February 22nd, 2016
If you are an emerging online bushiness or want to get involved in digital media and marketing, you should probably learn about search engine optimization (SEO). After all, it is the secret weapon that can boost a business's online visibility to the point where users can actually find the site. Without search engine optimization, it's easy to get lost in the vast ocean of information that is the Internet, which has a total of 4.49 billion webpages.
Basically, SEO is the process of increasing a site's search engine ranking. This is achieved by incorporating search engine friendly components to websites, such as the keywords people use to search. An SEO firm figures out which keywords about a client are most likely to be entered into a search bar, and that have sufficient search volume for SEO.
There are two main strategies of search engine optimizations -- on and off-page. On-page content includes text, images, code, and other web elements that make a page easier to find, more user-friendly, and more engaging. Off-site content contains links to a page, therefore increasing link popularity and page rank.
There are different SEO approaches that a marketing company can take. Black Hat SEO gains more hits for a site by exploiting the weaknesses in a search engine algorithm. For instance, black hat SEO tactics might hide text and links, stuff keywords, and cloak -- all of which are somewhat unethical. Plus, they don't pass the guidelines for many search engine algorithms, like Google's Penguin, and are liable to be weeded out. White Hat SEO, on the other hand, uses the search engine algorithm to their advantage by developing high-quality content, restructuring websites, and acquiring quality links.
In a day and age where 44% of online shoppers begin on the home page of a search engine and wind up clicking on the first couple of links they see, SEO is an essential tool for all businesses. Best of all, it's affordable. Content marketing, an SEO strategy, costs 62% less than traditional outbound marketing and generates three times as many leads.
When clients enlist the help of SEO specialists, they are guaranteeing some clarity and recognition in the world of online commerce.