When it comes to digital marketing or e-commerce, you might still be a fish out of water. Perhaps competition and the coronavirus pandemic are forcing you to pivot.
Either way, you’re not alone. Hundreds are in the same position as you. However, being new to the game is not an excuse not to learn the strategies of the trade. Your knowledge will help you decide the best steps to build and sell a brand online.
Today, let’s go back to basics, particularly search engine optimization (SEO):
What Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
As its name suggests, it’s optimizing the website for search engines, especially Google. The primary goal is to rank as high as you can for a particular keyword.
At least 2 billion people use search engines to look for information, leading to a conversion (people buying your products). When getting the data they need, they have to perform a query by typing their keyword.
Depending on the changes of the system’s algorithms, such a query will generate a list of pages the search engine thinks provides the best information. As a business, you want to be on top of the results for many reasons:
- The first page usually receives the most number of clicks. It can then increase your conversion rate.
- The rate of click-throughs and conversions decrease the further you are from the first page.
- Being on the first page and top of the list is a vote of confidence from search engines. It gives the impression that your site is credible, providing valuable content.
Kinds of SEO
SEO has different types or categories. While they are not the same, they are interrelated, so you cannot prefer one over the other if you want such a marketing effort to succeed:
1. Local SEO
Local SEO is optimizing a page according to a specific geographical location or local audience. Multiple studies show that the percentage of customers looking for nearby businesses is high. Further, 18% of these searches led to a purchase within the day compared to only 7% for non-local searches.
Some of the most effective strategies for local SEO include adding the business to Google My Business, generating customer reviews, or using local-based keywords.
Regardless, you can benefit from working with an SEO team who understands this strategy and, most of all, the nuances of the market you’re targeting. For example, if you’re planning to sell products to people on the West Coast, companies based in Las Vegas like Sigma1 can be a better option than those on the East Coast.
2. On-Page SEO
This SEO refers to the optimization done on the webpage and usually involves the following:
- Meta tags such as title tags and meta description
- Keyword content writing
- Image optimization
- URL optimization
- Site speed
- Page audit
- Internal linking
3. Off-Page SEO
Meanwhile, off-page SEO includes activities you do outside your page that can boost your ranking and traffic. Much of it lies on external linking and outside engagement:
- Social media marketing
- Video marketing such as YouTube
- Online partnerships
- Blogging and guest posting
- Sharing of website links in forums
- Press release or article submission
SEO is one of the most complex yet vital online marketing strategies you can’t leave it to chance or do it DIY. With so many rules to remember, work with an expert instead. It might cost you, but it also rewards you well in the end.