tail keywords. Here’s an example. “SEO” might be the overarching term that people are looking for, but it’s more realistic to use words like “SEO marketing” or “search engine marketing” when you’re writing the content for your website.

These variations on the main term have less competition, meaning that people still look for those terms. However, not as many people search for the long-tail terms overall as they do the main SEO terms. That being the case, it’s easier for you as a website operator to rank for the long-tail terms in a search. This is the kind of tactic that SEO expert Neil Patel takes in order to get so much traffic to his websites, according to Quick Sprout.

3. One More Word About Long-Tail Searches

Some main keywords will get a high number of searches each month (in the 500,000 range or higher). Most long-tail keyword searches won’t get anywhere near that number of monthly searches. However, you shouldn’t be disheartened by having fewer searches. The beauty of long-tail keyword phrases is that the use of combination of several long-tail keyword phrases on your site in theory will pull in the same amount of traffic.

4. What’s In It for You

Clearly, the more searches your site gets, the more money you’ll make, at least in theory. The truth of the matter is that if no one can find your website, you won’t have clients. It doesn’t even matter if your product is better than your competitor’s in this respect. If your potential client can’t find you, then you effectively don’t exist for that client.

Long-tail SEO gives you an advantage, especially if you combine your keyword strategy with some fairly specific localized SEO search terms and techniques. These include adding your business name, address, phone number, and a map to your site among other things. Adding the name of your city and state to the end of the keyword phrases can help as well. Basically, a localized search narrows down your niche even further. That makes for less competition in the online marketplace.

Getting a steady stream of new customers is vital to the success of your business. Targeted keywords and other SEO tactics helps your business stand out among the millions of websites that exist today. This, in turn, allows you to attract more customers and more money in the long run.