And why it’s important for every business.

SEO is a source of free traffic that can drive sales for your business for many, many years. Whether you’re an ecommerce company, software as a service (SaaS), bricks and mortar retail, one of the trades, an online bank, or something else, SEO can be an evergreen source of customers for you.

Who doesn’t want that?

SEO defined

Search Engine Optimization has a certain mystique about it. It’s like a mountain you set out to climb that’s forever wrapped in fog. The summit, your ultimate destination, is unclear... always nebulous. Unfortunately, many agencies and consultants take advantage of this to overcharge and under-deliver.

Here’s how Wikipedia defines SEO:

That is accurate, but probably hard to understand for anyone who is new to SEO.

Here’s what SEO really means:

Search Engine Optimization is the process and the work that goes into owning position 1 for your target keywords.

Why is SEO Important?

Let’s illustrate with a Dad Joke.

Q: What’s the best place to hide something you don’t want anyone to know?

A: Page 2 of Google search results.

If your business does not rank on page 1 of Google search results, you don’t exist. You’re missing out on an evergreen source of “free” traffic to your website.

• If you’re in position #1 (at the top of page 1 organic search results), you’ll get 34% of the traffic from that search.

• If you’re in position #10 (at the bottom of page 1), you’ll get 3% of the traffic.

• If you’re on page 2 or beyond, you won’t be seen.

The Goal of SEO: 

> > Rank #1 for your target keywords <<

The first rule of SEO:

“Do not talk about SEO.”

That was the old days.  The early 2000s. SEO experts were cagey about their knowledge.  They didn’t want to share. Gaming Google’s system with practices like keyword stuffing and using link farms was common.  Now, you can learn everything from beginner to advanced from reading blogs like this one, Moz, Search Engine Land, and others.

The REAL First Rule of SEO:

>> UX trumps SEO <<

The main job of your website is to serve your users / leads / customers. By creating amazing content and experiences that users read or engage with, you help your SEO.  

Focus on creating value for your customers first.  A great user experience leads to great SEO.

Yes, I am.

How to think about SEO

>> Think of Google Like a Human <<

Think of Google as a person who is evaluating how relevant each piece of content on the web is to a user’s search (or question).

Google uses a machine-learning artificial intelligence system called RankBrain to help sort through its search results.  

Check out this College Humour video:

With that in mind, how do you make the content on your website give the BEST answer to your (future) customer’s questions? These questions, or search queries, are the keywords you want to rank #1 for.

Want to learn how to create world-class SEO for your business and get evergreen leads / sales? Of course you do!

Book a free discovery with us!

Have a question? Post it in the comments below.