SEO: 4 Ranking Factors To Pay Attention To
If you’re a small to medium-sized business, you’ve probably heard the terms “SEO” and “SEO Strategy” thrown around a few times. Odds are, you have a feeling you should be looking into what it actually is and why it matters, but you haven’t quite gotten around to it because you fear it will be confusing or time-consuming. I don’t blame you. SEO can be a confusing, overwhelming subject to look into, and it’s an even harder strategy to actually perform. However, we here at VIVID do believe that understanding SEO and working to make the most of your digital presence is necessary to be a successful business. That is why we are here to inform you about the basics of SEO in hopes that it will become a less frightening task to tackle.
I think we can all agree that it is hard to be a profitable business if consumers don’t know you exist. That basically sums up why SEO is important. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a tool that helps consumers find your business on the web. For example, let’s say that you are trying to work at home (due to this coronavirus pandemic) and you want to write up a couple emails while sitting outside. You go on your porch and realize that it is impossible to get any work done because you are trying to see your laptop through the glaring sun. You think, “Wow, I should buy an umbrella to give me some shade out here.” Taking out your latest iPhone, you Google “umbrellas for blocking out the sun” and you are given a list of results. Most likely, you are going to browse through the first few sites that pop up and find an umbrella that you think will fit your needs. With a few more clicks, the umbrella is being shipped to your house. Done and done.
Now, notice that I said you will probably look at the first few sites that pop up. Are you going to scroll through 20-30 pages to find your desired umbrella? Probably not...that would be a major waste of time. So, SEO is necessary to make your business one of the first that pops up when someone Googles something that fits your market. Great SEO = more traffic to your site. More traffic to your site = more possibilities of creating revenue.
A lot of people think that a great SEO strategy must include paid Google Ads. Let’s go back to the umbrella example. When I searched for “umbrellas for blocking out the sun,” the top two results were, in fact, paid ads from businesses. It can be very easy to say, wow, yep, let’s go that route and just pay Google to put my product at the top of the result list. However, 82% of consumer clicks, meaning people who visited sites, were from organic traffic. This is great news for your business, but it also shows that SEO is an important part of designing your website, blog posts, and even social media. But...how do you know what to pay attention to? Below we are going to explain a few different ranking factors that play a big part in SEO.
Domain-level link features
Basically, this encompasses your “domain authority” on the web. How many other sites are talking about your company and linking to your site? Are they credible? If you are being mentioned a lot on other big sites, Google starts to understand that you are a reputable brand that people should see more often. If you aren’t already doing so, ask your customers to start mentioning who you are and what you do on their own platforms and websites. Get in touch with blogs and other forms of media to try to get featured. If you have your own blog, try featuring other people and other businesses so that they share that content on their own platforms and tag you! Even online, connections are everything. Be sure to get your name out there!
Page-level link features
Page-level link features are basically the same thing as domain-level link features. However, instead of having links that go to your general website, these links go to specific pages within the site. This allows Google to understand your content is desired by your audience, so they will start ranking it higher. The good news about page-level linking is that you can do it within your own website. For example, let’s say you are writing a blog post on the five best organization tools for businesses. However, you already have a blog post that goes in-depth on one of these tools. By linking to that blog post, you are creating an internal link that reminds Google you have relevant information.
Keyword Targeting
A lot of people think that simply saying key words on your site over and over and over and over again will get you a high ranking on Google when someone happens to search for that phrase. However, that’s not the case. Keyword targeting can help, but it shouldn’t be the only thing you focus on. I guarantee those top-rated umbrella sites didn’t just repeat the words “umbrella” and “sun-blocker” 2,000 times. It is of course crucial to let your consumers know what your business does and what you are experts at. On the other hand, by trying to repeat certain keywords out of context and haphazardly, it can make Google flag your page as spammy. That is the opposite of what we want! Focus on providing real value to your customers, not just writing clickbait. The only important times to consider keywords are in titles of blog posts, metatags, and page titles. Be clear and concise, but don’t flood people with repeated content.
A good tool to understand which keywords you should be utilizing is to look at Google Trends and see what people are searching for. Study your target market. What do they need? What terminology do they use to describe products and services? Write your content towards them and there will be a higher chance of them seeing your page.
Engagement and traffic
The final piece that plays a part in ranking your site on Google is the general level of engagement you are receiving. The more people visit your site, the higher you will show up on the list of results. Promote your website often across your social media channels, create a blog to add more value to your site, make sure your website is mobile-friendly and is quick to respond. The better your site looks and the more you direct people to it, the more traffic you will get! At the end of the day, it’s all about brand awareness.
At the end of the day, there may be some tips and tricks to SEO, but if you aren’t providing value to your customers, it doesn’t matter where you rank on Google. We don’t want to make you feel like you need to focus on trying to “hack the system” and rank highly. These tips are just meant to give you a better understanding of what SEO actually is and to point your ear slightly in that direction. If you are looking for more advice on SEO, or a business that can help look at your current strategy, contact us at www.thevividagency.com. We are social media experts who specialize in boosting traffic and brand awareness!
