In today’s busy online environment, it can be a challenge to drive qualified traffic to your website – visitors who are looking to buy what you offer. If you want to skyrocket your sales, then SEO may be just the tool you’re looking for.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization.” It is the process of persuading search engines, like Google, to recommend your content to their users as the best solution to their problem.
If you want to show up in search results, you should:
- Make who you are, and what you offer abundantly clear to the search engines
- Convince the search engines that you are the best and most credible solution for their users
- Make your content readily and easily deliverable
Search engines are looking for a “best-fit” scenario. They will show the content that they feel is the closest match to what the user is looking for.
What’s the Difference Between SEO and Pay Per Click Ads?
SEO traffic is free – as in, it is the natural or organic search result, not an advertising result. There is no ad budget or “pay per click” involved in SEO.
See the example below, where the first two results are a paid ad.
These two paid ads are the top results, front and center. The companies running the ads have allocated an ad budget, and each time someone clicks on the ad, an amount is deducted from that budget. These results will continue for as long as the companies continue to pay their ad budget, but as soon as they stop applying the budget, these ads will stop delivering and these search results will disappear.
With SEO, you are the top result by merit, as in, it is “free” traffic, and Google “believes” you are the best solution to the user’s search query. The results will generally stick for some time whether you continue to take an active approach to your SEO or not, though it can take time to build your rankings.
With SEO, you are essentially “training” Google to show your website as a search result for keywords related to your business. This involves performing activities over time that will allow you to climb in the search rankings, kind of like going to the gym takes time to build muscles. SEO can deliver some immediate results, as in improvements in rankings, but generally takes time to achieve the full effect – then it will have lasting results. Pay per click ads will deliver the full effect as soon as the ad budget is applied but will stop delivering as soon as the budget runs out. With Google ads, you will also be competing for keywords with others in your market, which can drive up the price paid per click depending on how competitive your market is.
How Do Search Engines Work?
Search engines like Google are designed to help a user find the solution to a problem, or an answer to a question. They want to satisfy their users, and so they want to provide the best, most helpful or relevant solution.
Keywords
Keywords, also known as “search terms” or “search queries” are the specific words or phrases that someone would type into a search engine when looking for something related to your business – for example, the keyword or phrase for this post is, “what is SEO?” Everything on your website pages should boil down to a particular set of keywords or phrases, to make it easier for Google to figure out what that page is about, so that people have a better chance of finding your website among other possible results.
Why Are Keywords Important?
Keywords drive targeted traffic to your website, and people who search for keywords related to your business generally have a high intent to purchase. They probably wouldn’t be searching for “green alien running socks” if they weren’t looking to buy a pair! Or “Geological Consulting in Houston” if they weren’t looking to partner with a services firm. Keywords are the link between the information that a person is searching for, and the information that you provide. Using the right keywords can help you be found online by people who are looking to buy what you offer. It can help you skyrocket your sales!
Start Leveraging Keywords and SEO for Your Company!
We hope we’ve answered the “What is SEO?” question for you! Keywords and SEO are valuable tools that can be used to drive traffic to your website, and drive sales. Learn more about our SEO Services, or Contact Us for more information on how ZMS can help you leverage these tools for your company, or to request complimentary SEO research to take a closer look at your company’s search rankings and competitive environment.