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Everyone’s telling you that you need SEO (search engine optimization) for your business website. But what is SEO, exactly? And why is it so important?

Consider this: There are over 1.8 billion websites online right now. Thousands more go live every hour of the day.

And yet, on the first page of Google search results, only 10 lucky websites show up (and get the lion’s share of visitors). You can guarantee those business owners have spent a lot of time and energy on SEO.

How do you get your business to show up on that oh-so-important first page of search results? That’s what SEO is all about, so keep reading to learn more!

What Is SEO?

Imagine you own a company where you sell only red t-shirts. You sell your products in a store that also sells only red t-shirts — thousands and thousands of red t-shirts, in fact.

How do you make your t-shirts stand out? How can you be sure customers will choose your products instead of someone else’s? Simple: You make sure that your t-shirts get seen first.

The goal of SEO is the same. Every time someone Googles a particular phrase and gets a million results, it’s like walking into a store filled with a million red t-shirts.

Whether you own a bakery, a car repair shop, or an online store, you want customers to notice your website before your competitors’ sites.

An SEO consultant can help you better understand each aspect of SEO and what will best help your business website. In the meantime, here’s a brief overview of the three main components of search engine optimization.

On-Page SEO

On-page SEO refers to everything on your website that helps to boost its rankings in search results. This includes:

• Keyword usage
• Responsive design
• Fast loading time
• Internal and external links
• URL structure
• Page metadata

Basically, it’s these elements that allow Google and other search engines to crawl and index your website. The better your SEO efforts, the better your site will rank.

Off-Page SEO

As the name suggests, these are all the signals elsewhere that point back to your website from other sites. This might include:

• Backlinks from authority websites
• Guest blogs
• Online business directories
• Social media marketing
• Influencer marketing
• Linked or unlinked mentions of your brand

The more “votes of confidence” you have pointing back to your site, the more you’ll be rewarded in search results.

Local SEO

Do you have a brick-and-mortar store? Do you cater to customers in a certain city, state, or region? If so, you’ll need to focus on local SEO elements such as:

• Claiming your Google My Business listing
• Getting listed in local directories, magazines, and newspapers
• Ensuring your business name, address, and phone number are consistent online
• Using targeted keywords that include the name of your city or region

Local SEO helps to get your company in front of users in your immediate locale. This way, they’ll find your business as soon as they search for it.

Search Engine Optimization: A Must For Every Website

As you can see, there’s a lot that goes into effective SEO. If you need help with search engine optimization for your business website, connect with a specialist in your locale.

Looking for more SEO tips and business advice? Keep browsing our website for more articles like this one!