Like any business owner with a website, you’re probably wondering, “How can I make sure people are finding my site?” This guide from Art Unlimited is designed to help you understand the fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization.
SEO is both a science and an art aimed at increasing your presence across all search platforms. Once you understand the fundamentals, learn how our SEO experts can handle the details for you!
Below, you will learn:
- Why having helpful content should be your top priority
- Good website architecture is critical
- How both of those things affect user experience
- Why optimizing for local search is key
- Constant attention is a must
“Content is King”
The best content for your company’s success is information that is useful to the consumers you hope will become customers. It needs to answer their questions and help solve their problems. Are there common questions your current customers have about your business? Answer those questions on your website! The odds are that other users will be looking for the answer to that same question!
Clear and well-organized content helps people and search engines understand your products and services. Conveying your experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness also helps your audience have confidence in doing business with you.
Search engines rank websites that do this well as superior in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) because their goal is to serve up the most relevant, accurate, and helpful information available when a searcher enters a query. It’s not just about keywords anymore, although they are one component of well-crafted written content.
Website Architecture is Foundational
Website architecture (also called website structure and linking structure) refers to the organization and linkage of the pages on your site. User experience is more satisfying with well-organized websites because people can easily find the information they’re looking for. Search engine crawlers like them better, too.
In addition to allowing search engines to find and index all your pages, a good linking structure conveys authority throughout your site. Think of it like the human circulatory system: an interconnected network that distributes essential resources, with main arteries (pages) branching into smaller vessels (subpages). Both have a central hub and depend on clear pathways to function effectively.
Good User Experience Means Engagement
So far, we’ve talked about two aspects of SEO that impact User Experience. Why is this important?
Consider your own experiences when searching for products or services online. When you click on a link to a website, do you stay on the page if it doesn’t fully answer your questions? Maybe you tried to find additional information on the site. Could you get to it easily? And was it what you expected? If not, what did you do?
If you’re like most people, you left the site and went searching for your answers through a link to a different business. Don’t lose your potential customers the same way!
Local Search Optimization
If you serve a local area, you need Local SEO. When people need a service, they search locally. I’m sure you’ve done the same! Google features businesses within the geographical area close to the searcher at the top of the SERP. Having good reviews helps improve your ranking in this local map pack and increases the likelihood that consumers will engage with you, so managing and responding to reviews is critical.
Local SEO strategies typically involve optimizing your Google Business Profile, Yelp, and Bing Places for Business listings. It’s also essential to ensure accurate and consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) information across online directories and create location-specific content on your website.
SEO is not “Set It And Forget It”
People familiar with the search landscape understand that you can’t do a one-time optimization and achieve success. Search engines frequently update their algorithms, introducing new ranking factors and modifying the importance of existing ones. User behaviors also change. What worked two years or even two months ago may not work now. It may even hurt you.
SEO requires constant attention. Websites must consistently produce fresh, high-quality content that aligns with current SEO best practices to stay relevant and visible in search results. You need to be able to monitor trends in the digital world and adapt to them. Your competitors are doing just that. If you fail to keep up, you will lose opportunities.
Bare-Bones SEO: Site Maintenance
If you have absolutely no time and just need to do the bare minimum to keep your site breathing, start here. Site maintenance is the most basic task to ensure your site is usable. Ensure all your plugins are up to date, all your links are working, your customers don’t see 404 errors (meaning the page could not be displayed), and people can navigate clearly.
Your homepage is the most visited page on your site, so make sure it is primed for action. Optimize your site for your company name. If you don’t show up when people search for your name, you won’t be found.
Your website navigation needs to be organized clearly and linked correctly. If your visitors click on Pool Filters and get brought to a page about hammocks, they’ll be confused and a bit frustrated. Navigation is key to conversions. If you have any goals set up for purchases, subscribers, etc., a good navigation map will allow the buyer to flow smoothly through the process and put conversions in your pocket.
Art Unlimited Can Help!
At Art Unlimited, we know you want your brand to be a trusted household name. Part of that is having an effective online presence. The principles of SEO are simple, but the execution can be complex. The market is competitive, which understandably can make you feel overwhelmed.
Let our experienced SEO team help make your marketing work for you. In 40 years of marketing innovation, Art Unlimited has seen it all. It allows us to offer clear, reliable, customized marketing solutions to grow your brand.
Contact Art Unlimited today so you can stop losing ground to the competition and instead start growing in your market.
