Why Optimize Your Business Website for Search Engines?

5 MIN READ

I’ve been busy. I’ve slogged through 50 some blogs, watched 20 videos, and visited a myriad of websites. Add to that, 3 thick boring books. One about on-page Search Engine Optimization (SEO), one about the latest algorithmic updates from Google, and lastly a torturous tome on link building and off-page SEO.

I was looking for the answer to this fundamental question: why should anyone care if their website has been optimized for search engines?

Apparently, I had read all the wrong blogs, watched all the wrong videos, and visited all the wrong websites. Oh yes, and 3 very wrong books.

No satisfactory answer. So let me take a stab.

Based on my years of business experience, my vast knowledge of the digital world and a bit of old-fashioned common sense, allow me to explain.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is important precisely because every business needs to stay competitive at each and every touch point. And no matter what business you are in, these days, competing on the web is absolutely essential.

So what is SEO anyway? In short, it is the art of achieving ranking on page one of Google search. If you’re not on page one, you will generate little or no visitors, which means no inquiries. And that, good people, means no sales.

To illustrate, just think about how you behave when you use a search engine. Do you ever go beyond page one? Ever? Not likely. Now answer that question using your smartphone. I bet you don’t make it past the halfway point on page one. I didn’t think so.

An effective website must be more than an online brochure. So forget about developing website pages that only talk about how great your business is. Think first about how a prospect would search your services. By the way, if you don’t, Google will punish your naughty page by assigning it a bad quality score. This in turn––you guessed it––relegates you to lower and lower rankings. It’s oh so lonely on Google page two. It’s like having a store located in an alley. Not exactly a place where shoppers tend to shop.

Have I scared you enough? Sorry, but there is more. You must also keep your website “fresh.” Frequently update your site with new, relevant content. If you don’t, the deep darkness of page two awaits you.

Remember: a well-executed SEO strategy consists of on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and social media. Over time, this will get you on page one of a Google search. Regardless, of whether or not you are B2C or B2B, page one of Google search is the place to be.

As more businesses arrive online, the online market place becomes exponentially more competitive. The search engine that basically drives the market place is Google. And they are continually making improvements so the searcher is presented with the most relevant result. This is great for the searcher but it is challenging for your business’s website. Staying on page one requires an ongoing investment. The business that consistently makes the investment in SEO and uses a legitimate agency to execute their SEO strategy, will be rewarded with page one rankings. Those that don’t, well, you guessed it. So choose your SEO partner wisely. As with the gold rush of 1849, there’s gold in those hills but there are plenty of scammers that will take your money and disappear. Achieving a page one ranking in Google search should only be attempted by those qualified to do so. Make sure you check references and review examples of past work. Ask to see the results they have achieved for their clients.

In my next blog I write about why off-page SEO is so darn difficult and why buying links is a bad idea. Until then.

We are a Dallas Advertising Agency with expertise in integrated marketing and SEO.

RECENT ARTICLES