If you run a company or business, it is very likely that you have heard of search engine optimization, or SEO for short. The majority of people have heard of this in some context but may not necessarily understand what SEO is and why it is important.
As a professional freelance writer, a huge part of my job when I work with companies and businesses is to provide SEO content. That is why in this article, I will be breaking down what SEO is and why you need to be worried about ranking on Google.
What Is SEO?
In layman’s terms, search engine optimization is a process made up of small details that work together to improve your website so that it ranks higher in search results on Google. The basis of SEO is organic search terms, which are also called keywords. Keywords are what you typed into Google when you want to look something up, which is probably something you did to find this article!
The goal of search engine optimization is to get websites in front of more eyes as people are looking up different terms on Google. Ranking higher in these search results can help your website generate more sales and leads as well as show Google that you are delivering what people want.
It can be helpful to break SEO down and describe it as being 50% for people and 50% for Google. Search engine optimization helps people find your business, which will hopefully result in leads or sales if you are ranking for the correct search terms. On the other hand, SEO is also for Google as it shows Google that your website is valuable and you are providing a valuable service for its readers.
What Are the Different Types of SEO?
There are also different types of SEO that you should know about since these categories can also impact your website. Part of why so many people find search engine optimization confusing is that it encompasses many different things that often work hand-in-hand. You may understand one type of SEO really well but you won’t see the full benefits if you don’t also utilize the other categories.
- On-page SEO: As the name suggests, on-page SEO has to do with the SEO steps you are taking directly on your website content. This can include things like meta descriptions, keywords, call-to-actions, and quality content.
- Off-page SEO: A more complicated type of SEO is off-page search engine optimization, which is SEO factors outside of your website pages. This is a little more difficult to control since it is the overall quality score of your website as well as the backlink volume.
- Technical SEO: The last type of SEO is technical SEO, which covers the general health of your website, as this will also impact how well it ranks. An example of technical SEO is the loading speed of your website, website architecture, and how reader-friendly it is.
Why Is SEO So Important?
Now that you understand what SEO is and the different types of search engine optimization you need to use, why is it important? Why exactly does your website need to have SEO?
It is no longer enough to simply have a website since so much of what we do is now online. Nowadays, even a well-established physical business needs to have a thriving online presence if it wants to stay competitive. Not only will this help you build your business, but it will also help to build trust since many people don’t trust businesses unless they can look them up online.
The list of reasons why SEO is important is endless but I have compiled a few of the reasons that I think will resonate the most with the majority of business owners.
Increases Visibility and Reach
The main basis of SEO for businesses is that it helps you increase your visibility and reach. These are things that can be very difficult to master since the internet is completely saturated and a lot of small to midsize businesses will completely disappear online.
Utilizing SEO for your business website ensures you stand the best chance of ranking well on Google. The main way most businesses achieve this is by using high-value keywords that resonate with the type of service or product they provide for their customers. For example, if you are an immigration law firm, you would want to rank for immigration-based terms and questions your clients will be looking up on Google.
Besides this ability, SEO also helps you with reach since you are able to reach an endless amount of people. This is very different from more traditional marketing tactics that limit you to certain types of people or certain geographical locations.
Establishes Authority
As I mentioned above, the online world is continually growing and becoming harder and harder to stand out. That is why it is crucial that your business has established authority that sets you up as an expert in your field. This is more important in certain industries than others, such as if you are a lawyer and you need to establish trustworthiness.
However, authority and trustworthiness are important in every industry, especially as people are more wary of being scammed. When you provide a type of SEO, such as content in the form of blog posts, you are providing them with free value that can ultimately lead to them becoming a client or customer. People love free things, and this is one way to establish authority and trust.
Builds Sustainable Marketing
Whether you have a recovery clinic, mental health center, or a law firm, marketing is incredibly important for growth. Every business needs to have a marketing plan and if at all possible, a marketing team to implement that plan. However, it can be difficult to maintain this since business ebbs and flows, and the economy goes up and down.
From my experience as a freelance writer, one of the first things that businesses cut in their budget is usually the marketing plan. While this makes sense on the surface, especially if you are struggling to get by, it is not a good long-term plan. After all, marketing is what drives business and if you aren’t finding new clients or customers, your business isn’t going to be able to recover.
Search engine optimization is a cost-effective and sustainable way of marketing your business no matter what financial state it is in. If you put in the effort to build a high-quality SEO website, this is going to stand the test of time and will continue to drive people to your doors even if you cut out other marketing strategies. This is why blogs are so popular: they are a gold mine for SEO tactics and can become an endless source of traffic if you run them correctly.
The Secret to Ranking With SEO
Now, before you read any further, I’m going to admit that I lied. There is no single secret to ranking with SEO since there is no blueprint that is going to work for every business. However, I do have one amazing tip that has a track record for working for most industries and that is written content!
SEO content needs to be the backbone of your SEO marketing strategy since this is the easiest way to implement all of these SEO factors without overdoing it. High-quality content allows you to take advantage of important keywords, internal and external links, call-to-actions, etc.
SEO content can also help you hit all of the different SEO categories as long as you are creating the content correctly. For example, on-page SEO would look like keywords and a reader-friendly structure that answers specific questions. Off-page SEO would look like getting other sites to link back to one of your articles and getting people to share it through social media.
The content on your website can also go hand-in-hand with technical SEO by making sure your pages load quickly, it is mobile-friendly, and your website is searchable.
Now, I know that this is a lot of information to take in, and it can feel overwhelming to think of having to create all of these different things through content. That is why many businesses outsource this task to professional freelance writers who understand how to check off all of these boxes.
Why Hire a Professional Writer For Your Business?
Whether you run a behavioral health center, recovery clinic, or law firm, you need to understand what SEO is. My hope is that this beginner guide to SEO has helped answer most of your questions, simplified the basics of SEO, and explained why it matters for your website.
In the modern world of technology, it isn’t enough to only have a business website, and truthfully, if you aren’t going to make it SEO-friendly, it isn’t going to really benefit you at all.
If the thought of trying to handle SEO content on your own makes you feel a little frazzled, get in touch! I am an SEO freelance writer in the healthcare, pet care, and legal space, and all of the writing I produce is 100% human. I help businesses boost their website’s search engine optimization by creating SEO content that speaks to their readers and helps them rank.
