As a business owner with a website of your own, you’ve probably heard the term SEO tossed around, and a quick Google search will just give you the basic definition, along with lots of web page ads peddling courses to help you learn SEO best practices. But you’re running a business, and you don’t have time to learn about terms that the people who work in the marketing world only know about. But SEO is important, and though your business has seen some success, expanding your reach will only help your business flourish.

What is SEO?

Search engine optimization, or SEO, in its broadest sense, is the optimization of your website to drive organic traffic and generate sales. SEO as a concept is simple, but the execution can be tricky.

Search engines like Google use web crawlers to “crawl” websites, indexing them and checking for things like broken links and overused keywords. This information is analyzed by algorithms created by search engines to rank the web page’s content based on best practices and relevance.

How Will SEO Grow My Business?

The question now is how can SEO grow your business and expand its reach.

You are branding your company and building it up starts with a functional, informative website. As a business owner, you do everything you can to keep your business afloat, and neglecting tasks that seem meager is easy. But your website isn’t an unimportant detail. Your website usability and how high it ranks in a Google search can make all the difference in growing your business.

When a user types in an inquiry into their search engine, Google’s algorithm uses the information previously indexed by web crawlers to provide a user with the most relevant information. The listing of web pages on the first page of Google is where the website is ranked. The goal of SEO is to get your website ranked on the first page of Google, preferably one of the first results. By utilizing SEO and Google standards in optimizing your website, you drive traffic to your site, and in turn, drive sales and grow your company.

But what exactly does it mean to optimize your website? Optimization is the term for making your website usable. No one has the time or motivation to navigate through a poorly built website. Consumers use search engines because they want answers to their questions, and you want to be one of these answers. You optimize your website by improving usability: fast loading speeds, relevant information, content peppered with relevant keywords, a navigable site, and links that work.

A Note About Local SEO

Local SEO is an essential digital marketing strategy you should be taking advantage of, especially true if your business has a physical location. If you hardly bother with any other SEO practice, focusing on your local customer base is essential. Look for an upcoming post about local SEO and how your business can utilize it to expand your business.

Google’s algorithm has evolved over the years to recognize language in a more conversational tone. Search results are now geared towards the user’s physical location, which is why Google’s autofill will offer local suggestions. Instead of typing in the search query “restaurants,” Google will now autofill “restaurants near me,” which localizes the search results and connects users to their communities.

If you’re still uncertain about how to execute a perfectly functioning website, optimized fully, consider partnering with Fusion Tech Media. We are a digital marketing agency that knows all the tips and tricks and strategies to work with you to grow your business. No one should have to do it alone, and by entrusting the experts with the means to assist, your company is sure to grow exponentially.